Providence, RI: State Department of Health officials announced that they have rejected all 15 applicants who applied for licenses to distribute medical marijuana in accordance with the state’s 2009 law.
Under the law, state officials were required to issue licenses by July 2010 to allow for not-for-profit entities to “supply or dispense” marijuana to authorized patients. To date, no licenses have yet to be issued by the state.
Health Department officials said that nine of the 15 applicants failed to comply with the state’s medical marijuana regulations, while six applicants were denied for technical reasons – such as exceeding the application’s page limits.
Health officials said that the agency expects to issue a new request for proposals in October.
This summer, Maine Health officials approved the state’s first ever state-licensed medical cannabis dispensaries. New Mexico health officials also license medical marijuana providers and retail distributors.
Rhode Island lawmakers initially enacted legislation allowing for state-qualified patients to possess, grow, and use marijuana for therapeutic purposes in 2007. Lawmakers enacted separate legislation in 2009 to allow for the Department of Health to issue licenses for the operation of non-profit ‘compassion centers’ to provide cannabis to authorized patients.
To date, over 2,200 individuals are registered in Rhode Island to use cannabis legally. Another 1,600 individuals are registered as caregivers, a status which permits them to grow up to 24 marijuana plants for designated patients.
For more information, please visit: http://ripatients.org.