Marijuana decriminalization
introduced in Providence
The 2012
legislative session has begun in Providence, and once again, marijuana policy
will be discussed at the State House. Rep. John G.
Edwards (D – Portsmouth, Tiverton) has introduced H 7092, a bill that would
replace the current criminal penalty for possession of up to an ounce of
marijuana – up to a year in jail and a $200 to $500 criminal fine – with a
simple civil violation of $150. Rep. Edwards is one of 41 sponsors on the
marijuana decriminalization bill, over half of the Rhode Island House! The
Republican House Minority Leader – Brian C. Newberry (R – North Smithfield,
Burrillville) – has signed on as a co-sponsor, as have 9 of 14 members of the
House Judiciary Committee.
Once
again, Sen. Joshua Miller (D – Cranston) will join Rep. Edwards in calling for
sensible marijuana policy. His decriminalization companion bill will be
introduced in the Senate soon. These two champions of reform led a similar push for reform
last year. Despite
majority support in both the House and the Senate, leadership failed to give
the bills a vote in 2011. Please email Speaker of the House Fox, House Majority Leader
Mattiello, and Senate President Paiva Weed, and ask them to bring marijuana
decriminalization to a vote in 2012.
If you have not already done so, please sign up for our Rhode Island specific action alerts
and keep an eye on your inbox. It should be a fun year for marijuana reform in
the Ocean State!
Gov.
Lincoln Chafee sends mixed messages on medical marijuana
On November 30, Governor Lincoln Chafee (I) held a press conference with Washington Governor Christine Gregoire (D) to announce
that they are formally petitioning the federal government to move marijuana
from Schedule I to Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act. MPP is
pleased, and a tad bit surprised, to see finally see two political executives
stand up and call shenanigans on the erroneous scheduling of marijuana.
However, our excitement over this news is tempered by the fact that this
petition does nothing to address the lack of safe and affordable access to
medical marijuana in both Rhode Island and Washington.
On September 28, Governor Lincoln Chafee outrageously announced that he will not be moving forward on issuing certificates of operation to the three entities chosen by the state Department of
Health to bring safe, affordable, and reliable medical marijuana to Rhode
Island’s most sick and suffering patients. Gov. Chafee asked the General
Assembly to work with him to create a model that does not draw the attention of
the federal government. If you are a resident of Rhode Island, please email the governor
and ask that he reconsider his position. Please also make sure you’re signed up for MPP’s email alerts to receive further updates.
The Rhode Island General Assembly
passed a compassion center law over two years ago, and it’s been over 10 months
since the Rhode Island Department of Health selected three applicants to be
granted licenses to operate compassion centers. If Gov. Chafee was serious
about providing for safe access to medical marijuana for his constituents, he’d
simply follow state law and grant the compassion centers the certificates of
operation they need to open. While we fully support the rescheduling petition,
it is by no means an acceptable alternative to registering compassion centers.
It may not be decided for several years. Every previous petition has ultimately
been rejected, most recently in July 2011. And, even if it is granted,
additional federal regulatory hurdles would have to be overcome before patients
could be prescribed medical marijuana.
Marijuana
laws in Rhode Island
In 2007, 91% of all
marijuana-related arrests in Rhode Island were for possession; a mere 184
arrests were for sales. For more information on the current status of Rhode
Island's marijuana-related laws, please see Dr. Jon Gettman, PhD's report on marijuana
laws in Rhode Island.
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up-to-date on Rhode Island marijuana policy
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opportunities to move forward marijuana policy reform in Rhode Island by signing up to MPP's free legislative alerts.
