Rhode Island
17,994
Registered Patient Population |
1.69%
of Total Population Represented by Patients |
3
Total Medical Retail Locations Currently in Operation |
5,998 : 1
Patients : Retail |
In-state patients with a Rhode Island registry ID card may use, possess and cultivate cannabis. Patients may possess up to 2.5 ounces of usable cannabis and may cultivate up to 12 plants. Patients may appoint up to two primary caregivers for assistance or designate a compassion center. Rhode Island allows any patient with a valid medical cannabis card in physical form to purchase from in state dispensaries. Patients report that the limited number of dispensaries in the state as their main barrier to access.
 Patient Rights and Civil Protection |
84/100 |
|
| Arrest Protection |
40/40 |
| Affirmative Defense |
15/15 |
| Parental Rights Protections |
5/10 |
| DUI Protections |
0/5 |
| Employment Protections |
4/5 |
| Explicit Privacy Standards |
7/7 |
| Housing Protections |
5/5 |
| Does Not Create New Criminal Penalties for Patients |
5/5 |
| Organ Transplants |
0/5 |
| Reciprocity |
3/3 |
|
|
Access to Medicine |
81/100 |
|
| Allows Distribution Programs |
28/40 |
| – Allows Access to Dried Flowers |
15/15 |
| – Allows Delivery |
5/5 |
| – No Sales Tax or Reasonable Sales Tax |
4/5 |
| – Allows for a Reasonable Number of Dispensaries |
3/5 |
| – Does Not Require Vertical Integration |
0/2 |
| – Ownership/Employment Restrictions |
1/2 |
| – Provisions for Labor Standards |
0/2 |
| – Environmental Impact Regulations |
0/2 |
| – Choice of Dispensary Without Restrictions |
0/2 |
| Noncommercial Cultivation |
16/20 |
| – Personal Cultivation |
15/15 |
| – Collective Gardening |
1/5 |
| Explicit Right to Edibles/Concentrates/Other Forms |
9/10 |
| Does not Impose Bans or Limits on THC |
10/10 |
| Does not Impose Bans on CBD |
10/10 |
| Local Bans/Zoning |
8/10 |
|
|
Ease of Navigation |
85/100 |
|
| Comprehensive Qualifying Conditions |
45/50 |
| Adding New Conditions |
6/10 |
| – Law/Regulations Allow for New Conditions |
5/5 |
| – System Works for Adding New Conditions |
1/5 |
| Reasonable Access for Minors |
9/10 |
| Reasonable Caregiver Background Checks |
3/4 |
| Number of Caregivers |
2/2 |
| Patient/Practitioner-Focused Task Force or Advisory Board |
0/2 |
| Reasonable Fees (Patients and Caregivers) |
8/10 |
| Allows Multiple-Year Registrations |
2/2 |
| Reasonable Physician Requirements |
5/5 |
| Does Not Classify Cannabis as a Medicine of Last Resort |
5/5 |
|
|
Functionality |
83/100 |
|
| Patients Able to Access Medicine at Dispensaries or by Cultivation |
45/50 |
| No Significant Administrative or Supply Problems |
11/15 |
| Patients Can Receive Legal Protections Within Reasonable Time Frame of Doctor's Recommendation |
9/10 |
| Reasonable Possession Limits |
4/5 |
| Reasonable Purchase Limits |
4/5 |
| Allows Patients to Medicate Where They Choose |
4/5 |
| Covered by Insurance/State Health Aid |
0/3 |
| Financial Hardship (Fee Waivers/Discount Medicine) |
6/7 |
|
|
Consumer Safety and Provider Requirements |
35.13/100 |
|
| Dispensing |
10/25 |
| Staff Training |
5/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
3/5 |
| – Facility Sanitary Conditions |
0/1.25 |
| – Storage Protocols |
1/1.25 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
1/1.25 |
| – Inventory Control |
1/1.25 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
1/5 |
| Product Labeling |
1/5 |
| – Product Contents, Including Source Material Identification |
1/1.67 |
| – Allergens |
0/1.67 |
| – Potency/Compound Identification |
0/1.67 |
| Required Testing |
0/5 |
| – Active Compound Identification |
0/1.67 |
| – Contaminants |
0/1.67 |
| – Potency |
0/1.67 |
| Grow/Cultivation |
9.13/25 |
| Staff Training |
5/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
2.13/5 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
0/0.71 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
0/0.71 |
| – Storage Protocols (Short-Term and Long-Term Storage) |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Batch and Lot Tracking |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Disposal/Waste |
0/0.71 |
| – Water Management |
0/0.71 |
| Pesticide Guidance |
0/5 |
| – Pesticide Guidance |
0/2.5 |
| – Pesticide Labeling |
0/2.5 |
| Required Testing |
2/5 |
| – Active Ingredient Identification |
1/1.25 |
| – Contaminants |
0/1.25 |
| – Potency |
1/1.25 |
| – Sample Retention |
0/1.25 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
0/5 |
| Manufacturing |
12/25 |
| Staff Training |
5/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
3/5 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
0/1 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
0/1 |
| – Storage Protocols |
1/1 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
1/1 |
| – Batch and Lot Tracking |
1/1 |
| Product Labeling |
2/5 |
| – Product Contents, Including Source Material Identification |
1/1.67 |
| – Allergens |
0/1.67 |
| – Potency and Compound Information |
1/1.67 |
| Required Testing |
2/5 |
| – Active Ingredient Identification |
1/1 |
| – Contaminants |
0/1 |
| – Potency |
1/1 |
| – Shelf Life Testing |
0/1 |
| – Sample Retention |
0/1 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
0/5 |
| Laboratory Operations |
4/25 |
| Staff Training |
2/5 |
| Method Validation in Accordance with AHP Guidelines |
0/5 |
| Result Reporting |
0/5 |
| Independent or Third Party |
2/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures and Protocols |
0/5 |
| – Equipment and Instrument Calibration |
0/0.83 |
| – Sample Tracking |
0/0.83 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
0/0.83 |
| – Disposal/Waste |
0/0.83 |
| – Storage Protocols |
0/0.83 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
0/0.83 |
|
|
Covid Response |
20/20
|
|
| Delivery Available? |
6/6
|
| Curbside Pickup Available? |
2/2
|
| Medical Cannabis Essential? |
7/7
|
| Telemedicine Available? |
5/5
|
|
| Excerpted from ASA's 2020 State of the States Report. |
In This Section
The Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act was passed by the state legislature and signed into law on January 3, 2006 and went into effect immediately. The bill’s sunset clause was removed on renewal of the law in 2007. Not-for-profit compassion centers for the distribution of medical cannabis were authorized by law in 2009. Licensing of the centers is done by the Rhode Island Department of Health. Gov. Lincoln Chafee suspended licensing of compassion centers in October 2011 in response to threats from federal prosecutors, then resumed the program in January 2012 after background checks and additional plant limits were added to the licensing requirements.
It is legal for a patient with a Rhode Island registry ID card to use marijuana for medical purposes. Patients may also grow marijuana and appoint a primary caregiver for assistance.
Medical professionals recommending medical cannabis must be a licensed physician in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, or Connecticut, have a practitioner-patient relationship with the qualifying patient and complete a full assessment of the patient's medical history.
The State of Medical Marijuana in Rhode Island
