Rhode Island

Rhode Island’s hemp beverage story is a study in fast regulatory evolution — the state opened its hemp Delta-9 market in August 2024 under 230-RICR-80-10-1 with what was then one of the country’s tightest product frameworks, watched approximately 120 retailers (liquor stores, restaurants, bars, vape shops) build a real market over the following year, then hit the brakes in mid-2025 and spent 2026 debating whether to constrict further. The operative rule under 230-RICR-80-10-1 caps consumable hemp products at 1mg total THC per serving, 5mg total THC per package, and 0.3% total THC on a dry-weight basis. Total THC is defined to include THCA together with all isomers and derivatives — a definition tighter than the underlying Rhode Island Hemp Growth Act at RIGL Chapter 2-26, which used a delta-9-only test. Under the rules, inhalable products are treated as consumable products (subject to the same caps, effectively closing the inhalable hemp channel), and converting CBD into delta-9 THC or any other cannabinoid is prohibited unless approved by the Department of Business Regulation (DBR). Rhode Island runs parallel adult-use and medical cannabis programs under the Rhode Island Cannabis Act of 2022 (RIGL Chapter 21-28.11), administered by the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC). Roughly 7 adult-use dispensaries operate statewide, with a broader retail rollout continuing through 2026. The FY2026 Rhode Island budget (effective July 1, 2025) transferred hemp oversight from DBR to the CCC and gave the CCC license suspension authority — powers the CCC exercised almost immediately. On July 18, 2025, the CCC voted unanimously to pause new hemp retailer licenses for businesses that allow on-site consumption of alcohol, freezing 10 pending applications. Companion resolutions from the June 2025 General Assembly session had tasked the CCC with preparing recommendations on hemp beverage regulation by March 1, 2026. The CCC held a public webinar on February 2, 2026 to gather feedback on draft recommendations. Rhode Island Hospitality Association (led by CEO Farouk Rajab) and industry representatives voiced strong opposition to a proposed ban on hemp beverages at liquor-licensed venues, but the CCC’s final 11-page report to the General Assembly on March 1, 2026 formally recommended: (1) banning THC drink sales at venues with liquor licenses (bars and restaurants); (2) restructuring taxes to apply the cannabis tax structure — 7% sales tax + 3% local cannabis excise tax vs the current 7% sales tax only; (3) requiring RIDOH-certified lab testing to cannabis-equivalent standards including pesticides, heavy metals, residual solvents, cannabinoid profiles, and microcontaminants; and (4) establishing purchase limits per consumer per transaction. On March 17, 2026, the CCC formally backed the ban recommendation in its public meeting. CCC Chief of Policy Carla Aveledo articulated the position: ‘All retailers selling intoxicating hemp products should be held to similar high safety standards as cannabis retailers.’ The Rhode Island Hospitality Association’s Rajab called the recommendation an ‘overreach’ and pointed to Minnesota’s model of on-site consumption endorsements, but even Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management (spokesperson Jim Walker) told Rhode Island Current that federal potency restrictions taking effect November 2026 threw the whole national industry through a loop. In April 2026, Sen. Slater and others introduced SB 3215, which would formalize much of the CCC framework: distribution authority limited to holders of wholesale Class A/B liquor licenses; retail sale requiring Class B liquor license; server training consistent with alcohol server training under RIGL § 3-7-6.1; RIDOH-certified testing; excise tax structure. For the federal cliff on November 12, 2026, Rhode Island faces an unusual situation. Its 1mg/serving and 5mg/package caps under 230-RICR-80-10-1 are among the country’s tightest, but Section 781’s incoming 0.4mg per-container federal ceiling is actually 12.5× TIGHTER than Rhode Island’s 5mg per-package cap. That means even fully RI-compliant hemp products will fall outside the federal hemp definition on November 12, 2026 unless CCC updates its rules to harmonize. CCC’s Aveledo has publicly acknowledged: ‘The Commission intends to draft updates to the hemp regulations in 2026, however, recent federal activity and future actions remain uncertain, which may delay the regulatory drafting to early 2027 to ensure our framework is fully informed and strategically aligned.’ Expect CCC to eventually add a 0.4mg per-container ceiling matching the federal ceiling, further shrinking the hemp lane. Combined with the likely liquor-license ban if the General Assembly codifies the March 2026 CCC recommendation, the Rhode Island hemp beverage market will contract sharply through 2026-2027.