Rhode Island Dispensary Being Bought by a Big Cannabis Company

Rhode Island only has 3 medical marijuana dispensaries, and one has signed a letter of intent to sell the business to Acreage Holdings, one of the largest investment firms in the marijuana industry. Former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner and a former Massachusetts governor are on its board of directors.

A nondisclosure agreement prevented Greenleaf Compassion Center dispensary from disclosing Acreage Holding’s name, according to the Providence Journal.  But the Chief Marijuana Regulator for Rhode Island, Norman Birenbaum, was not restricted by the NDA so he disclosed Acreage’s name.

The state has the final say in the potential sale of the dispensary.

Birenbaum said, “They need to make sure everything they propose complies with state regulations. Anyone who has any type of financial interest must be disclosed to us. An investor can be from another state, but they can’t have interest in more than one Rhode Island dispensary. So we have to make sure there is no conflict of interest.”

The state will fully investigate the investors’ and owners’ within the potential deal, even in other states, to ensure that their businesses are in good standing.

It’s unknown when the deal could close or if the state will intervene with the potential sale of Greenleaf Compassion Center.