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SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. — A federal judge’s decision to stop the issuance of cannabis sales licenses in Rhode Island has put on hold the opening of a locally planned operation.
U.S. District Judge Melissa R. DuBose has blocked the Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) from proceeding with its recreational cannabis licensing program. She said that the state’s requirement that applicants be Rhode Island residents or operate majority Rhode Island-owned businesses unconstitutionally discriminates against out-of-state competitors.
The Cannabis Control Commission is scheduled to meet this Friday at 2 p.m. to discuss the matter.
“This is an easy fix. The state and Cannabis Control Commission can fix the RI Cannabis Act and the Regulations and get the licenses out ASAP with only a short delay. If we are awarded a license, we are prepared to be open within a few months,” said Ken Tetzner, former owner of the now-closed Phil’s restaurant on Main Street, this week. He is proposing a dispensary at 711 Kingstown Road.
Called the Greenhouse Dispensary, its co-owners Tetzner and friend Mike Watkins of Hope Valley, have a pending town review for the business.
Rhode Island legalized adult-use cannabis when Gov. Dan McKee signed the Rhode Island Cannabis Act on May 25, 2022. That law made possession and home-growing legal for adults 21 and older and created the framework for licensed retail sales.
So far, no new round of stand-alone adult-use retail licenses has actually been issued yet under the competitive system created by the Cannabis Act. The Cannabis Control Commission opened an application round for up to 24 new adult-use retail licenses on September 12, 2025, with applications due by December 29, 2025.
Regulators have adopted a timeline that aims to award those 24 licenses by about May 2026, via lottery, assuming there are no major delays. That action is now on hold.
Tetzner said coming to the town for zoning approval is necessary for the application he is submitting in this process. He and his partner, Tetzner said, began discussing the idea for a local cannabis store about nine months ago.
Community Cannabis Network of Rhode Island and Co-op Rhody were critical of the judge’s actions.
“Today’s court decision against the CCC further delays the licensing process. It was also entirely predictable — the plaintiff in this case has filed the same lawsuit against multiple other states — and, as the Court noted, the “resulting fall-out will be, to be blunt, self-inflicted [by the CCC],” said Andre Dev, representing both groups, in a statement after the decision.
“We call on the CCC to use the powers it has available under the Rhode Island Cannabis Act to address the Court’s injunction, to stop delaying the licensing process, and to focus on ensuring real Rhode Islanders can benefit from the cannabis economy,” Dev added.
DuBose issued the preliminary injunction on April 9, 2026, granting motions brought by three out-of-state cannabis entrepreneurs who argued the Rhode Island Cannabis Act violated the Dormant Commerce Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The ruling halts the Cannabis Control Commission from holding its license lottery, processing any pending applications, and proceeding with any part of the current licensing period for both adult-use and social equity licenses.
The Rhode Island Cannabis Act, passed by the General Assembly on May 25, 2022, authorized the Cannabis Control Commission to issue 24 retail licenses for recreational marijuana dispensaries across six geographic zones.
To qualify, applicants were required to be Rhode Island residents or to operate through a business entity with its principal place of business in Rhode Island, with at least 51 percent of the equity owned by Rhode Island residents. The Commission promulgated its final rules and regulations on May 1, 2025, and had expected to conduct its license lottery in May 2026.
The court dismissed each of the state’s three justifications for the residency requirement. Rhode Island argued the restriction advanced health and safety interests, ensured the Commission’s oversight and jurisdiction over licensees, and minimized conflict with federal law.
DuBose rejected all three, finding that whether an out-of-state person owned 49 percent, 51 percent, or 100 percent of a dispensary “has no relation to the CCC’s ability to exercise its authority and oversight over the dispensary.”
She also noted that the state’s reliance on a 2013 Department of Justice memorandum about marijuana enforcement priorities was “of no consequence” because that memo was rescinded by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2018.
* For the full story, pick up a copy of this week’s Independent on newsstands now or purchase a subscription to our E-Edition by clicking here.
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