Cannabis in Rhode Island
Cannabis in Rhode Island, a state of the United States, is legal statewide for medical use since 2006 but illegal for recreational use.
History
Prohibition (1918)
Rhode Island first banned the sale of cannabis without a prescription in 1918.[1]: 475
Medical marijuana (2006)
In 2006 Rhode Island legalized medical cannabis in the state legislature, making them the 11th state to legalize.[2] The legislation was passed the year in 2005, wijning approval in the state House by a vote of 52-10 and the state Senate by a vote of 33-1.[3] Republican Governor Don Carcieri vetoed the legislation,[4] but the Legislature overrode the veto, by a vote of 59–13 in the state House[2] and 28-6 in the state Senate.[5]
Under Rhode Island law, "Approved Qualifying Debilitating Medical Conditions" for medical marijuana are: cancer, glacoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatisis C, or a "chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces one or more of the following: cachexia or wasting syndrome; severe, debilitating, chronic pain; severe nausea; seizures, including but not limited to those characteristic of epilepsy; severe and persistent muscle spasms, including but not limited to those characteristic of multiple sclerosis or Crohn's disease; and agitation related to Alzheimer's Disease."[6]
In June 2009, Rhode Island introduced a cannabis dispensary system, making them the second state nationwide (after California) to do so.[7]
Legalization attempts
Following the success of recreational cannabis ballot initiatives in four states and the District of Columbia in 2012 and 2014, advocates in Rhode Island, where there is no public ballot initiative process, pressed their legislature to allow a public vote on legalizing recreational cannabis. Cannabis legalization bills have been offered in Rhode Island annually since 2011, but have been "held for further study" with no action. In 2016 advocates cited a recent Brown University poll showing 55% of state residents support legalizing recreational cannabis.[8]
Penalties
As of 2012, Rhode Island had some of the strictest mandatory minimums for large-scale cannabis possession in the United States, with amounts over 5kg resulting in a sentence of 20 years and $25,000-100,000 fines.[9]
See also
References
- ^ United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency (1977). Marijuana decriminalization: hearing before the Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Ninety-fourth Congress, first session, pursuant to S. Res. 72, section 12, Investigation of juvenile delinquency in the United States, S. 1450 ... May 14, 1975. U.S. Government Printing Office.
- ^ a b Gitlow, Stuart (2007). Substance Use Disorders: A Practical Guide. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-7817-6998-3.
- ^ Katie Zezima, In Rhode Island, Uncertainty About Medical Marijuana Law, New York Times (June 30, 2005).
- ^ Marijuana Bill Vetoed in R.I., Associated Press (June 30, 2005).
- ^ Siddharth Chandra & Aaron Swoboda, "Are Spatial Variables Important? The Case for Markets of Multiple Drugs in British Bengal" in Geography and Drug Addiction (eds. Yonette F. Thomas, Douglas Richardson & Ivan Cheung: Springer, 2008), p. 241.
- ^ Medical Marijuana, Rhode Island Department of Health (accessed November 14, 2016).
- ^ Morgan, Kayla (1 September 2010). Legalizing Marijuana. ABDO Publishing Company. p. 93. ISBN 978-1-61787-384-3.
- ^ Bogdan, Jennifer (2 June 2016). "Marijuana advocates demand vote on legalization". Providence Journal.
- ^ Jonathan P. Caulkins; Angela Hawken; Beau Kilmer; Mark Kleiman (14 June 2012). Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know?. Oxford University Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-19-994288-6.