Rhode Island Cannabis Testing Overview

Required.

Each production batch of cannabis or cannabis products must be tested by a licensed analytical laboratory prior to sale or transfer. A Certificate of Analysis (COA) must be issued and documented in the state’s cannabis tracking system. COAs must include test results for potency, microbial content, heavy metals, pesticide residues, and water activity for flower.

 Required.

Quantitative cannabinoid testing must include at minimum:

• Δ⁹-THC
• THCA
• CBD
• CBDA 
• Other cannabinoids (e.g., CBG, CBN) may be reported but are not currently required unless claimed on product labels.

Required for select products.

Under the proposed consolidated adult-use and medical rules:

• Terpene testing is mandatory for any product where terpenes are added or      reintroduced, or if terpene content is listed on the label.
• All terpenes added to a cannabis product must occur naturally in cannabis or be derived from non-cannabis botanicals that naturally produce them.
• Products must not exceed 10% total terpene content by weight unless approved      by waiver.

Comprehensive panel required.

a. Pesticides and Plant Growth Regulators:

• Required for all products.
• Must test for a list of 20+ compounds, including:
  • Myclobutanil
  • Daminozide
  • Paclobutrazol
  • Bifenthrin
  • Chlormequat chloride
• Action limits: ≤10 ppb, or ≤5% of EPA food tolerances for levels above 10 ppb.

b. Heavy Metals:

• Required for all product types.
• Inhalation-use limits:
  • Arsenic: ≤200 µg/kg
  • Cadmium: ≤200 µg/kg
  • Lead: ≤500 µg/kg
  • Mercury: ≤100 µg/kg
• Chromium, Nickel, Selenium are not currently required.

c. Microbial Contaminants:

• Required for flower and infused products.
  • Total aerobic bacteria: ≤100,000 CFU/g
  • Yeast and mold: ≤10,000 CFU/g
  • Coliforms: ≤1,000 CFU/g
  • Bile-tolerant Gram-negative bacteria: ≤1,000 CFU/g
  • E. coli and Salmonella spp.: Must be absent in 1g sample

d. Foreign Material:

• Visual inspection is mandatory, and COAs must indicate the presence of visible      contaminants (e.g., insects, hair, mold).
• No numeric pass/fail thresholds defined.

• Listeria monocytogenes, Shigella spp., and Clostridium botulinum not named
• No required testing for trace metals like Chromium, Nickel, or Selenium
• No defined limits for visual contaminants beyond general COA documentation
• Stability testing is not required under current guidelines

 Low Concern:

Rhode Island continues to implement a broad contaminant testing program, now integrated across both medical and adult-use markets, with oversight by the newly established Cannabis Control Commission. Testing standards are rooted in validated AOAC, USP, and AHP methodologies. 

Required.

• aw: must be ≤0.60 for plant material
• Moisture content must be managed but is not quantitatively regulated beyond water activity.

Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission

Website: https://cannabis.ri.gov  

Email: info@cannabis.ri.gov 

Phone: (401) 222-5960   

Address: 3 Capitol Hill, Providence, RI 02908 

Rhode Island Department of Health. (January 4, 2022). 216-RICR-60-05-6. Rhode Island Sample Analysis.

Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission. (2024). Draft cannabis testing and regulatory consolidation.