Pawtucket, RI Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

Pawtucket's marijuana testing facility rules sit inside the broader marijuana special-use section, § 410-60X(4). A testing lab may be permitted by special use permit in the Industrial Open (MO), Industrial Built-Up (MB) or Commercial General (CG) Zoning Districts, a wider set of zones than compassion centers or cultivators get, but the use still carries its own school-and-park buffer: the lot cannot sit within 500 feet of the nearest public or private school, public park, playground, recreation field, youth center or licensed day-care center, measured by a straight line from the facility's nearest property line to the nearest boundary of the protected use.

Beyond the buffer, the ordinance requires that interior testing and storage activities not be visible from surrounding public ways or areas, keeping the operation out of street-level view. Each testing facility license holder must post a written acknowledgment of the limitations on the right to use and possess marijuana in Rhode Island prominently on the premises, and must comply with Department of Business Regulation and Department of Health requirements governing the possession, transport and removal of usable marijuana. The facility must also display documentation on-site showing it has been inspected by the municipal building official, the fire department and state licensing officials, and must report its location to the Rhode Island State Police.

This 500-foot buffer is narrower than the 1,000-foot school and park buffer that applies to compassion centers and cultivators under the same section, reflecting that a testing lab does not sell or distribute product to the public on-site.