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]