In the early evening of June 22, the Rhode Island House of Representatives passed the state’s $9.9 billion budget for fiscal 2020. Among the high-profile provisions in the 488-page spending plan was Article 15, which significantly reshaped the state’s medical marijuana industry. After six years of three dispensaries, the General Assembly expanded the marketplace to […]
Rhode Island
R.I. Senate won’t support legalizing marijuana in 2020
Marijuana legalization in Rhode Island appears dead in the state Senate for another year. Senate President Dominick Ruggerio said Tuesday he doesn’t think the state’s medical marijuana program has been well-regulated and expanding legal access to the drug any further is a bad idea. “No,” Ruggerio said in a State House interview Tuesday, when asked […]
Rhode Island bills would help minorities get into marijuana business
PROVIDENCE — House lawmakers have introduced several bills designed to help minorities and their communities — disproportionately hurt over the years by marijuana prosecution — enter the profitable pot business. While no approved recreational marijuana market exists in Rhode Island, Gov. Gina Raimondo has called on lawmakers this session to legalize recreational pot. She’s also […]
Rhode Island demand for medical marijuana skyrocketing
While state lawmakers consider legalizing recreational pot this year, sales of medical marijuana continue to hit new highs. The reason isn’t just that more people are ailing, state regulators say. The state’s three medical marijuana dispensaries are on pace to sell about $56 million worth of medicinal pot in fiscal 2019, said Norman Birenbaum, the state’s top […]
Rhode Island governor to propose legalizing recreational marijuana
Facing the “inevitable” prospect of being encircled by states that have legalized recreational marijuana, Gov. Gina Raimondo will propose this week that Rhode Island do the same. “I will say, I do this with reluctance,” she told The Journal last week. “I have resisted this for the four years I’ve been governor. … Now, however, […]
Rhode Island Legislatures to Introduce Plan for Marijuana Legalization in 2018
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Marijuana legalization advocates are planning to introduce a scaled-back version of their legislation that would legalize the drug next year but put the brakes on immediate plans for retail stores. While the previous version of the bill called for legalizing the drug immediately, the new proposal calls for taking that step in […]
Rhode Island legislators push bill to legalize marijuana in 2018
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Marijuana legalization advocates are planning to introduce a scaled-back version of their legislation that would legalize the drug next year but put the brakes on immediate plans for any retail stores. Rather than legalize the drug immediately, the new plan calls for taking that step in July 2018 when recreational pot shops […]
Under New Bill, Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Would Double
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Just before Rhode Island’s first medical marijuana dispensaries opened four years ago, fewer than 5,000 people in the state were registered patients. Since then, the number of medical marijuana patients in Rhode Island has more than tripled, to 17,757. Approximately one out of every 45 adults in the state is now a […]
Rhode Island Legislators Push for Recreational Marijuana Vote This Spring
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island state legislators hoping to legalize recreational marijuana say they have enough support to pass a bill if it comes to a vote this spring in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly. Rep. Scott Slater, a Providence Democrat and legalization proponent, said taking action this year would allow Rhode Island to have […]
These 11 States May Change Their Marijuana Laws in 2017
After four states legalized recreational marijuana last year and twice that many approved new medical marijuana laws, at least eleven more are considering changing their laws in 2017. Here are the states and the legislation they’re proposing: 1. Connecticut Not only are lawmakers hoping to expand Connecticut’s five-year-old medical marijuana legislation, but Martin Looney, the […]
Rhode Island Wants to Begin Marijuana Sales Before Massachusetts
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Trying to beat Massachusetts to the punch, marijuana-legalization advocates on Wednesday unveiled a proposal that would allow recreational pot shops to open in Rhode Island before any will be allowed to conduct sales in the Bay State. While the opening of Massachusetts pot shops has been delayed by lawmakers until July 2018, […]
Some 55% of Rhode Island Residents Support Recreational Marijuana
A majority of Rhode Islanders — 55 percent — support legalizing marijuana for recreational use, according to a Brown University Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy poll released Sunday. And a strong majority — 67 percent — support the state’s current law allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Also, asked if they […]
Rhode Island Worried That Massachusetts Might Legalize Cannabis First
Lawmakers considering a hot-button proposal to legalize recreational marijuana in Rhode Island had one clear concern on their minds Tuesday night: What if Massachusetts beats us? The General Assembly has grappled with the legalization question for five years. During a House Judiciary Committee hearing the familiar arguments were heard from proponents who say legalization will […]
Rhode Island Lobbyists Thrive as Marijuana Bills Multiply
Marijuana is a booming business for lobbyists at the Rhode Island State House. There are at least three legislative battlegrounds this year: Governor Raimondo’s highly controversial bid to levy new taxes on medical-marijuana plants. The renewed drive to legalize marijuana to raise tens of millions of new state tax dollars. The push to expand the […]
Rhode Island Wants to Raise Revenues by “Tagging” Medical Marijuana Plants
Growing medical marijuana could help grow Rhode Island state revenue by an additional $8.4 million next year, under Governor Raimondo’s budget plan. The governor has proposed that every medical marijuana plant not grown at a commercial compassion center must have a state tag. Each tag would cost $150 for patients who grow their own plants or $350 […]
Rhode Island Finds That Medical Marijuana Revenues Are Only Half of Expected
PROVIDENCE — It has been two years since Rhode Island launched its medical marijuana market and opened dispensaries around the state, but tax revenues haven’t been quite as high as state officials expected. There are now three medical marijuana dispensaries — also known as compassion centers — selling marijuana to patients in Rhode Island, with […]
Majority of Rhode Island Voters Support Regulating Marijuana Like Alcohol
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A majority of Rhode Islanders support regulating marijuana similar to alcohol, according to a poll commissioned by marijuana legalization advocates Monday. In the poll of 762 Rhode Island voters, 57 percent said they would support legalizing and taxing marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol, like laws in Colorado, Washington, Oregon and […]
Marijuana in Wonderland: Making Sense of a Judge’s Anti-Cannabis Ruling
By Barry Gainsburg “When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’ ” — Lewis Carroll, from Through the Looking Glass Last week, the U.S. District Court in Northern California declined to declare the federal classification of marijuana […]
