Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 216 - Department of health › Chapter 20 - Community Health › Subchapter 10 - Screening, Medical Services, and Reporting › Part 3 - Medical Marijuana Program › Section 216-RICR-20-10-3.8 - Protections for the Medical Use of Marijuana

Current through June 14, 2024
A. A
				  practitioner shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any
				  manner, or denied any right or privilege, including, but not limited to, civil
				  penalty or disciplinary action by the Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure
				  and Discipline or by any other business or occupational or professional
				  licensing board or bureau solely for providing written certifications or for
				  otherwise stating that, in the practitioner's professional opinion, the
				  potential benefits of the medical marijuana would likely outweigh the health
				  risks for a patient.
B. A
				  practitioner, nurse, nurse practitioner, physician's assistant, or pharmacist
				  shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution or penalty in any manner, or denied
				  any right or privilege, including, but not limited to, civil penalty or
				  disciplinary action by a business or occupational or professional licensing
				  board or bureau solely for discussing the benefits or health risks of medical
				  marijuana or its interaction with other substances with a patient.
C. A registry identification card, or its
				  equivalent, issued under the laws of another state, U.S. territory, or the
				  District of Columbia to permit the medical use of marijuana by a patient with a
				  debilitating medical condition, or to permit a person to assist with the
				  medical use of marijuana by a patient with a debilitating medical condition,
				  shall have the same force and effect as a registry identification card issued
				  by the Department of Health pursuant to the Act and these
				  Regulations.
D. For the purposes of
				  medical care, including organ transplants, a patient cardholder's authorized
				  use of marijuana shall be considered the equivalent of the authorized use of
				  any other medication used at the direction of a physician, and shall not
				  constitute the use of an illicit substance.
E. No state employee shall be subject to
				  arrest, prosecution or penalty in any manner, or denied any right or privilege,
				  including, but not limited to, civil penalty, disciplinary action, termination,
				  or loss of employee or pension benefits, for any and all conduct that occurs
				  within the scope of his or her employment regarding the administration,
				  execution and/or enforcement of the Act, and the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws
				  §§
										9-31-8 and
				   9-31-9 shall be applicable to §
										3.8   of this Part.
F. A patient cardholder or primary caregiver
				  cardholder may give marijuana to another patient cardholder or primary
				  caregiver cardholder to whom they are not connected by the Department of
				  Health's registration process, provided that no consideration is paid for the
				  marijuana, and that the recipient does not exceed the limits specified in
				  § 3.4.5 of this Part.
G. The
				  manufacture of marijuana by a patient cardholder or primary caregiver
				  cardholder using a solvent extraction process that includes the use of a
				  compressed, flammable gas as a solvent shall not be subject to the protections
				  specified by the Act and these Regulations.