A court order that blocked state regulators from awarding cannabis retail licenses may come to an end soon, a Rhode Island federal judge indicated Wednesday.U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose wrote in an order that she would dissolve the preliminary injunction she issued April 8 now that the Rhode Island Cannabis Act no longer requires all retail license holders to be majority-owned by Rhode Island residents.“The Cannabis Act, as revised, removed the language this court concluded violated the U.S. Constitution’s Dormant Commerce Clause,” she wrote.But that outcome hinges on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston sending the lawsuits over Rhode Island’s former residency requirement for recreational cannabis licenses back to DuBose’s Providence courtroom.Tim Rondeau, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Office of Attorney General, said Thursday that state attorneys have requested a stay in all appellate proceedings in order for the District Court to issue an indicative ruling.Twenty recreational cannabis retail licenses have remained on hold since DuBose’s April 8 ruling, leaving about 100 applicants in limbo—many of whom have continued paying rent on storefronts they still cannot open.The Cannabis Control Commission appealed DuBose’s injunction on April 14. But after Gov. Dan McKee (D) signed a pair of bills repealing the challenged residency requirement, lawyers from the Attorney General’s Office representing the state filed a motion to dissolve DuBose’s preliminary injunction arguing it was now moot.Under the new law, applicants are defined as a person or a business who has “made an application for issuance of a license or certificate to own or engage in a cannabis business.”>https://www.marijuanamoment.net/federal-judge-signals-rhode-island-officials-will-soon-be-able-to-award-new-marijuana-business-licenses/
