{"id":81743,"date":"2025-06-18T08:20:37","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T16:20:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2025\/06\/18\/rhode-island-hemp-drinks-ban-bill-scaled-back-to-instead-request-officials-make-recommendations-for-intoxicating-product-rules\/"},"modified":"2025-06-18T19:47:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T03:47:37","slug":"rhode-island-hemp-drinks-ban-bill-scaled-back-to-instead-request-officials-make-recommendations-for-intoxicating-product-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2025\/06\/18\/rhode-island-hemp-drinks-ban-bill-scaled-back-to-instead-request-officials-make-recommendations-for-intoxicating-product-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Rhode Island Hemp Drinks Ban Bill Scaled Back To Instead Request Officials Make Recommendations For Intoxicating Product Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\u201cAny potential updates would follow a thoughtful and transparent process, with stakeholder input and public engagement.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current<\/strong><\/p>\n

A proposed ban on hemp-derived THC beverages has morphed into a request for state regulators to recommend how to handle the products by next March, under a joint resolution that cleared the House Committee on Corporations in a 10\u20130 vote Monday.<\/p>\n

The resolution sponsored by Rep. Scott Slater, a Providence Democrat, requests that the state\u2019s Cannabis Control Commission come up with recommendations on dosage limits, packaging standards, labeling requirements, licensing conditions and other ways to ensure children don\u2019t accidentally consume the intoxicating drinks.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the major reasons for passing the [2022] cannabis act was to have recreational [cannabis] safe and tested,\u201d Slater said in an interview Monday.<\/p>\n

Slater\u2019s bill<\/a> is scheduled for a vote by the full House chamber on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Hemp has been legal at the federal level since 2018 and, by itself, produces little to no THC (the compound most commonly associated with cannabis intoxication) content and is typically non-psychoactive when first harvested\u2014unlike other cannabis plants. But with the magic of chemistry, delta-8 and delta-9 THC can be produced.<\/p>\n

Delta-9 THC is a naturally-occurring cannabinoid within cannabis plants and often more potent than synthetic delta-8 products, which are unregulated.<\/p>\n

THC drinks derived from hemp were illegal in Rhode Island until August 2024, when the state\u2019s Office of Cannabis Regulation began allowing the sale of products containing low levels of delta-9 THC at licensed retailers, including vape shops and liquor stores.<\/p>\n

Slater\u2019s original legislation<\/a> called on the state to ban hemp-derived THC beverages until regulators could craft new rules under the 2022 law that legalized recreational cannabis, a stance he said he still personally holds. But he said it\u2019s important that state regulators collect data before further legislative action is taken.<\/p>\n

Connecticut last July mandated THC-infused drinks be available only at state-licensed liquor stores and cannabis retailers. Massachusetts regulators, meanwhile, declared last May<\/a> that intoxicating hemp-based products cannot be sold outside of cannabis retail stores.<\/p>\n

Members of Rhode Island\u2019s recreational cannabis industry for the most part have been against allowing THC products to be sold outside licensed pot shops. The liquor industry supports the legalization of hemp-derived drinks, but only if they\u2019re sold from their stores.<\/p>\n

Both sides made their stances clear when the House Committee on Corporations held its initial hearing on Slater\u2019s bill May 15.<\/p>\n

\u201cTHC belongs to the cannabis cultivator, not the liquor store,\u201d Armand Lusi, owner of Evergreen Gardens in Warwick, told<\/a> lawmakers.<\/p>\n

But Nicholas Fede Jr., executive director for the Rhode Island Liquor Operators Collaborative, wrote to lawmakers that beverage alcohol retailers are \u201cperfectly set up and equipped\u201d to handle intoxicating drinks and that a number of stores already sell hemp-derived drinks with success.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are already trained to detect the effects of intoxicating substances when interacting with consumers and are specialists in regulating when and when not to serve clients,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

Fede pointed to a separate bill<\/a> sponsored by Rep. Jacquelyn Baginski, a Cranston Democrat, as the correct solution. Bagiski\u2019s legislation would declare it legal for licensed distributors to sell beverages containing up to 5 mg of delta-9 THC at liquor stores, bars and restaurants.<\/p>\n

Her bill remains held for further study by the House Committee on Corporations, which held its initial hearing for the legislation on April 8. However, companion legislation<\/a> by Sen. Robert Britto, an East Providence Democrat, is scheduled for a vote by the Senate Committee on Judiciary Wednesday afternoon\u2014along with a proposed ban on assault-style weapons.<\/p>\n

Should the General Assembly approve Slater\u2019s resolution, state regulators intend to carry out lawmakers\u2019 directive, Cannabis Control Commission spokesperson Charon Rose said in an email Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe commission is committed to ensuring public health, safety, and regulatory clarity in Rhode Island\u2019s cannabis and hemp markets,\u201d Rose wrote. \u201cAny potential updates would follow a thoughtful and transparent process, with stakeholder input and public engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was first published by Rhode Island Current.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Trump\u2019s Pollster Says Texas Hemp Ban Bill Faces \u2018Bipartisan Opposition\u2019 From Voters As Governor Nears Deadline To Act<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Rhode Island Hemp Drinks Ban Bill Scaled Back To Instead Request Officials Make Recommendations For Intoxicating Product Rules<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\u201cAny potential updates would follow a thoughtful and transparent process, with stakeholder input and public engagement.\u201d By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current A proposed ban on hemp-derived THC beverages has morphed into a request for state regulators to recommend how to handle the products by next March, under a jointContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81743"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81743"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81744,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81743\/revisions\/81744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}