PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Anne Armstrong, 58, knows exactly how many joints she has smoked at Providence's Roger Williams National Memorial -- 153, all rolled with "kosher" marijuana harvested in the backyard of her West Greenwich home. As "deaconess" to The Healing Church, a cannabis-centered Catholic sect that boasts about a dozen members, Armstrong believes smoking in the park is a religious obligation, the equivalent to a sip of wine at Communion. Anointing members with hashish-infused oil and blowing a shofar so it billows marijuana smoke are, likewise, ceremonial duties. (It should be noted that Armstrong refuses to use the word marijuana, which she calls racist slang. She prefers to refer to the plant as cannabis, spice, or hemp.) [continues 1313 words]
PROVIDENCE - Rhode Island lawmakers have introduced legislation that could have drug dealers who sell substances that lead to a fatal overdose facing life in prison. Current law states any person convicted in the sale, delivery, or distribution of a controlled substance to a minor who overdoses could face a life sentence. The new proposal introduced by Attorney General Peter Kilmartin, Democratic House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, and Senator Hanna Gallo would include victims of any age. If passed, the legislation would be named ''Kristen's Law,'' in honor of Kristen Coutu. The 29-year-old was found dead in her car after overdosing on fentanyl in 2014. Aaron Andrade allegedly sold the drug to Coutu, and he was sentenced to 40 years in prison with 20 to serve. [end]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday preventing the town of Smithfield from enforcing a recent amendment to its zoning ordinance that restricted the cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana. In his decision, Superior Court Associate Justice Richard A. Licht questioned whether local communities had the power to regulate "small-scale" medical marijuana cultivation under its zoning authority, which traditionally has been used to determine land use. In April, the Smithfield Town Council passed an ordinance that limits licensed medical marijuana patients to two mature plants and two seedlings, and only at a patient's primary residence. Rhode Island law specifically allows for the cultivation of 12 mature plants and outlines where medical marijuana can be grown. [continues 422 words]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A federal anti-drug program has asked Rhode Island - -- and more than two dozen other states where medical marijuana is legal -- to turn over data about patients in the program. The move has alarmed some who question why the federal government, which has at times appeared to be antagonistic towards the drug, is interested in the information. The National Marijuana Initiative, an arm of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, which reports to the White House, contacted the Rhode Island Department of Health in August seeking data from 2012 to 2016 on the number of patients in the program, as well as patients' age, gender and a breakdown of the medical conditions under which they qualified. [continues 583 words]
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - After three defendants fatally overdosed in a single week last year, it became clear that Buffalo's ordinary drug treatment court was no match for the heroin and painkiller crisis. Now the city is experimenting with the nation's first opioid crisis intervention court, which can get users into treatment within hours of their arrest instead of days, requires them to check in with a judge every day for a month instead of once a week, and puts them on strict curfews. Administering justice takes a back seat to the overarching goal of simply keeping defendants alive. [continues 796 words]
Researchers found an 11 percent reduction in traffic fatalities on average when examining places that have enacted medical marijuana laws -- 23 states (including Rhode Island) and the District of Columbia. By Fredrick Kunkle, The Washington Post States with medical marijuana laws have fewer traffic fatalities than those without, especially among younger drivers, a new study found. You would think crash rates might be higher, supposing that more drivers are, too - especially around midnight, when a run to a 7-Eleven becomes necessary. [continues 431 words]
PROVIDENCE ( AP) - The Narragansett Indian Tribe would be able to grow hemp in Rhode Island under a new bill proposed in the state's General Assembly. Rep. Helio Melo, an East Providence Democrat, introduced the legislation on Thursday. The bill says the tribe historically used hemp products for clothing and housing and wants to use it again as a business opportunity. The bill would also allow universities to grow hemp for research or educational purposes. The National Conference of State Legislatures says at least 28 states have laws in place related to industrial hemp. It's legal to import hemp from abroad, but federal law only allows cultivation of hemp as a research project by states and universities. Industrial hemp is related to marijuana but has a lower concentration of the drug's mind-altering ingredient. [end]
Gov. Gina Raimondo has unveiled a smart, multipronged plan to attack the drug-overdose deaths afflicting Rhode Island. Her comprehensive approach leaves few aspects of this public health emergency unaddressed and, if appropriate funding is forthcoming, should help to slow what has become a devastating loss of lives. The governor has proposed spending $4 million in the next fiscal year to curb the misuse of opioids. A prime focus would be the use of medication-assisted treatment to help wean users off more dangerous drugs. Ms. Raimondo's "Strategic Action Plan" also calls for doubling the number of certified peer-recovery specialists, who are trained to intervene in a crisis and help steer drug users toward treatment. [continues 524 words]
Fears Negative Consequences Pot Could Have on Society PROVIDENCE (AP) - Rhode Island's Roman Catholic bishop said he wants to smell holy incense, not cannabis, in Providence's cathedral and warned state lawmakers against transporting young people to "the land of oblivion" by legalizing marijuana. Bishop Thomas Tobin shared his opinions in an essay titled "Nope to Dope." The essay was published on a diocesan website Tuesday, just hours before a hearing on a bill to legalize pot. Tobin said he's heard about "zombie-like" people who are "completely stoned" filling public places in Colorado, where marijuana is legal. He said young people already addicted to electronic devices and "attached to their virtual umbilical cords" would become more detached from society if the drug were legal. He said he was disturbed by a recent report of a woman smoking pot in the back of a cathedral during a morning service. [continues 220 words]
Forum Offers Sobering Opinions on Push for Legalization of Marijuana The increasing speculation that Rhode Island will further ease restrictions on the use of marijuana had area prevention coalitions raising a flag of caution at a recent Town Hall Meeting, hosted on the campus of Amica Insurance, to talk about how those changes could affect young people. The forum on marijuana focused on how the drug affects adolescents and the developing teenage brain with the help of Dr. Lilia RomeroBosch, a psychiatrist, and also presented information on existing trends in drug use among teens from Margaret Johnson, a student assistance counselor for the Warwick school department. There was also a youth panel of students who gave first-hand accounts of what is happening in their schools in North Smithfield, Lincoln, Cumberland, Woonsocket and Scituate. The discussion was moderated by Nancy Denuccio, chairwoman of the Ocean State Prevention Alliance. Romero-Bosch related her experiences in counseling family members with substance abuse problems, and her experiences with patients who are trying to quit substance abuse while also participating in marijuana production. [continues 1692 words]
Howard Marks, a Welsh-born, Oxford-trained drug smuggler who for years ran a globe-spanning marijuana ring, enraging officials and entertaining the public on both sides of the Atlantic as a countercultural scofflaw, died April 10. He was 70. Mr. Marks revealed last year that he had inoperable bowel cancer, and his death was announced by Pan Macmillan, the publisher Mr. Smiley: My of his most recent book, Last Pill and Testament (2015). Other details were not immediately available. Once described as "sounding like Richard Burton and looking like a Rolling Stone," Mr. Marks achieved celebrity and notoriety in a life that took him from a mining village to the University of Oxford, to prison, and finally to bestsellerdom with the release of his memoir Mr. Nice (1996). [continues 161 words]
PROVIDENCE - Amid signs that the political climate for legalizing marijuana is growing increasingly friendly, officials in charge of the new regulatory machinery in Colorado and Washington State have some cautionary words of advice: Look before you leap. Marley Bardovsky, the assistant director of prosecution for the Denver City Attorney's Office, and Darwin Roberts, deputy attorney general for Washington State, were among a panel of experts who spoke Tuesday at a forum on legalization at the Brown University Medical Center. [continues 1148 words]
PROVIDENCE (AP) - Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin is hosting a forum on marijuana regulation and policy that will focus on learning from states that have legalized the drug. Tuesday's forum at Brown University will include speakers from the marijuana industry group the Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Production. Representatives from states where marijuana is legal will also speak, including a representative from the city of Denver, another from the Washington attorney general's office, and a researcher from the Washington State Institute on Public Policy. [continues 54 words]
Providence (AP) - Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin is hosting a forum on marijuana regulation and policy that will focus on learning from states that have legalized the drug. Tuesday's forum at Brown University will include speakers from the marijuana industry group the Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Production. Representatives from states where marijuana is legal will also speak, including a representative from the city of Denver, another from the Washington attorney general's office and a researcher from the Washington State Institute on Public Policy. [continues 54 words]
Uxbridge Community Leaders Collaborate on Solutions As Mass. Battles Addiction UXBRIDGE - If there was an overriding message from Uxbridge's community forum on opioid addiction it would be: "We are all in this together." "None of us has the total answer. A total collaboration across the board - that's where the answers will be," said Craig Maxim, program director of Family Continuity, a mental health provider and head of the Northbridge Coalition. Maxim was one of several panelists at the forum hosted by the Uxbridge Coalition for a Community of Caring. The panel included representatives from the medical community, state legislators, the district attorney's office, the police and fire departments, schools and support groups. [continues 1370 words]
Providence ( AP) - The number of medical marijuana dispensaries in Rhode Island could double as part of a new bill introduced in the General Assembly. Democratic Rep. Scott Slater of Providence has proposed increasing the number of state-permitted compassion centers from three to six. The bill would allow no more than one new dispensary to open in each of the state's four counties. Slater says locating the centers around the state will give patients with debilitating conditions an easier trip to pick up their medication. The Providence Journal reports that one proposed dispensary called the Blackstone Valley Compassion Center already has a registered lobbyist. [end]
One reason to re-legalize cannabis (marijuana) that doesn't get mentioned, "Rhode Island Senate Majority Leader Signs on to Legalize Marijuana," (Feb. 21), is because it may lower hard-drug addiction rates. That list includes opioids, which have been in news in The Day a lot recently. Selling cannabis in a regulated market removes sales from people who may also sell hard drugs. Some citizens who legitimately use opioids for medical conditions may choose cannabis, if it is available over the counter, like in Colorado. That could lower hard drug addiction rates. [continues 121 words]
Providence (AP) - A push to legalize recreational marijuana in Rhode Island has won the support of a top lawmaker. Senate Majority Leader Dominick Ruggerio, a North Providence Democrat, has signed on as co-sponsor of a bill to treat marijuana like alcohol by legalizing, regulating and taxing it. "It is an important conversation to have," Ruggerio said in a statement. "I have listened to the debate regarding legalization of marijuana over the years and watched the experience in states such as Colorado," which legalized the commercial sale of the drug. [continues 270 words]
PROVIDENCE (AP) - It has been two years since Rhode Island launched its medical marijuana market and opened dispensaries around the state, but tax revenues haven't been quite as high as state officials expected. There are now three medical marijuana dispensaries - also known as compassion centers - selling marijuana to patients in Rhode Island, with the state collecting a 4 percent surcharge and a 7 percent sales tax on all their transactions. While revenues are increasing, some centers say they're facing increasing competition from caregivers who can grow and sell medical marijuana without paying taxes to the state. [continues 327 words]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A Superior Court judge Tuesday refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing a Westerly fabric company of violating a West Warwick woman's civil rights and state law by denying her a paid summer internship after she disclosed that she carried a medical marijuana card. Judge Richard A. Licht denied a motion by Darlington Fabrics Corp. and its parent company, The Moore Company, to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Christine Callaghan. The suit alleges that Darlington Fabrics violated the Rhode Island Civil Rights Act and the state medical marijuana law when it turned down Callaghan for a paid internship at the company in July 2014 after she told human resources she was a medical marijuana cardholder. Callaghan uses medical marijuana to treat "occasional debilitating migraine headaches," according to the ACLU. [continues 312 words]
It's no secret. Most Americans now favor making marijuana legal. The national numbers are similar to those in Rhode Island, where a recent poll showed that 57 percent of Rhode Island residents support legalization. Prohibitionists are rapidly losing the debate because the facts are against them. Nonetheless, they continue to repeat three arguments that have been thoroughly debunked by objective scientific research. First, opponents of legalization claim that marijuana is a "gateway" to hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. Numerous studies over the past 70 years - including one commissioned by the White House - have discredited this hypothesis. Yet prohibitionists continue to claim that marijuana use leads to later use of heroin and other dangerous drugs. Roughly half of all American adults have tried marijuana. If marijuana is a "gateway drug" as opponents claim, why do we find that only 2 percent of Americans have ever tried heroin? [continues 520 words]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Members of a local church who use marijuana in various forms for what they claim is a religious ritual gathered at Roger Williams National Memorial on Saturday, while several U.S. Park Service police officers watched to make sure no one in the group smoked on federal property. Instead, four members of the West Greenwich-based Healing Church anointed each other with cannabis-infused oil at the well at the park. They also drank a jar full of a white liquid, called bhang, made from fermented kefir grains, honey and marijuana. But they didn't smoke because authorities made it clear that smoking marijuana on federal grounds would not be tolerated. [continues 470 words]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A church that meets in a West Greenwich home and uses cannabis in its services has obtained a permit from the National Park Service to conduct a religious service at the Roger Williams National Memorial, a site chosen for its significance to the idea of religious freedom. Cannabis activists Anne Armstrong and Alan Gordon, representatives of The Healing Church, applied for a permit for a 45-minute Celebration of Holy Fire at 8 p.m. on May 23 for about 100 people on the small federal property at 282 North Main St. [continues 774 words]
R.I. Growers Can Attest to Perils of New Market PORTSMOUTH, R.I. - A tiny spider mite is all it could take to cripple Seth Bock's business. Bock grows marijuana, legally, for a living, and the peril presented by just one small insect illustrates how difficult it can be to establish a thriving dispensary. His is one of three medical marijuana dispensaries in Rhode Island, and his experience provides vital lessons for companies in Massachusetts that have won licenses to grow and sell marijuana. The first is expected to open in April. [continues 1124 words]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Two Johnson & Wales University graduates are ready to open the state's first medical marijuana vapor lounge in downtown Providence Saturday. Named Elevated, the small storefront lounge on Peck Street does not intend to sell marijuana, but offer licensed medical marijuana patients a casual space to consume their medication in vapor form, said owner Kevin Cintorino Friday. Pipes and accessories for marijuana "vaping" will be available to rent. "A lot of landlords don't let you use medicine in your apartment, so people have to go to their friends' houses and other places that aren't convenient," said Cintorino, who is also a medical marijuana patient. "Here they can relax and talk about what works best with other people who know about it." [continues 103 words]
Regarding the Jan. 12 Commentary piece by Susan Shapiro ("My pot addiction nearly ruined my life"): While we have suffered many of these platitudes against legalization before I do take exception to her admonition to more forward slowly. We should be moving along at an exhilarated clip as there is a very real window of opportunity here for Rhode Island. Colorado's experiment has proven to be a boon to its economy just as gambling's approval in 1974 did for New Jersey. The first state in the East that approves legalization will be the one to reap the rewards. Once legalization is approved that window will slowly start to close and revenues will fall as other nearby states start their own legalization processes. Witness the effect Indian reservation gambling has had on the casinos of New Jersey. [continues 98 words]
It is 2015 now, believe it or not. Rhode Island muddles along, perpetually over-taxed, under-employed, and struggling to keep up economically with both our neighbors and the rest of the country. Our unemployment stands at 7.1 percent, 47th out of 50 states. The 2015 budget projects a $200 million deficit, which is a pretty incredible feat considering Rhode Island is one of the most highly taxed states in the union. Our state needs something new, something to boost us up and out of the rut we always seem to find ourselves in. The Marijuana Regulation, Control and Taxation Act could very likely be exactly what Rhode Island needs to turn itself around. [continues 549 words]
In his Jan. 3 Commentary piece ("Talking police and Newtown's millions"), Chris Powell writes of the police's response to blacks: "Young black men commit a hugely disproportionate amount of crime." Unfortunately, this is only one side of a very stacked equation. The vast increase in incarcerations over the past decade is because of the "war on drugs, " with half of all drug arrests since 2010 being for marijuana (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Fact Sheet 2014). While blacks and whites have the same rate of marijuana use (according to American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP), The New York Times reported on June 3, 2013 that they are four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession or sales. [continues 139 words]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A graduate student has sued a textile company for refusing to hire her for a two-month internship because she uses medical marijuana to treat frequent and debilitating migraine headaches, a decision her attorney calls discrimination. Christine Callaghan, who is studying textiles at the University of Rhode Island, sued Westerly-based Darlington Fabrics Corp. and its parent, the Moore Co., on Wednesday. The Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Ms. Callaghan, said it believes it's the first lawsuit of its kind in the state. [continues 84 words]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is suing a Westerly-based fabric manufacturer on behalf of a University of Rhode Island graduate student who says she was denied a paid summer internship because she is a registered medical marijuana user. The lawsuit alleges that Darlington Fabrics violated the Rhode Island Civil Rights Act and the state medical marijuana law when it turned down Christine Callaghan for a paid internship at the company last July after she disclosed she was a medical marijuana cardholder, the ACLU said in a news release. Callaghan uses medical marijuana to treat "frequent, debilitating migraine headaches." [continues 190 words]
Tuesday's elections showed us that the momentum for marijuana policy reform continues to grow across the country. Oregon and Alaska became the third and fourth states to regulate and tax marijuana like alcohol, and voters in Washington, D.C. overwhelmingly approved a measure to remove all penalties for adult marijuana possession. Americans are rejecting costly and ineffective marijuana laws that punish adults for using a substance that is less harmful than alcohol. Marijuana prohibition is on the way out. Ballot initiatives to regulate and tax marijuana are expected to appear in Massachusetts and Maine in 2016. Rhode Island has an opportunity in the 2015 legislative session to become the first East Coast state to regulate and tax marijuana. I hope the General Assembly notices the national trend towards marijuana policy reform and enacts legislation to give our state a head start advantage in the emerging legal marijuana economy. Mark Gray Providence The writer is president of Young Democrats of Rhode Island. [end]
WOONSOCKET, R.I. - CVS Pharmacy announced that it would offer the opiate antidote Narcan without a prescription at all of its 60 pharmacies in Rhode Island by the end of month. Narcan, also known as naloxone, offers immediate help for anyone overdosing from an opiate such as heroin or a prescription painkiller such as OxyContin. If given in time, Narcan can reverse an overdose by restoring breathing. "Over half of our pharmacies are now under a collaborative agreement that allows them to dispense Narcan without a prescription," CVS spokesman Michael DeAngelis said Friday. "It's part of our commitment to combat prescription drug abuse. We think it's a great public service." [continues 395 words]
CRANSTON, R.I. - Inside a cinderblock classroom at the Adult Correctional Institutions' medium-security facility, a group of inmates who are nearing their release dates get a lesson about how to say alive on the outside. Their chances of dying from a bullet are nothing compared with the risk of a fatal drug overdose. The men are told how to recognize the signs of an overdose: Pale or bluish skin. Faint pulse. Slow or labored breathing. "They may sound like they're snoring," Rebecca McGlodrick, a volunteer instructor, says, but when someone is overdosing the noises mean they're "struggling to take a breath." [continues 762 words]
For decades marijuana prohibition has been one of the cornerstones of our ineffective and costly war on drugs. The sad irony, however, is that using criminal law to direct our police officers, prosecutors and judges to arrest and punish individuals for marijuana has failed to reduce its widespread availability and use. Despite criminal penalties, daily marijuana use has more than tripled among teenagers since the early 1990s. According to an annual survey from Columbia University, nearly half of all high school students know of someone in their school who sells drugs. Ninety-one percent of those teenagers know a peer who sells marijuana. By comparison only 1 percent knows of a classmate who sells alcohol. [continues 675 words]
When something is broken, it needs to be fixed. Marijuana prohibition is a broken policy, and it is time to enact a solution. The "rush" to end marijuana prohibition ("Why rush on pot, Rhode Island?," Commentary, May 6) comes from the fact that we have lived under this failed policy for more than 70 years. We have seen that marijuana prohibition does nothing to reduce the availability and use of marijuana. Instead, it only enriches criminals who sell it illegally in an unregulated market. We don't need to wait any longer to know that our current approach to marijuana is the wrong way to go. [continues 145 words]
The Rhode Island Disaster Medical Assistance Team, or DMAT, conducted recent training and has ordered 300 doses of Narcan for the state police. With the death toll from Rhode Island's ongoing drug overdose epidemic continuing to rise, the State Police on Friday announced the full deployment of Narcan to state troopers. "If Narcan can save even one life, then it is incumbent upon us to have it available and for our troopers to be trained in its administration," said Col. Steven O'Donnell, superintendent of the state police. "Narcan will keep someone alive long enough for rescue personnel to respond, provide additional medical assistance, and transport the victim to the hospital. It's the right thing to do." [continues 194 words]
Legalization Bill Would Allocate Millions In Tax Revenue To Narcotic Abuse Prevention The House Judiciary Committee last week heard testimony on several bills proposing to legalize marijuana in Rhode Island and to improve current regulations on the sale and distribution of medical marijuana. While marijuana legalization has gained momentum in the state recently, there remain concerns for some about regulation and legalization's effects. Legalizing marijuana The first bill - introduced Feb. 13 by Rep. Edith Ajello, D-Providence - would legalize the possession and cultivation of small amounts of marijuana for personal use for adults over 21 years old, a policy supported by 47.6 percent of respondents in an April 10 poll from the Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions. The committee heard testimony on the bill Wednesday. [continues 1396 words]
In the late 1970s and early '80s, just as this country's war on drugs was ramping up, I joined the Providence Police Department, serving five years as a uniformed police officer in the patrol division. Even then, with the lion's share of our federal drug enforcement budget devoted to treatment, I had doubts about the efficacy of a "war on drugs." The criminal justice system seemed ill-suited for addressing public health problems, and it appeared that the issue was being manipulated and exploited for political reasons. But I could never have imagined the damage this new prohibition would inflict on the fabric of our cities and on our national identity. [continues 701 words]
It's time to retire the marijuana bust photograph. So, this week in The Providence Phoenix, we are hereby sending the accompanying photo - both a recent local example of what we mean when we say "marijuana bust photograph" and a symbolic stand-in for an entire genre of news photography - somewhere warm and sunny to live out the rest of its days away from the public eye. We cannot speak on behalf other local media outlets: newspapers, radio stations, TV channels, or online outlets like Coventry Patch, which ran this pic under the headline "Coventry, Scituate Police Make $250,000 Pot Bust in Joint Investigation," on March 14. (There's a nice "joint" pun tucked in there.) We can only speak for ourselves. [continues 473 words]
The March 10 letter by Debby Richards Perugini ("Legal pot's dark side") has me scratching my head and wondering why every parent in the country is not this passionate about Alcohol and the effects it has on our young people - and anybody else! I am not entering the ring to battle about pot being legal or not; it's just that I really cannot remember the last time I read about a person getting killed by a person under the influence of pot! [continues 117 words]
Let's face it: marijuana prohibition has failed. It has failed in Rhode Island and it has failed across the country. Historic majorities of Americans across the nation - including here in the Ocean state - support regulation instead of criminalization. The newly introduced Marijuana Regulation, Control and Taxation Act is Rhode Island's opportunity to lead the way in the northeast, and we shouldn't let it pass us by. This bill would permit adults 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and grow up to two plants in a locked space. Additionally, it would establish a strictly regulated system of retail stores, cultivation centers and testing facilities, lifting marijuana out of the risky, unpredictable and criminal black market. [continues 71 words]
It appears that Governor Chafee may be warming to the concept of legalizing and regulating marijuana in Rhode Island as a potential source of tax revenue. Over the weekend, Chafee, a Democrat, attended the National Governors Association's winter meeting in Washington, D.C., and listened to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, also a Democrat, talk about the legalization of marijuana in his state that is expected to generate more than $100 million in taxes and regulatory fees this year. Hickenlooper had been an opponent of legalization, but state voters approved it in a 2012 referendum. [continues 595 words]
I firmly believe it is far better to legalize adult possession and private use of marijuana, than to continue down the failed path of prohibition (""Bill to legalize, regulate, tax marijuana introduced"." Feb. 13). Colorado and Washington are showing us all that it can be done responsibly, and, clearly, House Judiciary Chairwoman Edith Ajello, and Senate Health and Human Services Chairman Joshua Miller are paying attention. They have introduced thoughtfully crafted legislation that would allow adults in Rhode Island to purchase marijuana from a well-regulated, taxpaying business, rather than from a tax-avoiding criminal. Their legislation would impose very thorough regulations so the state finally would know who is selling marijuana, where it is being sold, and to whom. Finally, it would address one of our most pressing public health concerns by earmarking 40 percent of revenue, after the cost of regulation, to go towards alcohol and drug treatment, prevention, and education. Here's hoping this will be the year we end our state's foolish, very costly, and often disastrous prohibition of marijuana. Anthony De Luca Saunderstown [end]
Marijuana policy reform is a hot topic these days in Rhode Island and across the country. Over the last three years, we've been discussing the issue with constituents, colleagues, opinion leaders and activists on both sides of the issue. Our conversations have led us to two points of agreement: First, our current marijuana policy has failed. For instance, studies indicate an increase in youth marijuana use and that it is easy for them to get it. Second, most Rhode Islanders are ready for change. [continues 644 words]
BOSTON - Two Rhode Island legislators introduced a bill Wednesday that could make the state the third in the United States to legalize recreational marijuana for adults. State Sen. Joshua Miller and Rep. Edith Ajello, both Democrats, said the bill would regulate and tax marijuana, treating it similarly to alcohol. The bill would allow adults to possess up to 1 ounce and to grow two marijuana plants. [end]
In April, possession of small amounts of marijuana was decriminalized in Rhode Island. Some might wonder what motivated the state government to loosen restrictions on a substance that causes such apparent mental impairment. How could this possibly benefit the state? At the start of any given weekend on College Hill, many students prepare to drink, smoke, roll, trip and partake in other illegal drug-related activities. A Herald poll conducted last semester found that during the previous year, 85 percent of students had consumed alcohol, 49 percent had used marijuana, 9 percent had used ecstasy - also known as MDMA - and at least 7 percent had used some psychedelic agent ("Poll: White, older students more likely to use substances," Apr. 17). Many would say that, for the most part, the University turns a blind eye to this debauchery - a policy generally supported by the student body. [continues 730 words]
"Speaker at R.I. conference says marijuana use among nation's youth is rising" (news, Oct. 25) confirmed that opponents of legalizing and regulating marijuana are still misleading the public and using fear tactics to distract us from the massive social costs of marijuana prohibition. Let's get the facts straight. Nationally, youth marijuana use has been steadily increasing since the early 1990s -- years before the first state adopted medical marijuana in 1996. On top of that, youth use continues to rise in states with the most draconian marijuana laws, while states with less punitive laws, such as Colorado, have seen a decline in youth marijuana use. [continues 147 words]
The state medical board has disciplined two doctors for improper prescribing practices, including one who authorized medical marijuana for two 16-year-olds without checking with their doctors. Dr. Soneath L. Pond, an internist, wrote a medical-marijuana certification for a 16-year-old girl without obtaining full information from other providers who were taking care of her, according to a consent order between Pond and the state Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline. Had he checked with her other doctors, the order said, Pond would have learned she suffered from anorexia, not a valid diagnosis for issuing a medical marijuana card, and that her treatment providers at Hasbro Children's Hospital had recommended against marijuana. [continues 151 words]
Providence- Rhode Island is reducing the penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana and preparing to open its first medical pot dispensaries as states around the nation reassess their stance on the country's most popular illicit drug. A new law decriminalizing the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana will take effect Monday. Instead of the threat of jail time or a $500 fine, those caught with marijuana will receive a $150 civil fine. The offender will have to forfeit the marijuana and appear in traffic court, but the incident won't appear on their criminal records. [continues 326 words]
Inside Rhode Island
