§ 21-28.11-3 — § 21-28.11-3. Definitions.

Rhode Island § 21-28.11-3

• Jurisdiction: Rhode Island
• Title 21: Food And Drugs
• Ch. 21-28.11: The Rhode Island Cannabis Act

Text

§ 21-28.11-3. Definitions.

For purposes of this chapter, the following words, terms and phrases shall have the following meanings:

(1) "Administratorâ€� 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. 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 boardâ€� or "advisory boardâ€� 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 commissionâ€� or "commissionâ€� 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.

(13) "Cannabis officeâ€� 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 retailerâ€� or "marijuana retailerâ€� 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) "Chairpersonâ€� 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 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 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 retailerâ€� or "hybrid compassion centerâ€� 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 centerâ€� or "Medical marijuana treatment centerâ€� 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 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:

(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.

Legislative History

P.L. 2022, ch. 31, § 1, effective May 25, 2022; P.L. 2022, ch. 32, § 1, effective May 25, 2022.