2022 -- H 7593 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED
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LC003594/SUB A
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022
____________
AN ACT
RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- THE RHODE ISLAND CANNABIS ACT
Introduced By: Representatives Slater, Hull, Williams, Kazarian, Solomon, McNamara,
O'Brien, Potter, Bennett, and Morales
Date Introduced: March 01, 2022
Referred To: House Finance
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Title 21 of the General Laws entitled "FOOD AND DRUGS" is hereby
2 amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
3 CHAPTER 28.11
4 THE RHODE ISLAND CANNABIS ACT
5 21-28.11-1. Short title.
6 This chapter shall be known and may be cited as "The Rhode Island Cannabis Act".
7 21-28.11-2. Organizational structure.
8 (a) The regulation, licensing, and enforcement requirements pertaining to regulated
9 cannabis establishments shall be conducted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter by virtue of
10 an independent three (3) member commission which shall exercise all powers necessary for the
11 implementation, administration and enforcement of cannabis regulation and policy for both medical
12 and adult use cannabis.
13 (b) The commission shall work in conjunction with the cannabis advisory board which
14 shall provide advice, recommendations and proposals to the commission relative to the equitable
15 administration and regulation of cannabis, including the distribution of funds from the social equity
16 assistance fund pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
17 (c) Additionally, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter following the final issuance of
18 the commission's rules and regulations, there shall be established the "cannabis office" which shall
19 provide administrative and other support to the commission subject to this chapter and the rules
 1 and regulations promulgated by the commission pursuant hereto.
2 21-28.11-3. Definitions.
3 For purposes of this chapter, the following words, terms and phrases shall have the
4 following meanings:
5 (1) "Administrator" means the administrator of the cannabis office appointed by the
6 governor pursuant to the provisions of § 21-28.11-18.1.
7 (2) "Adult use cannabis" or "recreational cannabis" means cannabis which may be legally
8 possessed and consumed for non-medical purposes by a person who is at least twenty-one (21)
9 years of age.
10 (3) "Applicant" means a Rhode Island resident or a business entity with a principal place
11 of business located in Rhode Island to include, but not limited to, a corporation, limited liability
12 company, limited liability partnership or partnership, and in which fifty-one percent (51%) of the
13 equity in the business entity is owned by residents of Rhode Island, and the Rhode Island resident
14 or business entity has made application for issuance of a license or certificate to own or engage in
15 a cannabis business subject to the provisions of this chapter.
16 (4) ''Cannabinoid'' means any of several compounds produced by cannabis plants that have
17 medical and psychotropic effects.
18 (5) ''Cannabinoid profile" means amounts, expressed as the dry-weight percentages, of
19 delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid and cannabidiolic acid in a
20 cannabis product. Amounts of other cannabinoids may be regulated by the commission.
21 (6) "Cannabis" or "marijuana'' or ''marihuana'' means all parts of any plant of the genus
22 cannabis not excepted herein, and whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; and resin extracted
23 from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or
24 preparation of the plant, its seeds or resin including tetrahydrocannabinol; provided, however, that
25 ''cannabis'' shall not include:
26 (i) The mature stalks of the plant, fiber produced from the stalks, oil, or cake made from
27 the seeds of the plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of
28 the mature stalks, fiber, oil or cake made from the seeds of the plant or the sterilized seed of the
29 plant that is incapable of germination;
30 (ii) Hemp; or
31 (iii) The weight of any other ingredient combined with cannabis to prepare topical or oral
32 administrations, food, drink or other products.
33 (7) "Cannabis accessories" or ''marijuana accessories'' means equipment, products, devices
34 or materials of any kind that are intended or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating,
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 1 growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing,
2 testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, ingesting, inhaling or otherwise
3 introducing cannabis into the human body.
4 (8) "Cannabis advisory board" or "advisory board" means the cannabis advisory board
5 established pursuant to the provisions of § 21-28.11-6.
6 (9) ''Cannabis concentrate'' means the resin extracted from any part of the plant of the genus
7 cannabis and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of that resin
8 but shall not include the weight of any other ingredient combined with cannabis to prepare cannabis
9 products.
10 (10) ''Cannabis control commission'' or "commission" means the Rhode Island cannabis
11 control commission established by § 21-28.11-4.
12 (11) "Cannabis cultivator" or ''marijuana cultivator'' means an entity licensed to cultivate,
13 process and package cannabis, to deliver cannabis to cannabis establishments and to transfer
14 cannabis to other cannabis establishments, but not to consumers.
15 (12) "Cannabis establishment" or ''marijuana establishment'' means a cannabis cultivator,
16 cannabis testing laboratory, cannabis product manufacturer, cannabis retailer, hybrid cannabis
17 retailer or any other type of licensed cannabis-related business.
18 (13) "Cannabis office" means the office established pursuant to § 21-28.11-18.1.
19 (14) "Cannabis product manufacturer" or ''marijuana product manufacturer'' means an
20 entity licensed to obtain, manufacture, process and package cannabis and cannabis products, to
21 deliver cannabis and cannabis products to cannabis establishments and to transfer cannabis and
22 cannabis products to other cannabis establishments, but not to consumers.
23 (15) "Cannabis products" or ''marijuana products'' means products that have been
24 manufactured and contain cannabis or an extract from cannabis, including concentrated forms of
25 cannabis and products composed of cannabis and other ingredients that are intended for use or
26 consumption, including edible products, beverages, topical products, ointments, oils and tinctures.
27 (16) "Cannabis retailer" or ''marijuana retailer'' means an entity licensed pursuant to § 21-
28 28.11-10.2 to purchase and deliver cannabis and cannabis products from cannabis establishments
29 and to deliver, sell or otherwise transfer cannabis and cannabis products to cannabis establishments
30 and to consumers.
31 (17) "Cannabis testing laboratory'' means a third-party analytical testing laboratory that is
32 licensed annually by the commission, in consultation with the department of health, to collect and
33 test samples of cannabis and cannabis products pursuant to regulations issued by the commission
34 and is:
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 1 (i) Independent financially from any medical cannabis treatment center or any licensee or
2 cannabis establishment for which it conducts a test; and
3 (ii) Qualified to test cannabis in compliance with regulations promulgated by the
4 commission pursuant to this chapter. The term includes, but is not limited to, a cannabis testing
5 laboratory as provided in § 21-28.11-11.
6 (18) "Chairperson" means the chairperson of the cannabis control commission established
7 pursuant to § 21-28.11-4.
8 (19) ''Close associate'' means a person who holds a legally recognized financial interest in,
9 or is entitled to exercise power in, the business of an applicant or licensee and, by virtue of that
10 interest or power, is able to exercise a significant influence over the management or operation of a
11 cannabis establishment licensed under this chapter.
12 (20) ''Consumer'' means a person who is at least twenty-one (21) years of age, and who is
13 authorized by law to consume or use cannabis.
14 (21) ''Controlling person'' means an officer, board member or other individual who has a
15 financial or voting interest of ten percent (10%) or greater in a cannabis establishment.
16 (22) ''Cultivation batch'' means a collection of cannabis plants from the same seed or plant
17 stock that are cultivated and harvested together, and receive an identical propagation and cultivation
18 treatment, including, but not limited to: growing media, ambient conditions, watering and light
19 regimes and agricultural or hydroponic inputs. Every cannabis cultivator licensee shall assign and
20 record a unique, sequential alphanumeric identifier to each cultivation batch for the purposes of
21 production tracking, product labeling and product recalls.
22 (23) "Disproportionately impacted area" means a census tract or comparable geographic
23 area that satisfies at least one of the following criteria as determined by the commission, that:
24 (i) The area has a poverty rate of at least twenty percent (20%) according to the latest
25 federal decennial census;
26 (ii) Seventy-five percent (75%) or more of the children in the area participate in the federal
27 free lunch program according to reported statistics from the Rhode Island board of education;
28 (iii) At least twenty percent (20%) of the households in the area receive assistance under
29 the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);
30 (iv) The area has an average unemployment rate, as determined by the Rhode Island
31 department of labor and training, that is more than one hundred twenty percent (120%) of the
32 national unemployment average, as determined by the United States Department of Labor, for a
33 period of at least two (2) consecutive calendar years preceding the date of the application; or
34 (v)(A) The area has a disproportionately high rates of arrest, conviction, and incarceration
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 1 related to the sale, possession, use, cultivation, manufacture, or transportation of cannabis in
2 comparison to other communities and localities in the state; or
3 (B) The area has a history of arrests, convictions, and other law enforcement practices in a
4 certain geographic area, such as, but not limited to, precincts, zip codes, neighborhoods, and
5 political subdivisions, reflecting a disparate enforcement of cannabis prohibition during a certain
6 time period, when compared to the remainder of the state.
7 (vi) The commission shall, with recommendations from the cannabis advisory board and
8 the chief equity officer, issue guidelines to determine how to assess which communities have been
9 disproportionately impacted and how to assess if someone is a member of a community
10 disproportionately impacted.
11 (24) "Final issuance of the commission's rules and regulations" means the rules and
12 regulations adopted by the commission after compliance with requirements of chapter 35 of title
13 42 (the "administrative procedures act") and chapter 46 of title 42 (the "open meetings act") and
14 shall not include any emergency, provisional or interim rules, regulations, requirements, orders,
15 instructions or procedures.
16 (25) ''Finished cannabis'' means a usable cannabis, cannabis resin or cannabis concentrate.
17 (26) ''Hemp'' means the plant of the genus cannabis or any part of the plant, whether
18 growing or not, with a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that does not exceed three tenths
19 of one percent (0.3%) on a dry weight basis of any part of the plant of the genus cannabis, or per
20 volume or weight of cannabis product, or the combined per cent of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
21 and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid in any part of the plant of the genus cannabis regardless of moisture
22 content.
23 (27) ''Host community'' means a municipality in which a cannabis establishment or a
24 medical cannabis treatment center is located or in which an applicant has proposed locating a
25 cannabis establishment or a medical cannabis treatment center.
26 (28) "Hybrid cannabis retailer" or "hybrid compassion center" means a compassion center
27 licensed pursuant to chapter 28.6 of title 21 that is in good standing with the department of business
28 regulation and that has paid the fee pursuant to § 21-28.11-10 and has been authorized to sell non-
29 medical or adult use cannabis to consumers.
30 (29) ''Laboratory agent'' means a registered employee of a cannabis testing laboratory who
31 transports, possesses or tests cannabis.
32 (30) ''Licensee'' means a person or entity licensed by the commission pursuant to the
33 provisions of this chapter. Any business structure recognized under title 7 of the general laws,
34 including, but not limited to, corporations, partnerships, limited partnerships, limited-liability
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 1 companies, and workers' cooperatives, which is otherwise qualified, is eligible to be considered by
2 the commission as an entity licensee.
3 (31) ''Manufacture'' means to compound, blend, extract, infuse or otherwise make or
4 prepare a cannabis product.
5 (32) "Medical cannabis" means cannabis and cannabis products that satisfy the
6 requirements of chapter 28.6 of title 21 and have been given the designation of "medical cannabis"
7 or "medical marijuana" due to dose, potency and form. Medical cannabis products are only
8 available for use by patient cardholders, and may only be sold to or possessed by patient
9 cardholders, or their registered caregiver, or authorized purchaser in accordance with chapter 28.6
10 of title 21. Medical cannabis may not be sold to, possessed by, manufactured by, or used by any
11 person except as permitted pursuant to chapter 28.6 of title 21.
12 (33) "Medical cannabis treatment center" or "Medical marijuana treatment center" includes
13 a compassion center, a medical marijuana emporium, or marijuana establishment licensee who
14 operates a treatment center, as defined in § 21-28.6-3.
15 (34) "Member of an impacted family" means an individual who has a parent, legal
16 guardian, child, spouse, or dependent, or was a dependent of an individual who, prior to the
17 effective date of this chapter, was arrested for, charged with, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent
18 for any offense that is eligible for expungement under this chapter.
19 (35) "Ownership and control" means ownership of at least fifty-one percent (51%) of the
20 cannabis establishment, and control over the management and day-to-day operations of the
21 cannabis establishment, and an interest in the capital, assets, and profits and losses of the cannabis
22 establishment proportionate to percentage of ownership.
23 (36) ''Process'' or ''processing'' means to harvest, dry, cure, trim and separate parts of the
24 cannabis plant by manual or mechanical means, except it shall not include manufacture as defined
25 in this section.
26 (37) ''Production batch'' means a batch of finished plant material, cannabis resin, cannabis
27 concentrate or cannabis-infused product made at the same time, using the same methods, equipment
28 and ingredients. The commission shall require licensees to assign and record a unique, sequential
29 alphanumeric identifier to each production batch for the purposes of production tracking, product
30 labeling and product recalls. All production batches shall be traceable to one or more cannabis
31 cultivation batches.
32 (38) "Social equity applicant" means an applicant that has been disproportionately
33 impacted by criminal enforcement of marijuana laws, including individuals convicted of nonviolent
34 marijuana offenses, immediate family members of individuals convicted of nonviolent marijuana
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 1 offenses and individuals who have resided in disproportionately impacted areas for at least five (5)
2 of the last ten (10) years, as determined by the commission after consultation with the cannabis
3 advisory board, and further specified in the rules and regulations that shall identify factors and other
4 considerations to be evaluated in certifying applicants as social equity applicants, provided that
5 such applicants shall at a minimum meet one of the following criteria:
6 (i) An applicant with at least fifty-one percent (51%) ownership and control by one or more
7 individuals who have resided for at least five (5) of the preceding ten (10) years in a
8 disproportionately impacted area.
9 (ii) An applicant with at least fifty-one percent (51%) ownership and control by one or
10 more individuals who:
11 (A) Have been arrested for, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for any offense that is
12 eligible for expungement under t