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The top leader of the Rhode Island Senate says negotiations on a compromise bill to legalize marijuana will continue this summer, and he anticipates action following Labor Day in September.<\/p>\n
Senate President Dominick Ruggerio (D) told WPRI-TV on Friday that he\u2019s not disappointed the House hasn\u2019t advanced legalization legislation yet and that \u201cwhat we really wanted to do was send it over and have them take a look at it\u201d when his chamber passed a cannabis reform measure last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe governor has one [legalization bill], the House has one, and we always knew it was something that we were not going to do during this session,\u201d he said, referring to the legislative period before lawmakers finished the annual budget and left for the summer. \u201cBut hopefully we can sit down during the summer and work something out.\u201d<\/p>\n The Senate was able to get its legalization bill passed on the floor before the budget, but House leadership has insisted that more time is needed to reconcile the competing measures.<\/p>\n House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi (D) said last week that while he feels reform is \u201cinevitable\u201d in Rhode Island<\/a> and bound to happen \u201csoon,\u201d he plans to continue negotiations to merge competing reform proposals over the summer with the goal of passing a bill in the fall.<\/p>\n Ruggerio, the Senate leader, said<\/a> that \u201cif and when we come back in the fall\u2014which I know we probably will because we have to [confirm judicial nomination]\u2014I don\u2019t know what the House is going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut hopefully if we work something out,\u201d he said, \u201cthey might be amenable to coming back and addressing that particular issue.\u201d<\/p>\n Watch Ruggerio\u2019s marijuana comments, starting around 1:00 into the video below:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n But he tempered expectations about the timing of reform advancing, saying it would happen \u201cwell after Labor Day\u201d in September.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had discussions. There\u2019s no fixed date or anything like that,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously we want to see what kind of money comes in from the federal government\u2014which has nothing to do with this particular issue\u2014but that\u2019s why we would come back and see what money we would have to appropriate, and I think that would be a good time to address the cannabis issue.\u201d<\/p>\n A key disagreement between the House, Senate and governor\u2019s office concerns who should have regulatory authority over marijuana. Ruggerio was pressed on the issue during this most recent interview and said members of his chamber agree that \u201ca separate commission is the way to go with respect to this.\u201d<\/p>\n The House and Gov. Dan McKee (D), on the other hand, want the program to be managed by the state Department of Business Regulation (DBR). Ruggerio noted that \u201cit was difficult to negotiate on a bill when the House bill really didn\u2019t come until late in the session.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked whether he felt the legislature and governor could come to an agreement despite the differences, Senate Majority Leader Mike McCaffrey (D), who appeared alongside Ruggerio in the new WPRI interview on Friday, said \u201cthat\u2019s what our goal is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cObviously there\u2019s some issues that different people have relative to different categories of licenses and things like that and how we\u2019re rolling them out,\u201d he said. \u201cAre we going to limit them? what type of equity are you going to give to the different people in different communities so that they can get into the business? And social equity and things of that nature.\u201d<\/p>\n McCaffrey was also asked about provisions related to allowing local municipalities to opt out of allowing marijuana businesses to operate in their area. He said \u201conce the legislation is passed and whatever form is passed in, the communities have an opportunity to opt out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey have an opportunity to opt out if the community doesn\u2019t want to participate in it,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s their decision\u2014however, they don\u2019t get the funds that would come from the sales in that community.\u201d<\/p>\n The majority leader also noted that neighboring states like Connecticut and Massachusetts have enacted legalization, and that adds impetus for the legislature to pursue reform in the state. .<\/p>\n Shekarchi, meanwhile, said last week that he doesn\u2019t intend to let regional pressure dictate the timeline for when Rhode Island enacts a policy change. But it is the case that legalization has now gone in effect in in surrounding states like Connecticut<\/a>\u00a0and Massachusetts.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not in any hurry to legalize marijuana for the sake of legalizing it. I want to do it right,\u201d he\u00a0said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter to me if we\u2019re the last state in the union to legalize it or we never legalize it, but I need to do it right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 \u201cI need to make sure that we do this right for the taxpayers of Rhode Island and for the medical community, the business community,\u201d the speaker continued. \u201cThis needs to be done properly, and I\u2019m not going to be rushed into it because other states are moving fast. I want to learn from other states, look at the mistakes they\u2019ve made, look at what\u2019s worked in other states, collaborate with them and work to put out a good product.\u201d<\/p>\n Social equity, licensing fees, labor agreements and home grow provisions are among the outstanding matters that need to be addressed, Shekarchi said in a separate interview with WPRI.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can reach a consensus with the Senate and the governor\u2019s office on marijuana, we\u2019d certainly come back in the fall to address that issue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t see it happening before Labor Day,\u201d he added, noting that the lack of air conditioning in the State House would likely prevent the legislative session from resuming in the middle of the summer and so it\u2019s more likely it would happen in \u201clate September or early October.\u201d<\/p>\n All of these latest comments come weeks after the state Senate approved a legalization bill from McCaffrey and Health & Human Services Chairman Joshua Miller (D), which was introduced in March<\/a>. The governor also came out with his own legalization proposal<\/a>\u00a0shortly thereafter.<\/p>\n A third Rhode Island legalization measure\u00a0was also recently filed on the House side<\/a>\u00a0by Rep. Scott Slater (D) and several cosponsors. The House Finance Committee\u00a0held a hearing on the measure<\/a>\u00a0last month.<\/p>\n The governor, for his part, told reporters 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 House Finance Committee discussed the governor\u2019s proposal to end prohibition\u00a0at an earlier hearing in April<\/a>.<\/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 governor last week signed a historic bill to 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. Rhode Island is the first state to allow the facilities.<\/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 Top Maryland Lawmaker Pledges To Put Marijuana Legalization On 2022 Ballot<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Top Rhode Island Senator Says Lawmakers Are Discussing A Marijuana Legalization Compromise This Summer<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The top leader of the Rhode Island Senate says negotiations on a compromise bill to legalize marijuana will continue this summer, and he anticipates action following Labor Day in September. Senate President Dominick Ruggerio (D) told WPRI-TV on Friday that he\u2019s not disappointed the House hasn\u2019t advanced legalization legislation yetContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":48898,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48897"}],"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=48897"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48899,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48897\/revisions\/48899"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Top Rhode Island Senator Says Lawmakers Are Discussing A Marijuana Legalization Compromise This Summer<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"