In a recent TV interview, Rhode Island’s top cannabis regulator was asked about a variety of cannabis-related issues, including the preparations for issuing new retail licenses, availability of hemp-derived cannabinoids, and an mistake in state-reported data on sales that was discovered by Marijuana Moment.
Kimberly Ahern, Chair of the Cannabis Control Commission, appeared on WPRI-TV’s “Newsmakers” on Friday. She stressed that regulators were working to take a calculated approach in stewarding Washington’s adult-use marijuana market, which was opened to sales by existing medical marijuana dispensaries last December.
Ahern said that the upcoming licensing round, in which the state expects to issue 24 adult-use retail licences, is “one of most important decisions” the commission will have to make over the next few months and years.
She insisted that “we can’t grant licenses until we have the right playbook,” noting the importance of “a fair set” of rules based on state law, and “a deliberate and thoughtful process to understand what the other states have done.”
Ahern stated that the goal was to issue licenses by 2024, but with a huge caveat: other states have taken many years to do this.
Tim White, the co-host of the show, pointed out that 60 licensed growers in Rhode Island “are growing more marijuana than they can sell” and that they would be disappointed if additional retail licensing didn’t happen sooner. He said that Rhode Island’s marijuana regulations are a “bureaucratic mess.”
Ahern responded that it took many states, such as Massachusetts, multiple years to set up the market.
She said, “This has been illegal for decades.” We’re bringing a substance – in what I believe is one of the biggest policy changes I have seen in my life – into a regulated area. “I do believe we need government supervision.”
Ahern was asked by Ted Nesi, co-host of “Newsmakers,” about a Marijuana Moment article that found discrepancies between state-reported data on cannabis sales going back to December 20, 22. She said that she “was aware of the article and I spoke directly with the staff,” but she also noted that the Office of Cannabis Regulation, not the Cannabis Control Commission that she chairs, is the one that reports these numbers.
She said: “It is my understanding that nothing of this changed the top line that many people are interested in. That’s total sales and adult usage, which has been steadily increasing since December last year.”
The differences between the reported total sales of any given month can range from a few cents up to hundreds of thousand of dollars.
The state reported $8,741,428.95 in total sales for March 2023. Marijuana Moment informed OCR of discrepancies in the sales figures. The updated number is $8,676,809.00, which is about $64,620 lower.
The biggest total sales discrepancy was in April 2023. The state reported total sales of $8,421,924.28 previously, but this was revised to $8,640.019.00, a rise of over $218,000.
Adjustments on the adult use side ranged between less than one dollar for some months and about $376,196 more for January 2023, as well as $261,968 more for April 2023.
The amount of cannabis for adult use sold from December 2022 has also increased, rising from 55,288,592.97 to $55,882,576.00 — a difference of almost $594,000.
Ahern told WPRI that the Office of Cannabis Regulation had corrected their mistake quickly. They are now trying to inform the public of the changes they have made and what is to come.
She said that when adult-use sales started in December 2022 the state will implement its first tracking system from seed to sale, contracted by the company Metrc.
She said, “Earlier it was all done on paper.” Now “the growers, the retailers, are directly connected with the Office of Cannabis Regulation via some technical program. This allows them to report their data monthly. It’s dynamic. So depending on the time the Office of Cannabis Regulation pulls the data, the vendor can update it–by someone auditing, or fixing, or going back and double checking the numbers. There’s a natural element of change that will occur.”
Ahern said that if the federal government were to downgrade marijuana in the Controlled Substances Act from Schedule I, it would be “a step in a positive direction.”
She said that the bill “would lower the temperature” in terms of conflict between federal and state law.
Ahern said that allowing marijuana businesses to access banking services would improve public safety. She said that early on, in the regulated industry, there were a lot of burglaries and break-ins. This was understandable, since it is a cash business. “I think that federal regulation will increase safety, both in terms of banking as well as testing and health.”
WPRI’s White reported that the station had recently been able to buy unregulated edible hemp-derived products online. Third-party testing revealed that these products contained 70 milligrams delta-9 THC. Ahern encouraged customers to purchase marijuana from licensed stores.
She said: “Buy cannabis from a small business where you can be sure of the source, how it was grown and that it has been tested for potency. It’s also been tested for heavy metals, microbes, heavy toxins, and for heavy toxins.”
Ahern’s body met for the first-time in June, about a year late, and this summer went on a listening-tour across the state to listen to stakeholders. This included members of the cannabis-industry, medical patients, users, and others. Participants raised the issue of social justice in the cannabis industry as a major concern.
In Rhode Island, in August, the Governor and the leaders of the House & Senate announced their appointment to the state’s Cannabis Advisory Board. The Cannabis Control Commission and the 19-member panel work together to make recommendations.
Some workers in the marijuana sector have also been pushing for to be unionized.
The article Rhode Island Cannabis Commission chair downplays errors in state’s monthly marijuana sales data first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
