Rhode Island General Assembly adjourns; decrim makes progress but doesn’t pass

Published: June 11, 2010

In their rush to wrap up the 2010 legislative session, the General Assembly adjourned without taking action on either SB 2786 or HB 7317, both of which would have replaced the current criminal penalty for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana with a more sensible civil fine of $150. Although this is unfortunate, this session we were able to make massive inroads of support in both chambers, with 48% of the House of Representatives co-sponsoring the House bill.

We have the support of a bipartisan group of legislators led by our champions Sens. Joshua Miller and Rhoda Perry and Rep. John Edwards. In addition to the stand-alone bills, Senate Majority Leader Daniel Connors drafted a civil court bill that included the decriminalization measure. Furthermore, with the help of our grantees at OpenDoors and the Rhode Island Campaign for Informed Marijuana Policy, as well as our lobbyists at the Bradford Group, we have built a strong coalition of community leaders, academics, activists, and Rhode Island citizens determined to decriminalize simple marijuana possession in The Ocean State.

Although we may be a bit down right now, I want to assure you that we are definitely not out! MPP and our local partners’ successful campaigns to allow medical marijuana in Rhode Island and to add compassion centers both took two years. This was the first year we had a paid lobbying team working on decriminalization, and we plan on being back in the mix next session.  Legislators are hesitant to enact marijuana policy reforms in election years, and we are hoping that, with your help and support, next year will be the year.

Our proposal relieves responsible citizens of the burden of carrying around a criminal record merely because they were found in possession of a small amount of marijuana. Furthermore, it is estimated to save the state of Rhode Island up to $11 million dollars annually. We will make sure these goals are met.

I want to thank you all so very much for your time and dedication to this matter. Please do not let this news diminish your enthusiasm for reforming Rhode Island’s marijuana laws now and in the future.

In a bit of good news, the General Assembly overwhelmingly passed H 8172 and S 2834, which would make the confidentiality protections for physicians who recommend medical marijuana even more explicit. The bills now go to Gov. Don Carcieri, who has not expressed a position on the bills. I’ll be back in touch soon keeping you updated on our efforts and how you can help.

Thank you.