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S 2962Drugs

Food and Drugs - The Rhode Island Cannabis Act

This bill shrinks the Cannabis Advisory Board by removing non-voting state officials and eliminates the requirement for specific permanent subcommittees.

Held for study
Population
Affected
25
Email Legislator
Introduced Mar 4, 2026Committee Senate Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This legislation restructures the Rhode Island Cannabis Advisory Board. It reduces the board's size by eliminating eight non-voting members, who were primarily directors of state departments such as Health, Labor, and Education. The bill alters the board's function so that it primarily convenes at the request of the Cannabis Control Commission to address specific questions, rather than operating with a broader, independent mandate. Furthermore, it removes the statutory requirement for the board to maintain specific subcommittees (such as Public Health and Social Equity), instead giving the chairperson the discretion to appoint subcommittees as needed.

For younger readers

Rhode Island has a group of people called an advisory board that gives advice on how to handle the rules for marijuana. This bill changes who is in that group. It takes away some members who worked for the government, making the group smaller. It also changes the rules so the group only meets when the main bosses ask them a specific question, instead of meeting whenever they want. It also says they don't have to have specific smaller teams to study things like safety or fairness anymore; they can just choose if they want them.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Cannabis Advisory Board MembersCannabis Control CommissionSocial Equity ApplicantsCannabis Industry BusinessesMedical Marijuana Patients
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Retains the statutory requirement for board membership to include individuals with prior drug convictions and representatives from communities most impacted by cannabis prohibition, ensuring these voices remain at the table.
  • Provides the chairperson with the flexibility to create ad-hoc subcommittees, which could allow for a more agile response to emerging social justice issues compared to a rigid statutory structure.
  • Streamlines the advisory process by removing non-voting bureaucratic members, potentially allowing the voting members—who represent the industry and impacted communities—to have a more direct dialogue with the commission.
  • Eliminates the legal requirement for a permanent subcommittee on social equity, which may result in a lack of sustained focus on remedying the harms caused to communities by the war on drugs.
  • Removes the Director of the Department of Health and other agency heads from the board, which could de-prioritize critical public health perspectives and worker protections in favor of industry interests.
  • Significantly weakens the board's independence by mandating that they convene primarily at the request of the commission, limiting their ability to proactively address community concerns without permission.
For Conservatives
  • Reduces the size of government by eliminating eight non-voting state agency positions from the board, cutting down on administrative bloat.
  • Eliminates the statutory mandate for five specific subcommittees, removing rigid bureaucratic requirements and allowing for a more efficient, streamlined operation.
  • Restricts the board's scope by ensuring it focuses on specific issues identified by the Cannabis Control Commission, preventing an unelected advisory body from generating unsolicited regulatory activism.
  • Continues to mandate that board appointments be based on identity politics and "social equity" criteria, including requiring members with past drug convictions, rather than focusing solely on business acumen.
  • Maintains the existence of a government advisory board that interferes with the cannabis market, rather than allowing the industry to operate under standard free-market principles.
  • Allows the chairperson discretionary power to appoint subcommittees, which could still be utilized to expand government oversight and regulatory burden depending on the chair's agenda.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 14 additions · 39 deletions

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 21-28.11-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 21-28.11 entitled "The Rhode Island Cannabis Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 21-28.11-6. Cannabis advisory board.

(a) There is hereby established a cannabis advisory board, which is directed to work in collaboration with the commission and the administrator of the cannabis office to advise and issue recommendations on the use, commerce, regulation and effects of adult-use and medical cannabis within the state. The advisory board shall additionally provide recommendations to the commission regarding the administration and distribution of the social equity assistance fund established pursuant to § 21-28.11-31 on matters relating to the regulation and policy development of the state’s cannabis program.

(b) The advisory board shall convene at the request of the commission for the purpose of considering specific questions or issues identified by the commission, and shall issue recommendations in response to such requests. (b)(c) Membership. The advisory board shall consist of eleven (11) voting members, and eight (8) non-voting members.

(1) The board shall consist of the following non-voting members: the secretary of commerce or designee, the director of the department of labor and training or designee, the director of the department of health or designee, the commissioner of education or designee, the superintendent of public safety or designee, the director of the department of business regulation or designee, the secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) or designee, and a representative from the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy selected by the commission.

(2) The board shall consist of the following voting members: a social equity officer chairperson, who shall be appointed by the governor and serve as chair of the advisory board; two

(2) additional members to be appointed by the governor, one of whom shall represent the cannabis laboratory testing industry, and one of whom shall be appointed in accordance with subsection (e) of this section; four (4) members to be appointed by the speaker of the house, one of whom shall represent the cannabis cultivation industry, and three (3) of whom to be appointed in accordance with subsection (e) of this section; and four (4) members to be appointed by the president of the senate, one of whom shall represent the cannabis retail industry, and three (3) of whom to be appointed in accordance with subsection (e) of this section. (c)(d) Term of voting members. The voting members shall be appointed to serve three (3) year terms or until a successor is appointed. In the event of vacancy, the vacancy shall be filled in the manner of the original appointment for the remainder of the term. (d)(e) Compensation. The appointed members and representatives shall receive no compensation for their services. (e)(f) Representation. The members of the advisory board appointed by the governor, the speaker of the house and the president of the senate pursuant to the provisions of the chapter shall to the extent possible be individuals with expertise in the following areas: public and behavioral health, substance use disorder treatment, effective rehabilitative treatment for adults and juveniles, homelessness and housing, economic development, criminal justice, law enforcement and drug policy. Further, the advisory board shall include representation from communities most impacted by cannabis prohibition, such as individuals with prior drug convictions, the formerly incarcerated, and representatives of organizations servicing communities impacted by past federal and state drug policies. (f)(g) Quorum. To take action at a meeting, a majority of voting members of the board must be present and voting to constitute a quorum. (g)(h) Role and responsibilities. The advisory board shall:

(1) Consider all matters submitted to the board by the cannabis control commission;

(2) Advise and make recommendations to the commission on the preparation and promulgation of guidelines, rules and regulations and any changes to guidelines, rules and regulations that the advisory board deems fundamental or necessary for the commission’s review and consideration;

(3) Provide analysis and recommendations to the commission relating to the administration and distribution of the social equity assistance fund established pursuant to § 21-28.11-31;

(4) Conduct all meetings in compliance with chapter 46 of title 42 (the “open meetings act”); and

(5) Report the findings, analysis, recommendations and conclusions adopted and approved by the board to the commission within thirty (30) days of adoption and approval. (h)(i) Subcommittees. The chair may appoint subcommittees in order to develop and report recommendations and to expedite the work of the board; provided, however, that the chair shall appoint:

(1) A subcommittee on public health to develop recommendations on: products, labeling, marketing, advertising, related public health issues; potency, which may include a recommended maximum limit for individual servings of cannabis products; and packaging, which may include the development and implementation of a public health warning to appear on cannabis products;

(2) A subcommittee on public safety and community mitigation to develop recommendations on law enforcement, property, business, consumer, and any other issues that may have an affect on the locality of the cannabis establishment and the surrounding environment;

(3) A subcommittee on the cannabis industry to develop recommendations on cultivation, processing, manufacturing, transportation, distribution, seed-to-sale tracking systems and market stability;

(4) A subcommittee on market participation to develop recommendations on minority and veteran-owned businesses, local agriculture and growing cooperatives; and

(5) A subcommittee on social equity to develop recommendations on remedying the harm to individuals directly and adversely impacted by the past enforcement of cannabis-related laws.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.