Discrepancies have been discovered in Rhode Island’s cannabis sales data reports, with variances totaling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars across various months. Kimberly Ahern, Chair of the Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission, addressed these issues during a recent interview, saying that these discrepancies did not impact the overall top-line sales figures, which have shown a consistent upward trend since the start of adult-use sales in December 2022. Chair Ahern attributed the errors to the transition from a paper-based tracking system to a dynamic seed-to-sale tracking system. The numbers have since been corrected.
Rhode Island’s cannabis market is still in its nascent stages, with the Cannabis Control Commission preparing to issue two dozen new adult-use retail licenses, a big step for the industry’s future. Ahern underscored the significance of taking time to learning from other states’ experiences in order to establish a fair set of rules to govern the industry. Despite the initial bureaucratic complexities of setting up this new agency, Ahern says that the Commission remains committed to a responsible and thoughtful rollout of the adult-use cannabis market in Rhode Island, with an emphasis on social equity and consumer safety.
Find the full interview with Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission Chair Kimberly Ahern on WPRI 12 News via YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm6QJqIyMOU
