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The Rhode Island Senate on Tuesday approved a bill to legalize marijuana.<\/p>\n
The legislation, which cleared the chamber\u2019s Judiciary Committee last week<\/a>, passed in a 29-9 vote.<\/p>\n Senate Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey (D) and Health & Human Services Chairman Joshua Miller (D) are the lead sponsors of the measure,\u00a0which they introduced in March<\/a>, days before Gov. Dan McKee (D)\u00a0came out with his own legalization proposal<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a historic day, as it is the first time a bill to legalize and regulate cannabis has reached the floor of either legislative chamber in Rhode Island,\u201d Miller said before the vote.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is important that we act expeditiously to enact a regulatory framework,\u201d he added, noting policy changes in surrounding states such as Connecticut, where the state\u2019s governor signed a legalization bill into law<\/a> earlier on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cCannabis legalization is as much about reconciliation as it is revenue,\u201d McCaffrey said in a press release. \u201c[P]olicies of prohibition have disproportionately impacted communities of color, and I believe we must ensure any effort to legalize cannabis recognizes and rectifies those wrongs. Low barriers to entry, expungement reform, and broad access to programs designed to increase access for individuals and communities impacted by the failed War on Drugs are an important and necessary component.\u201d<\/p>\n In historic vote, Senate passes legislation sponsored by Leader @SenMcCaffrey<\/a> and Chairman @SenatorMillerRI<\/a> to legalize, tax, and regulate cannabis in Rhode Island https:\/\/t.co\/McFWBXIlYu<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Rhode Island Senate (@RISenate) June 22, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n A third Rhode Island legalization measure was also recently filed on the House side<\/a>\u00a0by Rep. Scott Slater (D) and several cosponsors.<\/p>\n But while the Senate moved forward with the leaders\u2019 bill, House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi (D) recently signaled that legalization wouldn\u2019t be taken up until the summer or fall<\/a>.<\/p>\n Senate President Dominick Ruggerio (D) said in a press release on Tuesday that he wants to work with the governor and the House to get the reform done this year.<\/p>\n \u201cUnder the status quo, with cannabis readily available, Rhode Island must address all the societal costs, but we have no regulatory framework and no associated revenue stream. The longer we wait to open a cannabis marketplace, the further behind we fall from a competitive standpoint,\u201d he said. \u201cI encourage our partners in government to continue to work with us to bring this needed legislation over the goal line.\u201d<\/p>\n McKee, for his part, told<\/a> reporters earlier in the day that while he backs legalization it is \u201cnot like one of my highest priorities,\u201d adding that \u201cwe\u2019re not in a race with Connecticut or Massachusetts on this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think we need to get it right,\u201d he said, pointing to ongoing discussions with the House and Senate.<\/p>\n The the House Finance Committee discussed the governor\u2019s proposal to end prohibition at a hearing in April<\/a>.<\/p>\n The bill approved in the Senate on Tuesday would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess up to one ounce of cannabis. They could also cultivate up to six plants for personal use.<\/p>\n A Cannabis Control Commission would be established to regulate the market and issue business licenses. Marijuana would be subject to the state\u2019s seven percent sales tax, in addition to a 10 percent special tax and a three percent local tax for jurisdictions that allow cannabis firms to operate in their area.<\/p>\n Under a substitute amendment approved by the Judiciary Committee last week, the bill stipulates that there \u201cshall be no new cannabis cultivators\u2019 licenses issued prior to July 1, 2023.\u201d Regulators would also be tasked with reviewing data annually to \u201cdetermine the maximum number of licenses that shall be issued to meet the production demands.\u201d<\/p>\n It was also changed from its original form to require labor peace agreements for marijuana businesses\u2014a provision that could bolster support among progressives.<\/p>\n \u2014 Driving while under the influence would be prohibited, but people can\u2019t be considered impaired \u201csolely for having cannabis metabolites in his or her system\u201d under the bill. That also represents an expansion, as the initial proposal would have only applied that protection to medical cannabis patients.<\/p>\n People with prior convictions for possession of up to two ounces of cannabis could have their records expunged, whereas the previous version capped that threshold at one ounce. But courts would have 90 days, instead of 60, to act on expungement petitions.<\/p>\n In addition to expungements, the bill<\/a>\u00a0also now includes provisions to provide for record sealing.<\/p>\n People or entities cannot own more than one marijuana business license, but the substitute version now clarifies that people would be able to invest in multiple operations.<\/p>\n Each municipality could have at least three cannabis retailers operating in their jurisdiction, but the population threshold for additional licensees was increased, making it so additional retailers could be approved for every additional 20,000 residents above a baseline 30,000. The original bill placed the threshold at every 10,000 people over the 30,000 baseline, so this would have the effect of limiting the number of retailers.<\/p>\n The bill\u2019s\u00a0passage in the Senate comes in contrast to recent comments from House leadership, with the speaker saying last week that it\u2019s \u201cpossible we will return some time in the summer or fall\u201d to tackle legalization. He said the priority is to pass the budget this month.<\/p>\n The governor also said this month that he \u201cwouldn\u2019t be surprised if this is something that gets carried over maybe to a fall session.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Senate majority leader recently said that, unlike Slater and the governor, he doesn\u2019t want to have the market regulated through the state Department of Business Regulation; rather, he feels it\u2019s important to \u201chave a separate commission in one form or another.\u201d<\/p>\n As lawmakers have worked to pass a budget, there have been outstanding questions about whether there\u2019s sufficient support for legalization. The House speaker has been relatively quiet on cannabis reform, so his recent comments on tackling the issue as early as this summer are notable.<\/p>\n The speaker said recently that\u00a0he views legalization as \u201cinevitable,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0but he\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0Politico that there are \u201cmany pressing matters before us\u201d and he\u2019s not sure if the chamber will have time to consider the cannabis measure.<\/p>\n Both the governor and the leaders\u2019 legalization plans are notably different than the proposal that former Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) had included in her budget last year. Prior to\u00a0leaving office to join the Biden administration<\/a>\u00a0as commerce secretary, she\u00a0called for legalization through a state-run model<\/a>.<\/p>\n McKee gave initial insights into his perspective on the reform in January, saying that \u201cit\u2019s time that [legalization] happens\u201d and that he\u2019s \u201cmore\u00a0leaning towards an entrepreneurial strategy<\/a>\u00a0there to let that roll that way.\u201d<\/p>\n Shekarchi, meanwhile, has said he\u2019s\u00a0\u201cabsolutely\u201d open to the idea of cannabis legalization<\/a>\u00a0and also leans toward privatization.<\/p>\n Late last year, the Senate Finance Committee\u00a0began preliminary consideration of legalization<\/a>\u00a0in preparation for the 2021 session, with lawmakers generally accepting the reform as an inevitability. \u201cI certainly do think we\u2019ll act on the issue, whether it\u2019s more private or more state,\u201d Sen. Ryan Pearson (D), who now serves as the panel\u2019s chairman, said at the time.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Rhode Island Senate approved a bill in March\u00a0that would allow safe consumption sites<\/a>\u00a0where people could use illicit drugs under medical supervision and receive resources to enter treatment. Harm reduction advocates say this would prevent overdose deaths and help de-stigmatize substance misuse.<\/p>\n The Senate Judiciary Committee also held a hearing in March on legislation that would\u00a0end criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of drugs<\/a>\u00a0and replace them with a $100 fine.<\/p>\n Connecticut Governor Signs Marijuana Legalization Into Law<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Rhode Island Senate Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The Rhode Island Senate on Tuesday approved a bill to legalize marijuana. The legislation, which cleared the chamber\u2019s Judiciary Committee last week, passed in a 29-9 vote. Senate Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey (D) and Health & Human Services Chairman Joshua Miller (D) are the lead sponsors of the measure,\u00a0which theyContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":48431,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48430"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48430"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48432,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48430\/revisions\/48432"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Rhode Island Senate Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"