Victory! R.I. Senate votes 29-6 for compassion center bill

This afternoon, the Senate overwhelmingly voted to give the state's more than 375 medical marijuana patients safe and steady access to the medicine they need! The vote had been scheduled for Tuesday, but was delayed due to an oral amendment by Sen. Leo Blais that would have prohibited patients from smoking their medicine near children and other people. That amendment was favorably modified and the compassion center bill passed by an overwhelming majority. It garnered over 82% of the vote — far more than the 60% that would be needed to override a veto.

This is a tremendous step, but our work is far from done ...

It's time to ask the House to follow suit. The House Health, Education, and Welfare Committee has not yet scheduled a vote on the House's twin bill, H 7888. We know from past years that the House cares about medical marijuana patients. But it's crucial that they hear how important this bill is to patients' well-being and how much support it has.

If you haven't done so yet, please e-mail your representative to ask that he or she support this bill in the House. If you've already e-mailed, please take the time to call.

If you are a patient, a medical professional, or caregiver who is willing to send a letter to the entire House committee, in addition to your own representative, please e-mail Karen@mpp.org.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project, our allies, and Rhode Island patients. Please pass this alert on to others in Rhode Island, so that, together, we can ensure that patients have safe and steady access to their medicine. You can also check http://www.mpp.org/states/rhode-island/news for coverage of today's vote.