Marijuana Policy Project

PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Department of Health has granted three registrations to operate compassion centers that will provide medical marijuana to qualifying patients in the state. The department received 18 applications for the three registrations allowed under state law. An earlier application process was restarted, as it resulted in no registrations being granted.
 
Applicants were required to meet specific criteria and strict regulations governing the operation of the compassion centers, ensuring that those who received registrations would practice the highest standards in patient and community safety.
 
This represents the trend in recent medical marijuana laws and allows for the highest level of patient access and quality of care. Rhode Island will be the second state on the East Coast to have compassion centers. Maine recently granted eight registrations to operate such a facility, the first of which will have begun providing medical marijuana to patients by the end of March. New Mexico, Colorado, New Jersey, Arizona, and Washington, D.C. also have laws allowing state-registered dispensaries, though three of those laws passed in 2010 and have not yet been implemented.
 
The Hawaii and Washington State Senates recently approved bills to add well-regulated dispensaries to their existing medical marijuana laws. Four additional medical marijuana states, including California, are considering bills to add state regulations on existing dispensaries or to authorize dispensaries.
 
“Well-regulated dispensaries are an essential part of state medical marijuana programs. They include appropriate safeguards to prevent law enforcement concerns, while ensuring that newly diagnosed patients have safe and immediate access to their medicine,” said MPP director of state policies, Karen O’Keefe. “Once Rhode Island’s compassion centers are up and running, they will prevent many patients from having to turn to drug dealers or to suffer without their medicine.”