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The Rhode Island Senate might have passed a bill to legalize marijuana this week<\/a>, but a top House lawmaker says his chamber needs more time to resolve differences between competing reform proposals.<\/p>\n In an interview with The Boston Globe that was published on Thursday, House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi (D) was asked whether Rhode Island can \u201cafford to wait\u201d on legalization in light of cannabis-related developments in surrounding states like Connecticut<\/a> and Massachusetts.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, absolutely we can and we should [wait] because all of the proposals are very divergent,\u201d he said, referring to the Senate bill, a separate House one and another measure filed by the governor. \u201cAll of the proposals I\u2019ve seen\u2014in my opinion, and I\u2019ve only scratched the surface of them because there\u2019s so many of them\u2014really come from very strong advocates for either the cultivators or the dispensaries. I have to look at that and what\u2019s good for the state.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf we\u2019re going to legalize recreational use of marijuana, we want to make sure the state gets its fair share,\u201d the speaker said.<\/p>\n Shekarchi said<\/a> there are \u201cseveral issues\u201d that need to be addressed before adult-use legalization advances in the House. Principally, he said, lawmakers must closely examine how much revenue the state could collect under the diverging proposals.<\/p>\n Social equity, licensing fees, labor agreements and home grow provisions are among the matters that still need to be settled before the speaker is comfortable moving a given reform bill, he said.<\/p>\n Listen to the speaker discuss next steps for marijuana reform, starting around 5:55 into the audio below:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n \u201cIf we\u2019re going to legalize this, does that mean that people who are in prison and convicted for marijuana possession should be having an automatic review of possible expungement? If we\u2019re creating a whole new industry here, do we set aside one or two of these licenses for people in the minority community?\u201d he said. \u201cThose are the issues that we need to look at regarding marijuana, but the chief, most important issue is we want to make sure the state gets its fair share.\u201d<\/p>\n Another main issue that\u2019s yet to be resolved is who should regulate the recreational market\u2014the state\u2019s existing Department of Business Regulation or an independent cannabis commission.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if there\u2019s a combination of the two\u201d that could be agreed on, Shekarchi said, adding that \u201cwe\u2019ll have to wait and see where everybody can come together.\u201d That could take place in the fall, as he\u2019s previously suggested<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can\u2019t [strike a deal], then we won\u2019t,\u201d he said. \u201cI think you come back when you have productive things to do.\u201d<\/p>\n The new comments come just days after the state Senate approved a legalization bill from Senate Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey (D) and Health & Human Services Chairman Joshua Miller (D),\u00a0which they introduced in March<\/a>. Gov. Dan McKee (D) also came out with his own legalization proposal<\/a> shortly thereafter.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is important that we act expeditiously to enact a regulatory framework,\u201d Miller said, noting policy changes in states like Connecticut, where the state\u2019s governor signed a legalization bill into law<\/a>\u00a0on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u2014 A third Rhode Island legalization measure\u00a0was also recently filed on the House side<\/a>\u00a0by Rep. Scott Slater (D) and several cosponsors.<\/p>\n The governor, for his part, told reporters this week 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\u00a0at a hearing in April<\/a>.<\/p>\n The House speaker said recently that he 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 FDA Head Refuses To Say Whether Marijuana Is More Dangerous Than Tobacco<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Rhode Island House Speaker Says Marijuana Legalization Can\u2019t Be Rushed After Senate Vote<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The Rhode Island Senate might have passed a bill to legalize marijuana this week, but a top House lawmaker says his chamber needs more time to resolve differences between competing reform proposals. In an interview with The Boston Globe that was published on Thursday, House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi (D) wasContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":48463,"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\/48462"}],"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=48462"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48462\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48464,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48462\/revisions\/48464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Rhode Island House Speaker Says Marijuana Legalization Can\u2019t Be Rushed After Senate Vote<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"