The purpose of this rule is to describe the licensing and regulation requirements of industrial hemp growth, production, distribution and retail sales as provided for in the Hemp Growth Act, R.I. General Laws Chapter 2-26. In accordance with amendments made to the Hemp Growth Act, as amended by H5076 effective July 1, 2025, regulatory authority over the state’s industrial hemp program has transferred from the Department of Business Regulation (“DBR”) to the Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission (“Commission”). As a result of the legislative amendment, which did not contain any transitionary time period between DBR and the Commission, upon enactment the DBR regulations governing the Industrial Hemp Program, 230-RICR-80-10-1, were rendered unenforceable by DBR and the Commission was required to immediately promulgate its own regulations to ensure a regulatory framework was in place for existing licensees and to maintain public safety.
As a result, the Commission immediately promulgated the existing DBR regulations under the Commission’s regulatory title as an emergency rule, with only minimal changes made to the text of the regulations to effectuate the aforementioned transition of authority between DBR and the Commission. The enacted emergency rule allowed the Commission to transition the existing hemp program—which, among other things, oversees the sale of intoxicating hemp products—to the Commission’s jurisdiction, maintain continuity for existing licensees and consumers, ensure there was no lapse in enforcement, and mitigate public safety concerns while ensuring the maintenance of public health.
Through this proposed rulemaking the Commission now seeks to promulgate the content of the existing emergency rule as a proposed final rule, thereby keeping in place the current regulatory structure beyond the 120-day effective period of the emergency rule, which expires on November 18, 2025.
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