RI Office of Cannabis Regulation has a new chief, a former policy director for Raimondo

RI Office of Cannabis Regulation has a new chief, a former policy director for RaimondoPROVIDENCE — The state Office of Cannabis Regulation, which is spearheading the effort to add six new medical marijuana dispensaries in Rhode Island, has a new chief, Matthew Santacroce, a former policy director for Gov. Santacroce, who left the Raimondo administration in 2018 and most recently worked at The Policy Lab, a collaborative think tank run by Brown University, began his new job in cannabis regulation just weeks ago. He will direct the eight-member cannabis regulation office created a few years ago to reform and better regulate the state’s medical marijuana program. More: Who will win the lottery to run Rhode Island’s six new medical marijuana dispensaries? One of those immediate priorities is the planned expansion of six new medical marijuana dispensaries, pitched by Raimondo as a way to improve access to medical marijuana to patients around the state and to encourage more price competition.