Tag: Rhode Island

  • Rhode Island Shop Owners Sue Over Flavor Ban

    Rhode Island Shop Owners Sue Over Flavor Ban

    Rhode Island State House in Providence, Rhode Island. (Credit Design Pics)

    Two Rhode Island businesses are challenging the impending statewide ban preventing them from selling flavored vaping products.

    Vaporetti LLC, an East Providence vape shop, and Sunshine Vape LLC, which runs three stores in Providence, Warwick and South Kingstown, filed a lawsuit against the Rhode Island Department of Revenue, Division of Taxation and Department of Health last month in an attempt to block the statewide ban.

    The business owners are asking the court to stop the “unconstitutional” and “unlawful” ban from taking effect on Jan. 1, 2025, media reports. Gov. Dan McKee signed the statewide ban, which was included in his $14 million budget proposal for the next fiscal year, into law over the summer.

    In the lawsuit, the business owners warned that the ban would severely impact their bottom lines and force their inevitable closures. “Each [business] derives more than 70% of its annual sales revenue from flavored ENDS products,” the lawsuit explained. “The sale of flavored ENDS products is an integral part of [their businesses], and the viability of their businesses is directly related to their ability to sell these products.”

    If enforced, the ban “will prove fatal to these businesses because they cannot survive the loss of nearly three quarters of their revenue.” In the lawsuit, the business owners also stressed that the ban may do more harm than good.

  • Rhode Island Becomes 19th State to Legalize Cannabis

    Rhode Island Becomes 19th State to Legalize Cannabis

    Credit: Yul

    Rhode Island is now the 19th state to have legalized cannabis. The new law will give courts until July 1, 2024, to automatically expunge past convictions, and those who want their expungement sooner may request it.

    Governor Dan McKee yesterday signed into law the Rhode Island Cannabis Act, legalizing and safely regulating recreational adult-use cannabis in the state, according to McKee’s office. The Act includes automatic expungement of prior civil or criminal marijuana possession charges, a key provision in the Governor’s original cannabis proposal to the General Assembly.

    Under the new law, possession and home-growing of cannabis is now legal for adults age 21 and older, and in-store sales may begin as soon as December 1. The law also establishes a framework for common-sense adult use cannabis regulation with a strong emphasis on public health and public safety.

    “This bill successfully incorporates our priorities of making sure cannabis legalization is equitable, controlled, and safe,” said Governor McKee. “In addition, it creates a process for the automatic expungement of past cannabis convictions. My Administration’s original legalization plan also included such a provision and I am thrilled that the Assembly recognized the importance of this particular issue. The end result is a win for our state both socially and economically.”

    The legislation calls for a 20 percent tax rate, split up into the 7 percent sales tax, a new 10 percent cannabis tax, and a 3 percent tax by the municipality where the marijuana is sold. In addition, the legislation makes numerous investments in the creation of an equitable, accessible cannabis retail market through the set-aside of certain application fee revenues and the reservation of a portion of new licenses for social equity applicants and worker-owned cooperatives.