Regulate RI delivers 500 postcards to Speaker Mattiello’s office

Jared Moffat, director of Regulate RI, a group advocating legislation to tax and regulate marihuana like alcohol, delivered nearly 500 postcards from constituents within Speaker Nicholas Mattiello‘s district in favor of the legislation to the Speaker’s office on Wednesday.

“We hope the House Speaker and Senate President will agree with the majority of voters that it’s time to start regulating and taxing marijuana like alcohol in Rhode Island,” said Moffat. “At the very least, they should allow a vote on the bill before the session ends.”

According to Regulate RI’s press release, “S 510/H 5777, the ‘Marijuana Regulation, Control, and Taxation Act,’ would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and grow one mature marijuana plant in an enclosed, locked space. It would create a tightly regulated system of licensed marijuana retail stores, cultivation facilities, and testing facilities and direct the Department of Business Regulation to create rules regulating security, labeling, and health and safety requirements. It would also establish wholesale excise taxes at the point of transfer from the cultivation facility to a retail store, as well as a special sales tax on retail sales to consumers.”

“Regulating and taxing marijuana in Rhode Island would give our state’s economy a much-needed boost,” Moffat said, “It would generate revenue, foster new businesses, and create jobs. S 510/H 5777 should be included as part of the General Assembly’s initiatives to rebuild Rhode Island’s economy.It’s hard to imagine why the legislature would end the session without voting on a widely supported proposal that is intended to bolster the economy and improve public safety.”