Debate at Brown today: should marijuana be legal
While local legislators debate marriage equality on Smith Hill today, two national experts on drug policy will be debating another progressive issue on College Hill: legalizing marijuana. Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former Obama adviser on drug policy, squares off against Aaron Houston, the national director for Students for Sensible Drug Policy at 4:30 in the List [...]
Ex-Police Officers Against Marijuana Prohibition
On April first the new marijuana decriminalization bill took effect in Rhode Island; no longer will possession of small amounts of marijuana result in a criminal record. It’s a great start, and all Rhode Islanders should be proud of the reforms to marijuana laws we’ve accomplished thus far. But while this is a great first [...]
Rhode Island Ends Reefer Madness Monday
Reefer madness ends on Monday. Or at least it begins to end as Rhode Island takes its first big step towards ending the era of marijuana prohibition. The new law goes into effect on April 1, but it’s no joke: possession of less than an ounce of pot will be punishable by a $150 ticket [...]
Puff, Puff, Pass: Pot Bill Hits House Judiciary
If the R.I. General Assembly is a mirror of the ratio of proponents and opponents of the bill that testified at the hearing, the bill will pass by a four-to-one margin. Proponents included some you might not expect, former police officers, addiction researchers, and parents. Todd Sandahl, a North Providence father of two teenage daughters [...]
Regulating Marijuana Will Create New RI Jobs
The House Judiciary Committee will take testimony today on House Bill 5274, the Marijuana Regulation, Control, and Taxation Act. The bill would create a system of regulation and taxation for the production and sale of marijuana that is similar to the current system that regulates alcohol. The legislation will create hundreds of good, middle-class jobs [...]
Join The Movement: Marijuana Strategy Session
The strategy for developing effective and safe marijuana reform is now underway. And we need your help. The Coalition for Marijuana Regulation will be holding two important strategy meetings this week to help supporters develop effective testimonies for the upcoming bill hearing and plan actions to build support for the bill. The first meeting will [...]
The Case For Taxing, Regulating Marijuana
Representative Edith Ajello and Senator Donna Nesselbush are submitting bills that will legalize the use of marijuana for adults 21 years of age and older. Under the Marijuana Regulation, Control and Taxation Act, criminal penalties for the private possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and for the home growing of up to three [...]
Bills To Tax Pot Introduced At State House, Congress
Just as Rhode Island legislators are introducing a bill that would legalize and regulate marijuana like alcohol, Congress will consider a bill that would allow states to do so. Rep. Edith Ajello and Senator Donna Nesselbush will each introduce bills this week that would treat pot like alcohol; it would be taxed and sold at [...]
Marijuana Advocates Predict RI May Legalize
The Marijuana Policy Project says Rhode Island is likely to be among the next wave of states to legalize marijuana as Colorado and Washington have already done, reports The Nation today. “The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) tells The Nation that the next round of marijuana legalization measures is most likely to come from Alaska, Maine, [...]
JOIN US: Strategy Meeting for Marijuana Reform
Do you think marijuana prohibition is a counterproductive and unjust policy? Then please join us a for a community organizing meeting tomorrow, Saturday, January 26th from 10AM-12PM at Brown University, Smith-Buonanno Hall (95 Cushing Street, Providence 02906). Citizens and community stakeholders, including parents, teachers, law enforcement, and those in the recovery community, will join to [...]
Poem: Medical Marijuana Emergencies
While legalizing medical weed They overlook the patient’s need To have some EMTs on hand Who’ve smoked some pot and understand Just what it’s like to get so high You leave the ground and touch the sky So when a 9-1-1 calls in From someone in a reefer spin The Marijuana EMTs Grab their Ray-Bans, [...]
Kennedy, Culpo Are Against Marijuana Legalization
While Rolling Stone magazine may have called us the fourth most likely state to legalize marijuana, two high profile Rhode Islanders are killing the buzz. Former CD1 Congressman Patrick Kennedy, who now lives in Jersey, is lending his political star power to a group called SAM, or Smart Approaches to Marijuana, that will advocate for [...]
Rolling Stone Ranks RI 4th Most Likely to Legalize Pot
Rolling Stone magazine has ranked Rhode Island as the fourth most likely state to legalize marijuana, and notes that we could become the first state to do so through the legislative process rather than by voter referendum. Pot watchers believe little Rhode Island may be the first state to legalize through the state legislature instead [...]
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