Legal status
- Medical Program
2.5 oz
Illegal
7%
Illegal
12 plants
Illegal
Application process
Once you have registered with Leafwell and been approved by one of our medical marijuana doctors online, receive your certificate in the mail and apply to the state medical marijuana program. Receive your MMJ card and start shopping for your medical cannabis from a licensed dispensary.
Receive the original certificate in the mail in 5-7 days.
Get your cardRhode Island has decriminalized non-medical cannabis, but it is still illegal. Only medical marijuana is legal in Rhode Island.
2006
Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act, SB 0710
2009
Rhode Island introduced a cannabis dispensary system, making them the second state nationwide (after California) to do so. States are not required to enforce federal law or prosecute people for engaging in activities prohibited by federal law. Therefore, compliance with this chapter does not put the state of Rhode Island in violation of federal law. State law should make a distinction between the medical and nonmedical use of marijuana. Hence, the purpose of this chapter is to protect patients with debilitating medical conditions, and their physicians and primary caregivers, from arrest and prosecution, criminal and other penalties, and property forfeiture if such patients engage in the medical use of marijuana.
Recreational cannabis use is illegal in Rhode Island. However, lawmakers are seeking to legalize non-medical cannabis, and it could be one of the next states to do so come 2022.
The Rhode Island law lists the following medical conditions as qualifiers for a medical cannabis card:
With Leafwell, you can get your Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Card in 5 simple steps:
You must be aged 18 or over in order to qualify for medical marijuana in Rhode Island. Those aged under 18 will need a caregiver. Caregivers must be 21 years of age. A primary caregiver must be at least 21 years of age and a resident of Rhode Island. A primary caregiver can assist no more than five patients with their use of medical marijuana. Patients are limited to one caregiver.
Rhode Island medical marijuana patients are permitted to designate one personal Caregiver to grow or provide medicine for them. An Authorized Purchaser is someone that can legally obtain medicine from any of the three state licensed Compassion Centers and deliver the medicine to the patient.
Rep. Scott A. Slater (D-Dist. 10, Providence) has introduced legislation (2018-H 8011) that would allow school nurses to administer non-smokeable medical marijuana products to students with a valid medical marijuana recommendation on school grounds.
Connect with a licensed physician online in minutes.
No, not any more. During the pandemic, telemedicine was made legal in Rhode Island. But now legislation has been rolled back and you will need to meet with a provider in person.
Up to 12 plants may be grown by a qualifying medical marijuana patient. Only medical patients are permitted to grow.
Rhode Island has medical marijuana reciprocity, and so recognizes state-issued MMJ cards from other US states.
A Rhode Island medical marijuana card is valid in other states with medical marijuana reciprocity.
The following states accept or recognize out-of-state medical marijuana cards:
However, this does not always mean you can purchase cannabis at a medical marijuana dispensary (non-medical adult use is fine) – just that you are protected by the state’s medical marijuana laws to some extent. It is wise to call the dispensary ahead if you are a medical cannabis patient from another state and you intend on purchasing medical marijuana.
The qualifying condition usually has to match between states, so if your qualifying condition is accepted in one state and not your visiting state, your recommendation is not necessarily valid. You are also beholden to the visiting state’s medical marijuana laws, not the state that issued your card.
The following states accept out-of-state applications, allowing a visiting patient application to use medical cannabis for the duration of their stay:
Rhode Island’s drug testing statute states that employers may require employees to submit to a drug test if the employer “has reasonable grounds to believe based on specific aspects of the employee’s job performance and specific contemporaneous documented observations, concerning the employee’s appearance, behavior or speech that the employee may be under the influence of a controlled substance, which may be impairing his or her ability to perform his or her job . . .”
Rhode Island has only recently started to test its medical cannabis products, but there is still no requirement as of yet (this has now changed as of 2021, but will not fully take effect until 2022). Mold, mildew, heavy metals, pesticides, solvent residue and potentially deadly microbes will be tested for by third-party labs.
In all states with a medical marijuana program, the only way to purchase medicinal cannabis products is via a legally-licensed dispensary or pharmacy, or another legally designated space to purchase cannabis. Only those with a legal license to sell cannabis can actually do so.
All states with a medical marijuana program have some restrictions on where a person can legally use cannabis. Near schools, nurseries, parks or other places where children are expected to be, using cannabis is illegal. Use of cannabis on or in federal land or buildings, hospitals or any other such healthcare space is also illegal. Private members club and landowners may also prohibit cannabis use on their property or restrict it at their discretion.
The safest place to use medical cannabis is in the safety of your own home. It is wise to use common sense and generally keep consumption out of public view, and utilize discreet consumption methods wherever possible.