230 R.I. Code R. 230-RICR-80-05-1.13

Current through November 7, 2024

Section 230-RICR-80-05-1.13 - Enforcement

A. Inspections and Audits

1. Marijuana establishment licensees are subject to reasonable inspection by DBR.

2. DBR and its authorized representatives have authority to enter a marijuana establishment licensee's premises at reasonable times to inspect in a reasonable manner the premises and all equipment, materials, containers, and other things therein, including without limitation all records, files, financials, sales, transport, pricing and employee data, research, papers, processes, controls and to inventory any stock of marijuana, labels, containers, packages, paraphernalia and other materials and products.

3. During any inspection, DBR and its authorized representatives may review the marijuana establishment licensee's confidential records, including compassion center dispensing records, which track transactions according to identifying information for the patient, primary caregiver, and/or authorized purchaser. Dispensing records for patient cardholders shall be tracked in accordance with the Act.

4. DBR may review and audit the books and records of marijuana establishment licensees to ascertain compliance with the Act, the DBR Regulations, and/or the DOH Regulations, including continued satisfaction of the statutory criteria considered in granting a license. The marijuana establishment licensee must make such books and records immediately available for reviewing and copying by DBR. DBR may retain an independent auditor to act as its agent for purposes of this section, the cost of which shall be borne by the marijuana establishment licensee.

5. Nothing herein shall be interpreted to limit the real time access of DBR to information stored in the Medical Marijuana Program Tracking System consistent with the Act.

6. DBR may coordinate with law enforcement or other state agencies to conduct inspections to evaluate compliance with the Act, regulations promulgated thereunder or any other applicable state laws.

7. DBR may retain a licensed testing laboratory to act as its agent to conduct testing for an inspection or investigation, the cost of which shall be borne by the marijuana establishment licensee.

B. All hearings and enforcement actions shall be conducted in accordance with and subject to the Administrative Procedures Act, R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 42-35 and the Department's Rules of Procedure for Administrative Hearings, Part 10-00-2 of this Title.

C. Discipline and Penalties

1. Pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 21-28.6-9, DBR may, in accordance with and subject to the Administrative Procedures Act, R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 42-35, take any combination of the following actions:

a. Place on probation, revoke, suspend or refuse to issue any license registration, or card issued under the Act;

b. Levy an administrative penalty;

c. Order the violator to cease and desist such actions;

d. Order testing of marijuana or marijuana products in accordance with § 1.11 of this Part and the DOH Regulations;

e. Require a licensee, registrant, cardholder, person or entity conducting any activities requiring licensure or registration under the Act to take such actions as are necessary to comply or ensure compliance with Act and any regulations promulgated thereunder; and/or f. Take any other action authorized by the Act.

2. DBR may take any of the actions set forth above against a licensee or any person or entity conducting activity requiring a license or registration under the Act for any one or more of the following causes:

a. Providing materially incorrect, misleading, incomplete, or untrue information in a license or registry identification card application, or in any other communications to DBR;

b. Violating any applicable Rhode Island laws, including but not limited to the Act, the DBR Regulations or the DOH Regulations;

c. Obtaining or attempting to obtain a license or registry identification card, or any local approval required in connection therewith through bribery, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation;

d. Conducting any unlicensed or unregistered activity;

e. Having a cannabis or medical marijuana license, registration, card, permit or its equivalent, denied, suspended, revoked or otherwise found to be in violation of any other state, province, district, or territory's legalized cannabis program;

f. Having been convicted, placed on probation, or having a case filed pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-10-12 where the licensee or cardholder pleads nolo contendere, or having a case deferred pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-19-19 where the licensee or cardholder pleads nolo contendere for any felony offense under R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 21-28, the Rhode Island Controlled Substances Act, or any similar offense from any other jurisdiction;

g. Failing to notify DBR of any disqualifying criminal conviction, plea of nolo contendere, case filing, or deferral as set forth in § 1.13(C)(2) (f) of this Part;

h. Only for licensees or licensee-affiliated cardholders, having been convicted of or plead guilty or nolo contendere to any felony or to any crime of, or an act constituting a crime of, forgery, embezzlement, obtaining money under false pretenses, bribery, larceny, extortion, conspiracy to defraud, or any other similar offense or offenses involving cannabis or medical marijuana, in a court of competent jurisdiction of this state or any other state or of the federal government;

i. Exceeding the possession limits set forth in the Act or the DBR Regulations;

j. Failing to comply with the plant tag certificate requirements in the Act or § 1.12 of this Part;

k. Forging another's name to an application or to any document related to a DBR license, registration or card;

l. Failing to furnish to DBR or any person acting on behalf of DBR within the time required by any written notice from DBR any information pertaining to a license, registration and/or operations that may be requested by DBR pursuant to the Act or the DBR Regulations;

m. Knowingly accepting, purchasing or receiving medical marijuana, medical marijuana products, marijuana or marijuana products from an individual or business entity who is not licensed but who is required to be licensed by DBR;

n. Operating, participating in or facilitating a medical marijuana emporium; or o. In conjunction with any violation of §§ 1.13(C)(2)(a) through (n) of this Part, any conduct reflecting adversely upon the licensee's or cardholder's fitness to engage in the medical marijuana industry.

3. It is sufficient cause to discipline a marijuana establishment licensee in accordance with the above if a principal officer, board member, employee, agent, or volunteer affiliated with a marijuana establishment licensee violates the Act or any regulations promulgated thereunder when acting in their capacity as a principal officer, board member, employee, agent, or volunteer of the marijuana establishment licensee.

4. Possession of Marijuana in Violation of the Act or the DBR Regulations a. Pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 21-28.6-15(b)(3), if any patient cardholder, primary caregiver cardholder, licensed cooperative cultivation, compassion center, licensed medical marijuana cultivator, or any other person or entity is found to have marijuana plants or marijuana material without valid medical marijuana plant tag certificates or which are not tracked in accordance with the DBR Regulations, DBR shall impose an administrative penalty in accordance with the DBR Regulations on the patient cardholder, primary caregiver cardholder, licensed cooperative cultivation, compassion center, licensed medical marijuana cultivator, or any other person or entity for each untagged marijuana plant or unit of untracked marijuana material.

5. Pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 21-28.6-7(a)(4), medical marijuana emporiums are expressly prohibited.

6. Revocation of Plant Tag Certificates

a. R.I. Gen. Laws § 21-28.6-15(b)(1) authorizes DBR to revoke medical marijuana plant tag certificates for violation of any provision of the Act, the DBR Regulations, or the DOH Regulations.

b. Grounds for revocation of medical marijuana plant tag certificates shall include, but are not limited to:

(1) Failure to maintain or timely renew the required underlying qualifying patient, primary caregiver, or cooperative cultivation registration or license, as applicable.

(2) Having excess and/or untagged plants;

(3) Misrepresentation in applying for plant tag certificates;

(4) Permitting unauthorized use of plant tag certificates by another party;

(5) Growing in more than one location;

(6) Transferring plants from the registered grow location without complying with the rules for said transport;

(7) Failing to maintain or produce cultivation records in accordance with §1.9.3 of this Part; and

(8) Other violations of the Act or regulations promulgated thereunder which may result in the suspension of a registry identification card.

c. If DBR revokes the registration of a primary caregiver due to disqualifying criminal information as delineated in the Act or for any other reason, that primary caregiver's medical marijuana plant tag certificate shall be automatically and immediately revoked by DBR.

d. If DOH revokes the registration of a patient for any reason, any medical marijuana plant tag certificate issued to that patient and/or issued to any caregiver registered with DBR to grow for that patient shall be automatically and immediately revoked by DBR.

e. Before a medical marijuana plant tag certificate is revoked pursuant to this section, the certificate holder will be given ten (10) business days advance notice to destroy the marijuana plants that were previously associated with the plant tag certificate and to then return said plant tag certificate within the 10-day timeframe.

f. The fact that a patient or primary caregiver is a member of a cooperative cultivation shall not in any way preclude revocation of their medical marijuana plant tag certificates as provided in § 1.12(L) of this Part.

D. Administrative Penalties

1. Pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 21-28.6-9(e)(1)(ii), 21-28.6-12(f)(1) and 21-28.6-15(b)(3), DBR adopts the following schedule of administrative penalties with respect to violations of the Act, the DBR Regulations or any other applicable laws pertaining to a license, registration and/or operations in connection therewith:

Violation	Administrative Penalty
Violations by a compassion center or other marijuana establishment licensee, where DBR determines that a violation does not pose an immediate threat to public health or public safety	A penalty of not less than $500, but not more than $5,000 per violation per day.
Violations by a compassion center or other marijuana establishment licensee, where DBR determines that a violation poses an immediate threat to public health or public safety	A penalty of not less than $2,000, but not more than $100,000 per violation per day.
Penalties of untagged/untracked plants, marijuana or marijuana products	A penalty of up to $5,000 per plant/ounce/unit of product (as applicable) per day
Violations by any person or entity who is conducting activities requiring licensure or registration by DBR under the Act or these Regulations without such licensure or registration, or who is otherwise violating any provisions of the Act or these Regulations	A penalty of up to $100,000 per violation per day

E. Criminal Penalties and Law Enforcement

1. Administrative actions including administrative penalties imposed by DBR on account of violations hereunder may be in addition to criminal penalties provided for under R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 21-28, the "Rhode Island Controlled Substances Act".

2. Pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 21-28.6-6(l), DBR shall verify to law enforcement personnel whether a registry identification card is valid and may confirm whether the cardholder is compliant with the provisions of the Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

3. Pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 21-28.6-6(m), nothing in the Act or the DBR Regulations shall be construed as to prohibit law enforcement, public safety, fire or building officials from investigating violations of, or enforcing state law.

4. Pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 21-28.6-6(m), DBR may notify law enforcement about falsified or fraudulent information submitted to DBR in violation of the Act or the DBR Regulations.

5 Nothing in the DBR Regulations shall alter or impair the ability of law enforcement to confiscate excess, untagged, and/or invalidly tagged marijuana plants or marijuana material and revoked and/or otherwise invalid plant tags in accordance with applicable criminal law and procedures.

6. DBR may provide information to law enforcement in order to verify the validity of plant tags, tag data, cardholder registration and compliance with the Act and the DBR Regulations through data sharing mechanisms, in accordance with the Act.

230 R.I. Code R. 230-RICR-80-05-1.13

Adopted effective 3/25/2020