The cannabis industry is growing in Rhode Island – from small businesses to big ones. Out-of-state corporations and big-name investors from all over are betting on the smallest state in the country. With Rhode Island on the brink of expanding medical marijuana – not to mention millions of dollars on the line – is the Ocean State ready for legalization? In the video below, 12 on 12 digs into that very question.
WATCH 12 ON 12: The Business of Cannabis
DIGITAL EXTRAS: The Control Room | Dispensary Locations | Legalization Survey | Cannabis By The Numbers
THE ‘CONTROL ROOM’
The Business of Cannabis is a multimillion-dollar industry requiring sophisticated safeguards and security. Target 12 Investigator Walt Buteau takes you inside the “control room” at Rhode Island’s Department of Business Regulation, where employees can watch all of the marijuana businesses on a network of surveillance cameras.
DISPENSARY LOCATIONS
On this map, you can see where the current medical marijuana dispensaries are located and where future ones may open up. Under the governor’s proposal for awarding new licenses, each of the six zones highlighted on the map would get a dispensary.
CANNABIS BY THE NUMBERS
The slideshow below provides a visual picture of the Business of Cannabis in Rhode Island.
The state has licensed 51 cultivators to grow marijuana, and has approved 27 more that are awaiting licenses. The cultivators can only sell their product to the three existing dispensaries, called compassion centers. 
As more cultivators come online and demand rises, so has their revenue. The cultivators made a combined $9.6 million selling to compassion centers last fiscal year. 
The annual fee to be a compassion center has multiplied exponentially, from $5,000 in 2017 to $500,000 today. 
The state of Rhode Island made more than $8.6 million in revenue from cannabis last year. The number includes sales taxes, a compassion center surcharge, and various fees charged to licensed marijuana companies. 
Documents revealed the names of all investors in Rhode Island licensed cannabis companies, including where they live. Investors from 21 states and Canada are backing R.I. cannabis. 
The number of caregivers who grow cannabis at home for medical patients has dropped, as the Raimondo administration tightens the reins on home grows. 
Patient cardholders have steadily risen every year in Rhode Island, with the exception of this year. The Department of Health attributes the small dip to certain patients opting for less expensive out-of-state cards. Unlike Rhode Island, some states don’t require regular doctor appointments to maintain a medical marijuana card.
SURVEY: TO LEGALIZE OR NOT TO LEGALIZE?
**Editor’s note: This is an online opinion survey, not a scientific poll.**
THE BUSINESS OF CANNABIS Q&A
CREDITS
Executive Producer/Reporter/Editor – Steph Machado
Additional Reporting – Walt Buteau
Chief Photojournalists – Corey Welch & John Villella
Graphic Designer – Lisa Mandarini
Producers – Darren Soens & Hannah Dickison
Digital Content Producers – Nick Blair, Lee Dooley & Nancy Krause
Additional Videography – Jim Hughes
Special Thanks – Eli Sherman, Tim White, Beth Fernandes, Ted Nesi & Karen Rezendes
