Title 21, Title 21 and Drugs

The monies, when allocated, shall be paid out of the opioid stewardship fund and subject to the approval of the secretary and the approvals of the directors of the departments of health and behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals, pursuant to the provision…

If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or section of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sente…

The secretary may prescribe rules and regulations, not inconsistent with law, to carry into effect the provisions of this chapter 28.10 of title 21, which rules and regulations, when reasonably designed to carry out the intent and purpose of this chapter, are prima facie evidence…

The employee responsible for performing fiscal functions associated with the management of the opioid stewardship fund within the department of health shall be transferred to the executive office.

All manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers licensed or registered under this title or chapter 19.1 of title 5 (hereinafter referred to as “licensees”), that manufacture or distribute opioids shall be required to pay an opioid registration fee. On an annual basis, the secret…

(1) The total opioid stewardship fund amount shall be five million dollars ($5,000,000) annually, subject to downward adjustments pursuant to § 21-28.10-7. (2) Each manufacturer’s, distributor’s, and wholesaler’s annual opioid registration fee shall be based on that licensee’s in…

(a) Each manufacturer, distributor, and wholesaler licensed to manufacture or distribute opioids in the state of Rhode Island shall provide to the secretary a report detailing all opioids sold or distributed by that manufacturer or distributor in the state of Rhode Island. Such r…

The licensee shall make payments annually to the executive office with the first payment of its market share due on December 31, 2019; provided, that the amount due on December 31, 2019, shall be for the full amount of the payment for the 2018 calendar year, with subsequent payme…

In any year for which the secretary determines that a licensee failed to report information required by this chapter, those licensees complying with this chapter shall receive a reduced assessment of their market share in the following year equal to the amount in excess of any ov…

(a) A licensee shall be afforded an opportunity to submit information to the secretary documenting or evidencing that the market share provided to the licensee (or amounts paid thereunder), pursuant to § 21-28.10-3(4), is in error or otherwise not warranted. The executive office …

By January of each calendar year, the department of health, the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals, the executive office, the department of children, youth and families, the Rhode Island department of education, the Rhode Island office o…

(a) The executive office may assess a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) per day against any licensee that fails to comply with this chapter. (b)(1) In addition to any other civil penalty provided by law, where a licensee has failed to pay its …

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as “The Rhode Island Cannabis Act”.

(a) On or after December 1, 2022, a compassion center licensed pursuant to the provisions of chapter 28.6 of this title, upon payment to the office of cannabis regulation of an hybrid cannabis retailer fee of one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($125,000) to be deposited in …

(a) To protect public health and public safety, upon the effective date of this chapter [May 25, 2022] until final issuance of the commission’s rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, there shall exist a transitional period of regulatory and …

(a) In addition to the hybrid cannabis retailer certificates that may be issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, after issuance of the final rules and regulations, the commission may grant twenty-four (24) retail licenses, subject to the following restrictions: (1) The…

For purposes of issuance of cannabis retail licenses by the commission pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, the following geographic zones are established: (1) Zone 1 shall consist of the towns of Burrillville, Cumberland, Glocester, North Smithfield, Smithfield and the ci…

No later than April 1, 2024, the commission shall, in collaboration with the department of health and the office of management and budget, conduct and deliver to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the president of the senate a study relating to the imp…

(a) In consultation with the department of health, the commission shall have authority to promulgate regulations to create and implement all licenses involving cannabis reference testing requirements, including approval of laboratory proficiency programs and proficiency sample pr…

(a) The commission by rule or regulation may promulgate rules and regulations to establish the registration or licensing of an individual who performs work for or on behalf of a person or entity licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter to include, but not be limited to…

(a) The commission shall require all applicants for license and registration under this chapter to undergo a national criminal background check prior to issuing any license or registration. The applicant shall apply to the bureau of criminal identification of the department of at…

(a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) “Bona fide labor organization” is a labor union that represents or is actively seeking to represent cannabis workers. (2) “Labor peace agreement” means an agreement between a licensee…

(a) The following taxes are imposed on the retail sale of adult use cannabis pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. (1) Sales tax pursuant to the provisions of § 44-18-18; (2) A state cannabis excise tax equal to ten percent (10%) of each retail sale as defined in § 44-18-8;…

No fee, tax, charge or expense shall be assessed or collected by or on behalf of a municipality from an individual licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, except for any fee, tax, charge or expense generally assessed or collected from residents or businesses located …

(a) Other than a city or town that is a host community for an existing licensed medical cannabis treatment center, any city or town may, by resolution of the city or town council, cause to be printed on the ballot in an election held on or before November 8, 2022, the following q…

(a) A city or town may adopt ordinances and by-laws that impose reasonable safeguards on the operation of cannabis establishments, provided they are not unreasonable and impracticable and are not in conflict with this chapter or with regulations made pursuant to this chapter and …

(a) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed as establishing a right in any person or entity to be issued a license or certificate pursuant to this chapter. (b) The commission shall exercise discretion to issue licenses and certificates to further the purposes of this…

(a) Upon receipt of a complete cannabis establishment license application and the application fee, the commission shall forward a copy of the application to the city or town in which the cannabis establishment is to be located, determine whether the applicant and the premises qua…

(a)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if the commission has cause to believe that a violation of any provision of chapters 21-28.6 or 21-28.11 or any regulations promulgated thereunder has occurred by a licensee that is under the commission’s jurisdiction pu…

(a) There is hereby established the “cannabis office”. The director of the department of business regulation shall grant to the cannabis office reasonable access to appropriate physical accommodations and expert and other appropriate staff. (b) Upon final issuance of the commissi…

(a) No person or entity licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter or chapter 28.6 of this title, except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, shall be granted more than one license. (b) No licensee shall own, control, manage or operate any other entity licensed…

(a) The regulation, licensing, and enforcement requirements pertaining to regulated cannabis establishments shall be conducted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter by virtue of an independent three (3) member commission which shall exercise all powers necessary for the impl…

(a) As a condition of licensure, cannabis establishments are subject to inspection by the commission or personnel designated by the commission. Inspections shall occur periodically, at reasonable times and shall be limited in scope to determine compliance with the provisions of t…

(a) Except pursuant to § 21-28.11-10(e), all licenses under this chapter shall be effective for one year from the date of issuance. (b) Subject to rules and regulations, the commission shall issue a renewal license within thirty (30) days of receipt of a renewal application and r…

(a) Notwithstanding any other general or special law to the contrary, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a person twenty-one (21) years of age or older shall not be arrested, prosecuted, penalized, sanctioned or disqualified under the laws of the state in any manner, o…

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a person twenty-one (21) years of age or older shall not be arrested, prosecuted, penalized, sanctioned or disqualified and shall not be subject to seizure or forfeiture of a…

(a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, except as otherwise provided in this chapter or in rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, the following persons involved in the distribution of cannabis as authorized by this chapte…

It is the public policy of the state that contracts related to the operation of cannabis establishments under this chapter shall be enforceable. A contract entered into by a licensee or its agents as permitted pursuant to a valid license issued by the commission, or by those who …

A person engaged in a profession or occupation subject to licensure shall not be subject to disciplinary action by a professional licensing board solely for providing professional services to prospective or licensed cannabis establishments related to activity under this chapter t…

(a) Every person who engages in any activity regulated by this chapter without a license or registration required by the provisions of this chapter may be prosecuted and punished pursuant to the provisions of chapter 28 of this title (the “uniform controlled substances act”) or o…

A cannabis establishment shall not allow any person who is under twenty-one (21) years of age to be present inside any room where cannabis or cannabis products are stored, produced, or sold by the cannabis establishment unless the person who is under twenty-one (21) years of age …

The department of behavioral healthcare, development disabilities and hospitals (BHDDH) shall develop substance abuse prevention programs and student assistance programs for youth pursuant to chapters 21.2 and 21.3 of title 16, and in accordance with the criteria set forth in §§ …

Any liability to the state under this chapter shall constitute a debt to the state. Once a statement of debt naming a licensee is recorded, registered or filed, any such debt shall constitute a lien on all commercial property owned by a licensee in the state and shall have priori…

(a) This chapter shall not permit: (1) Any person to undertake any task under the influence of cannabis when doing so would constitute negligence or professional malpractice; (2) The smoking or vaporizing of cannabis: (i) In a school bus or other form of public transportation; (i…

For purposes of this chapter, the following words, terms and phrases shall have the following meanings: (1) “Administrator” means the administrator of the cannabis office appointed by the governor pursuant to the provisions of § 21-28.11-18.1. (2) “Adult use cannabis” or “recreat…

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to preempt or limit the duties of any employer under applicable law, or shall permit an employer to require an employee to disclose sealed or expunged offenses, unless otherwise required by law.