2013 Rhode Island General Laws
Title 21 - Food And Drugs
Chapter 21-28.6 - The Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act
Section 21-28.6-3 - Definitions.

§ 21-28.6-3 Definitions. – For the purposes of this chapter:

(1) "Cardholder" means a qualifying patient, a primary caregiver, or a principal officer, board member, employee, volunteer, or agent of a compassion center who has been issued and possesses a valid registry identification card.

(2) "Compassion center" means a not-for-profit corporation subject to the provisions of chapter 7-6, and registered under § 21-28.6-12 that acquires, possesses, cultivates, manufactures, delivers, transfers, transports, supplies or dispenses marijuana, and/or related supplies and educational materials, to registered qualifying patients and/or their registered primary caregivers who have designated it as one of their primary caregivers.

(3) "Debilitating medical condition" means:

(i) Cancer, glaucoma, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, Hepatitis C, or the treatment of these conditions;

(ii) A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces one or more of the following: cachexia or wasting syndrome; severe, debilitating, chronic pain; severe nausea; seizures, including but not limited to, those characteristic of epilepsy; or severe and persistent muscle spasms, including but not limited to, those characteristic of multiple sclerosis or Crohn's disease; or agitation of Alzheimer's Disease; or

(iii) Any other medical condition or its treatment approved by the department, as provided for in § 21-28.6-5.

(4) "Department" means the Rhode Island department of health or its successor agency.

(5) "Marijuana" has the meaning given that term in § 21-28-1.02(26).

(6) "Mature marijuana plant" means a marijuana plant which has flowers or buds that are readily observable by an unaided visual examination.

(7) "Medical use" means the acquisition, possession, cultivation, manufacture, use, delivery, transfer, or transportation of marijuana or paraphernalia relating to the consumption of marijuana to alleviate a registered qualifying patient's debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated with the medical condition.

(8) "Practitioner" means a person who is licensed with authority to prescribe drugs pursuant to chapter 37 of title 5 or a physician licensed with authority to prescribe drugs in Massachusetts or Connecticut.

(9) "Primary caregiver" means either a natural person who is at least twenty-one (21) years old or a compassion center. A natural person primary caregiver may assist no more than five (5) qualifying patients with their medical use of marijuana.

(10) "Qualifying patient" means a person who has been diagnosed by a practitioner as having a debilitating medical condition and is a resident of Rhode Island.

(11) "Registry identification card" means a document issued by the department that identifies a person as a registered qualifying patient, a registered primary caregiver, or a registered principal officer, board member, employee, volunteer, or agent of a compassion center.

(12) "Seedling" means a marijuana plant with no observable flowers or buds.

(13) "Unusable marijuana" means marijuana seeds, stalks, seedlings, and unusable roots.

(14) "Usable marijuana" means the dried leaves and flowers of the marijuana plant, and any mixture or preparation thereof, but does not include the seeds, stalks, and roots of the plant.

(15) "Written certification" means the qualifying patient's medical records, and a statement signed by a practitioner, stating that in the practitioner's professional opinion the potential benefits of the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the health risks for the qualifying patient. A written certification shall be made only in the course of a bona fide practitioner-patient relationship after the practitioner has completed a full assessment of the qualifying patient's medical history. The written certification shall specify the qualifying patient's debilitating medical condition or conditions.

History of Section.
(P.L. 2005, ch. 442, § 1; P.L. 2005, ch. 443, § 1; P.L. 2007, ch. 72, § 1; P.L. 2007, ch. 495, § 1; P.L. 2009, ch. 16, § 1; P.L. 2009, ch. 17, § 1; P.L. 2012, ch. 88, § 1; P.L. 2012, ch. 118, § 1.)