When Gov. Daniel J. McKee signed the Rhode Island Cannabis Act into law last May, it gave him a deadline.
He had 40 days to find three appointees to serve on a new regulatory board called the Cannabis Control Commission. More than 10 months later, McKee still hasn’t handed over the names to the Senate for confirmation.
Recreational marijuana sales have been legal since Dec. 1, and seven entities in Rhode Island with medical marijuana licenses are also selling cannabis on the retail market.
But one of the main tasks of the commission will be setting out the regulations on how another two dozen retail licenses will be issued and in what communities.
While the delay in forming a Cannabis Control Commission gives the existing compassion centers a competitive head start, some in the industry say the delay is also hindering existing licensed sellers in some ways.
That’s because some of the regulations to be hashed out by the commission will pertain to how cannabis products can be advertised and marketed. Without those rules, Rhode Island sellers are limited in their advertising opportunities while Massachusetts cannabis stores are running billboard ads along the state border.
