2026 -- H 7716

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LC004932

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- THE RHODE ISLAND CANNABIS ACT

     Introduced By: Representative Scott Slater

     Date Introduced: February 12, 2026

     Referred To: House Corporations

     (Cannabis Control Commission)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 21-28.11-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 21-28.11 entitled "The

Rhode Island Cannabis Act" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     21-28.11-3. Definitions.

     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 “recreational cannabis” means cannabis which may be legally

possessed and consumed for non-medical purposes by a person who is at least twenty-one (21)

years of age.

     (3) “Applicant” means a Rhode Island resident or a business entity with a principal place

of business located in Rhode Island to include, but not limited to, a corporation, limited liability

company, limited liability partnership or partnership, and in which fifty-one percent (51%) of the

equity in the business entity is owned by residents of Rhode Island, and the Rhode Island resident

or business entity has made application for issuance of a license or certificate to own or engage in

a cannabis business subject to the provisions of this chapter.

     (4) “Cannabinoid’' means any of several compounds produced by cannabis plants that have

medical and psychotropic effects.

     (5) “Cannabinoid profile” means amounts, expressed as the dry-weight percentages, of

delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid and cannabidiolic acid in a

cannabis product expressed in a form and manner determined by the commission. Amounts of other

cannabinoids may be regulated by the commission.

     (6) “Cannabis” or “marijuana” or “marihuana” means all parts of any plant of the genus

cannabis not excepted herein, and whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; and resin extracted

from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or

preparation of the plant, its seeds or resin including tetrahydrocannabinol; provided, however, that

“cannabis” shall not include:

     (i) The mature stalks of the plant, fiber produced from the stalks, oil, or cake made from

the seeds of the plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of

the mature stalks, fiber, oil or cake made from the seeds of the plant or the sterilized seed of the

plant that is incapable of germination;

     (ii) Hemp; or

     (iii) The weight of any other ingredient combined with cannabis to prepare topical or oral

administrations, food, drink or other products.

     (7) “Cannabis accessories” or “marijuana accessories” means equipment, products, devices

or materials of any kind that are intended or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating,

growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing,

testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, ingesting, inhaling or otherwise

introducing cannabis into the human body.

     (8) “Cannabis advisory board” or “advisory board” means the cannabis advisory board

established pursuant to the provisions of § 21-28.11-6.

     (9) “Cannabis concentrate” means the resin extracted from any part of the plant of the

genus cannabis and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of that

resin but shall not include the weight of any other ingredient combined with cannabis to prepare

cannabis products.

     (10) “Cannabis control commission” or “commission” means the Rhode Island cannabis

control commission established by § 21-28.11-4.

     (11) “Cannabis cultivator” or “marijuana cultivator” means an entity licensed to cultivate,

process and package cannabis, to deliver cannabis to cannabis establishments and to transfer

cannabis to other cannabis establishments, but not to consumers.

     (12) “Cannabis establishment” or “marijuana establishment” means a cannabis cultivator,

cannabis testing laboratory, cannabis product manufacturer, cannabis retailer, hybrid cannabis

retailer or any other type of licensed cannabis-related business.

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     (13) “Cannabis office” means the office established pursuant to § 21-28.11-18.1.

     (14) “Cannabis product manufacturer” or “marijuana product manufacturer”' means an

entity licensed to obtain, manufacture, process and package cannabis and cannabis products, to

deliver cannabis and cannabis products to cannabis establishments and to transfer cannabis and

cannabis products to other cannabis establishments, but not to consumers.

     (15) “Cannabis products” or “marijuana products” means products that have been

manufactured and contain cannabis or an extract from cannabis, including concentrated forms of

cannabis and products composed of cannabis and other ingredients that are intended for use or

consumption, including edible products, beverages, topical products, ointments, oils and tinctures.

     (16) “Cannabis retailer” or “marijuana retailer” means an entity licensed pursuant to § 21-

28.11-10.2 to purchase and deliver cannabis and cannabis products from cannabis establishments

and to deliver, sell or otherwise transfer cannabis and cannabis products to cannabis establishments

and to consumers.

     (17) “Cannabis testing laboratory’' means a third-party analytical testing laboratory that is

licensed annually by the commission, in consultation with the department of health, to collect and

test samples of cannabis and cannabis products pursuant to regulations issued by the commission

and is:

     (i) Independent financially from any medical cannabis treatment center or any licensee or

cannabis establishment for which it conducts a test; and

     (ii) Qualified to test cannabis in compliance with regulations promulgated by the

commission pursuant to this chapter. The term includes, but is not limited to, a cannabis testing

laboratory as provided in § 21-28.11-11.

     (18) “Chairperson” means the chairperson of the cannabis control commission established

pursuant to § 21-28.11-4.

     (19) “Close associate” means a person who holds a legally recognized financial interest in,

or is entitled to exercise power in, the business of an applicant or licensee and, by virtue of that

interest or power, is able to exercise a significant influence over the management or operation of a

cannabis establishment licensed under this chapter.

     (20) “Consumer” means a person who is at least twenty-one (21) years of age, and who is

authorized by law to consume or use cannabis.

     (21) “Controlling person” means an officer, board member or other individual who has a

financial or voting interest of ten percent (10%) or greater in a cannabis establishment.

     (22) “Cultivation batch” means a collection of cannabis plants from the same seed or plant

stock that are cultivated and harvested together, and receive an identical propagation and cultivation

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treatment, including, but not limited to: growing media, ambient conditions, watering and light

regimes and agricultural or hydroponic inputs. Every cannabis cultivator licensee shall assign and

record a unique, sequential alphanumeric identifier to each cultivation batch for the purposes of

production tracking, product labeling and product recalls.

     (23) “Disproportionately impacted area” means a census tract or comparable geographic

area that satisfies at least one of the following criteria as determined by the commission, that:

     (i) The area has a poverty rate of at least twenty percent (20%) according to the latest

federal decennial census;

     (ii) Seventy-five percent (75%) or more of the children in the area participate in the federal

free lunch program according to reported statistics from the Rhode Island board of education;

     (iii) At least twenty percent (20%) of the households in the area receive assistance under

the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);

     (iv) The area has an average unemployment rate, as determined by the Rhode Island

department of labor and training, that is more than one hundred twenty percent (120%) of the

national unemployment average, as determined by the United States Department of Labor, for a

period of at least two (2) consecutive calendar years preceding the date of the application; or

     (v)(A) The area has disproportionately high rates of arrest, conviction, and incarceration

related to the sale, possession, use, cultivation, manufacture, or transportation of cannabis in

comparison to other communities and localities in the state; or

     (B) The area has a history of arrests, convictions, and other law enforcement practices in a

certain geographic area, such as, but not limited to, precincts, zip codes, neighborhoods, and

political subdivisions, reflecting a disparate enforcement of cannabis prohibition during a certain

time period, when compared to the remainder of the state.

     (vi) The commission shall, with recommendations from the cannabis advisory board and

the chief equity officer, issue guidelines to determine how to assess which communities have been

disproportionately impacted and how to assess if someone is a member of a community

disproportionately impacted.

     (24) “Final issuance of the commission’s rules and regulations” means the rules and

regulations adopted by the commission after compliance with requirements of chapter 35 of title

42 (the “administrative procedures act”) and chapter 46 of title 42 (the “open meetings act”) and

shall not include any emergency, provisional or interim rules, regulations, requirements, orders,

instructions or procedures.

     (25) “Finished cannabis” means a usable cannabis, cannabis resin or cannabis concentrate.

     (26) “Hemp” means the plant of the genus cannabis or any part of the plant, whether

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growing or not, with a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that does not exceed three tenths

of one percent (0.3%) on a dry weight basis of any part of the plant of the genus cannabis, or per

volume or weight of cannabis product, or the combined per cent of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol

and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid in any part of the plant of the genus cannabis regardless of moisture

content.

     (27) “Host community” means a municipality in which a cannabis establishment or a

medical cannabis treatment center is located or in which an applicant has proposed locating a

cannabis establishment or a medical cannabis treatment center.

     (28) “Hybrid cannabis retailer” or “hybrid compassion center” means a compassion center

licensed pursuant to chapter 28.6 of this title that is in good standing with the department of business

regulation and that has paid the fee pursuant to § 21-28.11-10 and has been authorized to sell non-

medical or adult use cannabis to consumers.

     (29) “Laboratory agent” means a registered employee of a cannabis testing laboratory who

transports, possesses or tests cannabis.

     (30) “Licensee” means a person or entity licensed by the commission pursuant to the

provisions of this chapter. Any business structure recognized under title 7, including, but not limited

to, corporations, partnerships, limited partnerships, limited-liability companies, and workers’

cooperatives, which is otherwise qualified, is eligible to be considered by the commission as an

entity licensee.

     (31) “Manufacture” means to compound, blend, extract, infuse or otherwise make or

prepare a cannabis product.

     (32) “Medical cannabis” means cannabis and cannabis products that satisfy the

requirements of chapter 28.6 of this title and have been given the designation of “medical cannabis”

or “medical marijuana” due to dose, potency and form. Medical cannabis products are only

available for use by patient cardholders, and may only be sold to or possessed by patient

cardholders, or their registered caregiver, or authorized purchaser in accordance with chapter 28.6

of this title. Medical cannabis may not be sold to, possessed by, manufactured by, or used by any

person except as permitted pursuant to chapter 28.6 of this title.

     (33) “Medical cannabis treatment center” or “Medical marijuana treatment center” includes

a compassion center, a medical marijuana emporium, or marijuana establishment licensee who

operates a treatment center, as defined in § 21-28.6-3.

     (34) “Member of an impacted family” means an individual who has a parent, legal

guardian, child, spouse, or dependent, or was a dependent of an individual who, prior to the

effective date of this chapter, was arrested for, charged with, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent

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for any offense that is eligible for expungement under this chapter.

     (35) “Ownership and control” means ownership of at least fifty-one percent (51%) of the

cannabis establishment, and control over the management and day-to-day operations of the

cannabis establishment, and an interest in the capital, assets, and profits and losses of the cannabis

establishment proportionate to percentage of ownership.

     (36) “Process” or “processing” means to harvest, dry, cure, trim and separate parts of the

cannabis plant by manual or mechanical means, except it shall not include manufacture as defined

in this section.

     (37) “Production batch” means a batch of finished plant material, cannabis resin, cannabis

concentrate or cannabis-infused product made at the same time, using the same methods, equipment

and ingredients. The commission shall require licensees to assign and record a unique, sequential

alphanumeric identifier to each production batch for the purposes of production tracking, product

labeling and product recalls. All production batches shall be traceable to one or more cannabis

cultivation batches.

     (38) “Residual solvent” means a volatile organic chemical used in the manufacture of a

cannabis product and that is not completely removed by practical manufacturing techniques.

     (39) “Social equity applicant” means an applicant that has been disproportionately

impacted by criminal enforcement of marijuana laws, including individuals convicted of nonviolent

marijuana offenses, immediate family members of individuals convicted of nonviolent marijuana

offenses and individuals who have resided in disproportionately impacted areas for at least five (5)

of the last ten (10) years, as determined by the commission after consultation with the cannabis

advisory board, and further specified in the rules and regulations that shall identify factors and other

considerations to be evaluated in certifying applicants as social equity applicants, provided that

such applicants shall at a minimum meet one of the following criteria:

     (i) An applicant with at least fifty-one percent (51%) ownership and control by one or more

individuals who have resided for at least five (5) of the preceding ten (10) years in a

disproportionately impacted area.

     (ii) An applicant with at least fifty-one percent (51%) ownership and control by one or

more individuals who:

     (A) Have been arrested for, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for any offense that is

eligible for expungement under this chapter; or

     (B) Is a member of an impacted family.

     (iii) For applicants with a minimum of ten (10) full-time employees, an applicant with at

least fifty-one percent (51%) of current employees who:

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     (A) Currently reside in a disproportionately impacted area; or

     (B) Have been arrested for, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for any offense that is

eligible for expungement under this chapter or is a member of an impacted family.

     (iv) Can demonstrate significant past experience in or business practices that promote

economic empowerment in disproportionally impacted areas.

     (v) Had income which does not exceed four hundred percent (400%) of the median income,

as defined by the commission, in a disproportionally impacted area for at least five (5) of the past

ten (10) years.

     (40) “Terpenoid” means an isoprene that are the aromatic compounds found in cannabis,

including, but not limited to: limonene, myrcene, pinene, linalool, eucalyptol, Δ-terpinene, ß-

caryophyllene, caryophyllene oxide, nerolidol and phytol.

     (41) “Unreasonable and impracticable” means that the measures necessary to comply with

the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter subject licensees to unreasonable risk or

require such a high investment of money, time or any other resource or asset that a reasonably

prudent businessperson would not operate a cannabis establishment.

     (42) “Workers’ cooperative” means an applicant organized and operated pursuant to the

provisions of chapter 6.2 of title 7.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- THE RHODE ISLAND CANNABIS ACT

***

     This act would update the Rhode Island cannabis act to remove the current requirement to

express cannabinoids as the dry-weight percentages.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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