August 14, 2026
A Rhode Island federal judge on Friday dissolved a court order blocking the state's social equity and adult-use cannabis licensing program, saying recent changes to state law mooted the reasons for enjoining the program in the first place.
July 23, 2026
A court order blocking Rhode Island's social equity and adult-use cannabis licensing program will likely come to an end after a federal judge indicated that she would undo her prior ruling, if given the opportunity, since lawmakers have removed the challenged residency requirements.
June 29, 2026
Rhode Island cannabis regulators are urging a federal judge to lift a preliminary injunction that halted social equity and adult-use cannabis licensure, saying recently enacted legislation removes the specific elements of the state's marijuana law that drew a constitutional challenge in the first place.
April 15, 2026
Rhode Island cannabis regulators will ask the First Circuit to reconsider a court order halting social equity and adult-use cannabis licensure, according to a notice of appeal filed Wednesday.
April 08, 2026
A Rhode Island federal judge on Wednesday ordered state marijuana regulators to halt social equity and adult-use cannabis licensure while a constitutional challenge from out-of-state entrepreneurs seeking to enter the market plays out.
March 20, 2026
A Rhode Island federal judge said Friday she was compelled to find that the U.S. Constitution's dormant commerce clause applied to federally unlawful recreational marijuana in a case challenging the state's plan for awarding retail cannabis licenses.
February 02, 2026
The Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission is pushing back on a pair of motions seeking to block its social equity cannabis licensing program, arguing in both cases that the residency requirement does not run afoul of the U.S. Constitution's dormant commerce clause.
January 09, 2026
Rhode Island has objected to the "rushed approach" a California entrepreneur has taken in her effort to nullify the residency requirement in the state's cannabis licensing system, telling a federal court it should first learn if the businesswoman would "otherwise qualify" for a license but for her out-of-state status.
February 07, 2025
A Rhode Island federal judge has dismissed two suits challenging the state's social equity cannabis licensing program, saying the Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission hasn't set its rules yet, so the issue isn't ripe for judicial review.
May 21, 2024
A California lawyer who has challenged state and local cannabis licensure programs across the country is accusing Rhode Island marijuana regulators of designing a plan to award cannabis retail licenses that unconstitutionally discriminates against out-of-state players.