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Key Rhode Island lawmakers say they are nearing an agreement on a marijuana legalization bill that they plan to introduce within days. But one part of the deal might jeopardize support from the governor.<\/p>\n
Legislators have been in talks for months to reconcile competing legalization proposals that have been brought forward by the House, Senate and governor\u2019s office. Many issues have been resolved over the course of negotiations, but the question of who should be in charge of regulating the program\u2014an existing agency or a newly created body\u2014has been a sticking point.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers are now signaling that the best route to satisfy both sides would be to create a compromise approach where a state agency like the Department of Business Regulation (DBR) and a new independent cannabis commission would each play a role.<\/p>\n
House Speaker Joseph Sherkarchi (D) said in a recent interview<\/a> with The Boston Globe that lawmakers \u201chave come together on a framework that will probably be introduced in mid-January.\u201d That will likely include a proposal to create a \u201chybrid model\u201d for regulating the market.<\/p>\n But Gov. Dan McKee (D), who proposed having DBR itself regulate the cannabis industry in legalization legislation he filed last year, hasn\u2019t yet signed off on the hybrid idea, Rep. Scott Slater (D) told Marijuana Moment.<\/p>\n That said, \u201cif we put a bill that most people are behind,\u201d the lawmaker doesn\u2019t expect a veto.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we should have a bill soon,\u201d Slater, who filed a bill to end cannabis prohibition last year, said.<\/p>\n Sen. Josh Miller (D), sponsor of one legalization proposal\u00a0that was approved in the Senate last year<\/a>, told Marijuana Moment that he agreed that lawmakers \u201cshould have a bill very soon with a structure very close to\u201d what the speaker described. Miller\u2019s legislation had proposed creating a new cannabis commission to oversee the market.<\/p>\n Shekarchi told The Globe that the forthcoming negotiated bill could still be changed even after its introduction.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that doesn\u2019t mean that\u2019s the end,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the beginning of a process\u2014a very robust, public, transparent process where I\u2019m sure the bill will continue to change and evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 The speaker previously said that he\u2019d be open to a compromise on regulatory structure<\/a>\u00a0and hinted at the possibility of a hybrid model.<\/p>\n Another issue related to how many marijuana business licenses also appears closer to resolution. Miller\u2019s bill proposed as many as 150 cannabis shops, whereas McKee\u2019s plan\u00a0called for 25<\/a> and Slater wanted just 15 in his separate House bill. Miller said at an event in October that \u201cwe\u2019re probably down to more in the 30, 40 range\u201d as part of a deal.<\/p>\n Negotiators\u00a0also recently reached an agreement<\/a>\u00a0to place a temporary moratorium on approving additional cannabis cultivator licenses. Some have protested adding cultivators beyond the existing medical marijuana licensees because they say there\u2019s already a sufficient supply to meet demand in the adult-use market.<\/p>\n Senate President Dominick Ruggerio (D), for his part, said in September that\u00a0lawmakers are \u201cvery close\u201d to reaching a deal<\/a>\u00a0on a marijuana legalization bill<\/p>\n \u201cWe sent legislation\u2014which we think is a very good piece of legislation\u2014over to the House before we left in June,\u201d the senator said, referring to the legalization bill that his chamber approved\u00a0in June. \u201cThey are working on that legislation with some of the House people at this point in time.\u201d<\/p>\n Another thing that remains to be seen is whether the negotiated legalization bill that\u2019s ultimately produced will satisfy advocates and progressive lawmakers, some of whom have rallied behind an agenda for reform<\/a>\u00a0that emphasizes the need for bold social equity provisions.<\/p>\n While each of the competing bills contain components meant to address the harms of marijuana criminalization, the coalition led by Reclaim Rhode Island has said they\u2019re insufficient. Advocates and supportive lawmakers have laid out specific items that they want to see incorporated such as setting aside half of cannabis business licenses for communities most impacted by prohibition.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t reverse the harm of the war on drugs, but we can start to repair it by passing automatic expungement and waiving all related fines, fees and court debt,\u201d Rep. Karen Alzate (D), chair of the Rhode Island Legislative Black and Latino Caucus, said in September. \u201cThis bold legalization plan offers us the chance to turn a new leaf for the Ocean State, and it\u2019s time we take it.\u201d<\/p>\n Ruggerio said he does feel that the legalization bill that was approved in the Senate contained \u201cvery strong social justice provisions\u201d and the expungements provision is \u201cas close to automatic as practical.\u201d<\/p>\n He also said in July that he\u2019s\u00a0not disappointed the House hasn\u2019t advanced legalization legislation<\/a>\u00a0yet and that \u201cwhat we really wanted to do was send it over and have them take a look at it\u201d\u00a0when his chamber passed its cannabis reform measure.<\/p>\n A coalition of 10 civil rights and drug policy reform advocacy groups\u2014including the Rhode Island chapters of the ACLU and NAACP\u2014had demanded that lawmakers move ahead with enacting marijuana reform<\/a> in the state before the end of 2021. But that did not pan out.<\/p>\n Lawmakers have noted that neighboring states like\u00a0Connecticut and Massachusetts have enacted legalization<\/a>, and that adds impetus for the legislature to pursue reform in the state.<\/p>\n Shekarchi, meanwhile, said in July that he doesn\u2019t intend to let regional pressure dictate the timeline for when Rhode Island enacts a policy change. Social equity, licensing fees, labor agreements and home grow provisions are among the outstanding matters that need to be addressed, the speaker said.<\/p>\n The House Finance Committee\u00a0held a hearing on Slater\u2019s legalization measure<\/a>\u00a0in June.<\/p>\n The governor previously 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 in 2020. Prior to leaving 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 last January, saying that \u201cit\u2019s time that [legalization] happens\u201d and that he\u2019s \u201cmore leaning 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 In late 2020, the Senate Finance Committee began 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 in July\u00a0signed 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 last year on legislation that would end criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of drugs<\/a>\u00a0and replace them with a $100 fine.<\/p>\n Illinois Sets Marijuana Sales Record In December, With Nearly $1.4 Billion Sold In 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Rhode Island Lawmakers Near Marijuana Legalization Deal, But Governor Not Sold On Key Provision<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Key Rhode Island lawmakers say they are nearing an agreement on a marijuana legalization bill that they plan to introduce within days. But one part of the deal might jeopardize support from the governor. Legislators have been in talks for months to reconcile competing legalization proposals that have been broughtContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":52098,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52097"}],"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=52097"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52099,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52097\/revisions\/52099"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Rhode Island Lawmakers Near Marijuana Legalization Deal, But Governor Not Sold On Key Provision<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"