Medical cannabis lottery delayed for appeal in Rhode Island

State regulators say the lottery to award licenses to operate six new medical cannabis facilities has been delayed due to an ongoing appeal of a rejected lottery applicant.

The administrative appeal first delayed the lottery in the spring and now it will not happen the first week of August either, the Providence Journal reported.

Matthew Santacroce, chief of the Office of Cannabis Regulation within the Department of Business Regulation, said Tuesday that the lottery will not be scheduled until the appeal has run its course and it remains unclear how long that could take.

The new facilities will be dispersed around the state in six regions, joining the dispensaries in Providence, Portsmouth and Warwick.