§ 21-28.6-12 - Compassion centers.
SECTION 21-28.6-12
§ 21-28.6-12 Compassion centers. –(a) A compassion center registered under this section may acquire, possess,cultivate, manufacture, deliver, transfer, transport, supply, or dispensemarijuana, or related supplies and educational materials, to registeredqualifying patients and their registered primary caregivers who have designatedit as one of their primary caregivers. A compassion center is a primarycaregiver. Except as specifically provided to the contrary, all provisions ofthe Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act, §§21-28.6-1 – 21-28.6-11, apply to a compassion center unless they conflictwith a provision contained in § 21-28.6-12.
(b) Registration of compassion centers–departmentauthority:
(1) Not later than ninety (90) days after the effective dateof this act, the department shall promulgate regulations governing the mannerin which it shall consider applications for registration certificates forcompassion centers, including regulations governing:
(i) The form and content of registration and renewalapplications;
(ii) Minimum oversight requirements for compassion centers;
(iii) Minimum record-keeping requirements for compassioncenters;
(iv) Minimum security requirements for compassion centers; and
(v) Procedures for suspending or terminating the registrationof compassion centers that violate the provisions of this section or theregulations promulgated pursuant to this subsection.
(2) Within ninety (90) days of the effective date of thisact, the department shall begin accepting applications for the operation of asingle compassion center.
(3) Within one hundred fifty (150) days of the effective dateof this act, the department shall provide for at least one public hearing onthe granting of an application to a single compassion center.
(4) Within one hundred ninety (190) days of the effectivedate of this act, the department shall grant a single registration certificateto a single compassion center, providing at least one applicant has applied whomeets the requirements of this act.
(5) If at any time after fifteen (15) months after theeffective date of this act, there is no operational compassion center in RhodeIsland, the department shall accept applications, provide for input from thepublic, and issue a registration certificate for a compassion center if aqualified applicant exists.
(6) Within two (2) years of the effective date of this act,the department shall begin accepting applications to provide registrationcertificates for two (2) additional compassion centers. The department shallsolicit input from the public, and issue registration certificates if qualifiedapplicants exist.
(7) Any time a compassion center registration certificate isrevoked, is relinquished, or expires, the department shall accept applicationsfor a new compassion center.
(8) If at any time after three (3) years after the effectivedate of this act, fewer than three (3) compassion centers are holding validregistration certificates in Rhode Island, the department shall acceptapplications for a new compassion center. No more than three (3) compassioncenters may hold valid registration certificates at one time.
(c) Compassion center and agent applications and registration:
(1) Each application for a compassion center shall include:
(i) A non-refundable application fee paid to the departmentin the amount of two hundred fifty dollars ($250);
(ii) The proposed legal name and proposed articles ofincorporation of the compassion center;
(iii) The proposed physical address of the compassion center,if a precise address has been determined, or, if not, the general locationwhere it would be located. This may include a second location for thecultivation of medical marijuana;
(iv) A description of the enclosed, locked facility thatwould be used in the cultivation of marijuana;
(v) The name, address, and date of birth of each principalofficer and board member of the compassion center;
(vi) Proposed security and safety measures which shallinclude at least one security alarm system for each location, planned measuresto deter and prevent the unauthorized entrance into areas containing marijuanaand the theft of marijuana, as well as a draft employee instruction manualincluding security policies, safety and security procedures, personal safetyand crime prevention techniques; and
(vii) Proposed procedures to ensure accurate record keeping;
(2) Any time one or more compassion center registrationapplications are being considered, the department shall also allow for commentby the public and shall solicit input from registered qualifying patients,registered primary caregivers; and the towns or cities where the applicantswould be located;
(3) Each time a compassion center certificate is granted, thedecision shall be based upon the overall health needs of qualified patients andthe safety of the public, including, but not limited to, the following factors:
(i) Convenience to patients from throughout the state ofRhode Island to the compassion centers if the applicant were approved;
(ii) The applicants' ability to provide a steady supply tothe registered qualifying patients in the state;
(iii) The applicants' experience running a non-profit orbusiness;
(iv) The wishes of qualifying patients regarding whichapplicant be granted a registration certificate;
(v) The wishes of the city or town where the dispensary wouldbe located;
(vi) The sufficiency of the applicant's plans for recordkeeping and security, which records shall be considered confidential healthcare information under Rhode Island law and are intended to be deemed protectedhealth care information for purposes of the Federal Health InsurancePortability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended; and
(vii) The sufficiency of the applicant's plans for safety andsecurity, including proposed location, security devices employed, and staffing;
(4) After a compassion center is approved, but before itbegins operations, it shall submit the following to the department:
(i) A fee paid to the department in the amount of fivethousand dollars ($5,000);
(ii) The legal name and articles of incorporation of thecompassion center;
(iii) The physical address of the compassion center; this mayinclude a second address for the secure cultivation of marijuana;
(iv) The name, address, and date of birth of each principalofficer and board member of the compassion center;
(v) The name, address, and date of birth of any person whowill be an agent of or employed by the compassion center at its inception;
(5) The department shall track the number of registeredqualifying patients who designate each compassion center as a primarycaregiver, and issue a written statement to the compassion center of the numberof qualifying patients who have designated the compassion center to serve as aprimary caregiver for them. This statement shall be updated each time a newregistered qualifying patient designates the compassion center or ceases todesignate the compassion center and may be transmitted electronically if thedepartment's regulations so provide. The department may provide by regulationthat the updated written statements will not be issued more frequently thantwice each week;
(6) Except as provided in subdivision (7), the departmentshall issue each principal officer, board member, agent, volunteer and employeeof a compassion center a registry identification card or renewal card withinten (10) days of receipt of the person's name, address, date of birth, and afee in an amount established by the department. Each card shall specify thatthe cardholder is a principal officer, board member, agent, volunteer, oremployee of a compassion center and shall contain the following:
(i) The name, address, and date of birth of the principalofficer, board member, agent, volunteer or employee;
(ii) The legal name of the compassion center to which theprincipal officer, board member, agent, volunteer or employee is affiliated;
(iii) A random identification number that is unique to thecardholder;
(iv) The date of issuance and expiration date of the registryidentification card; and
(v) A photograph, if the department decides to require one;
(7) Except as provided in this subsection, the departmentshall not issue a registry identification card to any principal officer, boardmember, agent, volunteer, or employee of a compassion center who has beenconvicted of a felony drug offense. The department may conduct a backgroundcheck of each principal officer, board member, agent, volunteer, or employee inorder to carry out this provision. The department shall notify the compassioncenter in writing of the purpose for denying the registry identification card.The department may grant such person a registry identification card if thedepartment determines that the offense was for conduct that occurred prior tothe enactment of the Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical MarijuanaAct or that was prosecuted by an authority other than the state of Rhode Islandand for which the Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Actwould otherwise have prevented a conviction;
(8) A registry identification card of a principal officer,board member, agent, volunteer, or employee shall expire one year after itsissuance, or upon the expiration of the registered organization's registrationcertificate, whichever occurs first.
(d) Expiration or termination of compassion center:
(1) A compassion center's registration shall expire two (2)years after its registration certificate is issued. The compassion center maysubmit a renewal application beginning sixty (60) days prior to the expirationof its registration certificate;
(2) The department shall grant a compassion center's renewalapplication within thirty (30) days of its submission if the followingconditions are all satisfied:
(i) The compassion center submits the materials requiredunder subdivision (c)(4), including a five thousand dollar ($5,000) fee;
(ii) The department has not ever suspended the compassioncenter's registration for violations of this act or regulations issued pursuantto this act;
(iii) The legislative oversight committee's report, issuedpursuant to subsection (j), indicates that the compassion center is adequatelyproviding patients with access to medical marijuana at reasonable rates; and
(iv) The legislative oversight committee's report, issuedpursuant to subsection (j), does not raise serious concerns about the continuedoperation of the compassion center applying for renewal.
(3) If the department determines that any of the conditionslisted in paragraphs (d)(2)(i) – (iv) exist, the department shall begin anopen application process for the operation of a compassion center. In grantinga new registration certificate, the department shall consider factors listed insubdivision (c)(3);
(4) The department shall issue a compassion center one ormore thirty (30) day temporary registration certificates after that compassioncenter's registration would otherwise expire if the following conditions areall satisfied:
(i) The compassion center previously applied for a renewal,but the department had not yet come to a decision;
(ii) The compassion center requested a temporary registrationcertificate; and
(iii) The compassion center has not had its registrationcertificate revoked due to violations of this act or regulations issuedpursuant to this act.
(e) Inspection. Compassion centers are subject toreasonable inspection by the department of health, division of facilitiesregulation. The department shall give reasonable notice of an inspection underthis subsection. During an inspection, the department may review the compassioncenter's confidential records, including its dispensing records, which maytrack transactions according to qualifying patients' registry identificationnumbers to protect their confidentiality.
(f) Compassion center requirements:
(1) A compassion center shall be operated on a not-for-profitbasis for the mutual benefit of its patients. A compassion center need not berecognized as a tax-exempt organization by the Internal Revenue Services;
(2) A compassion center may not be located within fivehundred feet (500') of the property line of a preexisting public or privateschool;
(3) A compassion center shall notify the department withinten (10) days of when a principal officer, board member, agent, volunteer oremployee ceases to work at the compassion center. His or her card shall bedeemed null and void and the person shall be liable for any other penaltiesthat may apply to the person's nonmedical use of marijuana;
(4) A compassion center shall notify the department inwriting of the name, address, and date of birth of any new principal officer,board member, agent, volunteer or employee and shall submit a fee in an amountestablished by the department for a new registry identification card before anew agent or employee begins working at the compassion center;
(5) A compassion center shall implement appropriate securitymeasures to deter and prevent the unauthorized entrance into areas containingmarijuana and the theft of marijuana and shall insure that each location has anoperational security alarm system.
(6) The operating documents of a compassion center shallinclude procedures for the oversight of the compassion center and procedures toensure accurate record keeping;
(7) A compassion center is prohibited from acquiring,possessing, cultivating, manufacturing, delivering, transferring, transporting,supplying, or dispensing marijuana for any purpose except to assist registeredqualifying patients with the medical use of marijuana directly or through thequalifying patients other primary caregiver;
(8) All principal officers and board members of a compassioncenter must be residents of the state of Rhode Island;
(9) Each time a new registered qualifying patient visits acompassion center, it shall provide the patient with frequently asked questionsdesigned by the department, which explains the limitations on the right to usemedical marijuana under state law;
(10) Each compassion center shall develop, implement, andmaintain on the premises employee and agent policies and procedures to addressthe following requirements:
(i) A job description or employment contract developed forall employees and a volunteer agreement for all volunteers, which includesduties, authority, responsibilities, qualification, and supervision; and
(ii) Training in and adherence to state confidentiality laws.
(11) Each compassion center shall maintain a personnel recordfor each employee and each volunteer that includes an application foremployment or to volunteer and a record of any disciplinary action taken;
(12) Each compassion center shall develop, implement, andmaintain on the premises an on-site training curriculum, or enter intocontractual relationships with outside resources capable of meeting employeetraining needs, which includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:
(i) Professional conduct, ethics, and patientconfidentiality; and
(ii) Informational developments in the field of medical useof marijuana.
(13) Each compassion center entity shall provide eachemployee and each volunteer, at the time of his or her initial appointment,training in the following:
(i) The proper use of security measures and controls thathave been adopted; and
(ii) Specific procedural instructions on how to respond to anemergency, including robbery or violent accident;
(14) All compassion centers shall prepare trainingdocumentation for each employee and have employees sign a statement indicatingthe date, time, and place the employee received said training and topicsdiscussed, to include name and title of presenters. The compassion center shallmaintain documentation of an employee's and a volunteer's training for a periodof at least six (6) months after termination of an employee's employment or thevolunteer's volunteering.
(g) Maximum amount of usable marijuana to be dispensed:
(1) A compassion center or principal officer, board member,agent, volunteer or employee of a compassion center may not dispense more thantwo and one half ounces (2.5 oz) of usable marijuana to a qualifying patientdirectly or through a qualifying patient's other primary caregiver during afifteen (15) day period;
(2) A compassion center or principal officer, board member,agent, volunteer or employee of a compassion center may not dispense an amountof usable marijuana or marijuana plants to a qualifying patient or a qualifyingpatient's other primary caregiver that the compassion center, principalofficer, board member, agent, volunteer, or employee knows would cause therecipient to possess more marijuana than is permitted under the Edward O.Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act.
(h) Immunity:
(1) No registered compassion center shall be subject toprosecution; search, except by the department pursuant to subsection (e);seizure; or penalty in any manner or denied any right or privilege, including,but not limited to, civil penalty or disciplinary action by a business,occupational, or professional licensing board or entity, solely for acting inaccordance with this section to assist registered qualifying patients to whomit is connected through the department's registration process with the medicaluse of marijuana;
(2) No principal officers, board members, agents, volunteers,or employees of a registered compassion center shall be subject to arrest,prosecution, search, seizure, or penalty in any manner or denied any right orprivilege, including, but not limited to, civil penalty or disciplinary actionby a business, occupational, or professional licensing board or entity, solelyfor working for or with a compassion center to engage in acts permitted by thissection.
(i) Prohibitions:
(1) A compassion center may not possess an amount ofmarijuana that exceeds the total of the allowable amount of marijuana for theregistered qualifying patients for whom the compassion center is a registeredprimary caregiver;
(2) A compassion center may not dispense, deliver, orotherwise transfer marijuana to a person other than a qualifying patient whohas designated the compassion center as a primary caregiver or to suchpatient's other primary caregiver;
(3) A person found to have violated paragraph (2) of thissubsection may not be an employee, agent, principal officer, or board member ofany compassion center, and such person's registry identification card shall beimmediately revoked;
(4) No person who has been convicted of a felony drug offensemay be the principal officer, board member, agent, volunteer, or employee of acompassion center unless the department has determined that the person'sconviction was for the medical use of marijuana or assisting with the medicaluse of marijuana and issued the person a registry identification card asprovided under subdivision (c)(7). A person who is employed by or is an agent,principal officer, or board member of a compassion center in violation of thissection is guilty of a civil violation punishable by a fine of up to onethousand dollars ($1,000). A subsequent violation of this section is a grossmisdemeanor:
(j) Legislative oversight committee:
(1) The general assembly shall appoint a nine (9) memberoversight committee comprised of: one member of the house of representatives;one member of the senate; one physician to be selected from a list provided bythe Rhode Island medical society; one nurse to be selected from a list providedby the Rhode Island state nurses association; two (2) registered qualifyingpatients; one registered primary caregiver; one patient advocate to be selectedfrom a list provided by the Rhode Island patient advocacy coalition; and onerepresentative of the law enforcement community.
(2) The oversight committee shall meet at least six (6) timesper year for the purpose of evaluating and making recommendations to thegeneral assembly regarding:
(i) Patients' access to medical marijuana;
(ii) Efficacy of compassion center;
(iii) Physician participation in the Medical MarijuanaProgram;
(iv) The definition of qualifying medical condition;
(v) Research studies regarding health effects of medicalmarijuana for patients.
(3) On or before January 1 of every even numbered year, theoversight committee shall report to the general assembly on its findings.