PROVIDENCE — David Spradin is the CEO of a California-based marijuana company called Perfect Union. It has 14 marijuana stores between Los Angeles and Sacramento, six stores in New Mexico and has had stores in Oregon and Washington, says Rick McAuliffe, a Rhode Island lobbyist who now also serves as a director for Spradin’s new local […]
Rhode Island
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Rhode Island Law
Rhode Island Medical Marijuana January 3, 2006 SUMMARY: The Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act took effect immediately upon passage on January 3, 2006. The law removes state-level criminal penalties on the use, possession and cultivation of marijuana by patients who possess “written certification” from their physician stating, “In the practitioner’s […]
