RI dispensaries start to sell recreational pot: Everything you need to know

Rhode Island has licensed five of its six operating medical marijuana dispensaries to begin selling the drug for recreational use as well starting Dec. 1, when the state’s legalization goes into effect.

The newest of those five businesses opened for medical sales last week. Mother Earth Wellness, in Pawtucket, opened at 125 Esten Ave., and co-owner Joseph Pakuris said then “people are showing up.”

Recreational sales are expected to eclipse medical sales quickly, he said, especially with the number of registered medical marijuana patients in Rhode Island continuing to decline.

“I think 70% of the business will be recreational,” said Pakuris.

Which dispensaries will sell marijuana in Rhode Island on December first?

The dispensaries now licensed to sell the drug for recreational use are:

∎ Aura of Rhode Island, 1136 Lonsdale Ave., Central Falls,

∎ Mother Earth Wellness, in Pawtucket, at 125 Esten Ave., Pawtucket

∎ The Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center, 1 Corliss St., Providence

∎ Greenleaf Compassionate Care Center, 1637 West Main Road, Portsmouth;

∎ RISE Warwick, formerly the Summit Medical Compassion Center, on Jefferson Boulevard, Warwick

Rhode Island’s sixth operating medical marijuana dispensary, Sweetspot Dispensary, in South Kingstown, “has not yet submitted an application” to also sell recreational cannabis, said Matthew Santacroce, interim deputy director for the Department of Business Regulation.

[Read more at The Providence Journal]