Local leaders and advocates gathered at the State House Tuesday
to support legislation that would end marijuana prohibition in the
state, claiming current policies only hurt Rhode Islanders.
Conversation focused on a new report released by Regulate Rhode Island called “Now is the Time: Why Rhode Island should legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana in 2017” and attempted to disprove “myths” circulating around marijuana. The 14-page report advocates for legalization of marijuana this year, claiming that prohibition disproportionately harms people of color, that legalization of marijuana will reduce illicit drug sales, and that taxing marijuana will generate “tens of millions of dollars” in additional revenue annually, among other things.
In the Senate, S 0420 is sponsored by Cranston Senator Arthur Miller and has Warwick Senator Jeanine Calkin on as a co-sponsor. In the House, H 5555 is sponsored by Providence Representative Scott Slater and has Providence Representative Edith Ajello as a cosponsor.
“Our current policy only puts Rhode Islanders in harm’s way. But regulating and taxing marijuana would create better safeguards, significantly reduce the illegal drug market, and provide a source of much needed revenue,” said Slater.
Andrew Horowitz, Regulate RI co-chair and assistant dean of the Roger Williams University School of Law, discussed how youth could potentially be impacted by legalization. Any high school student in the state “will tell you that marijuana is widely available, much more readily available” than regulated substances like alcohol or tobacco, he said. In addition, Horowitz said decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana has not addressed “pressing social justice issues related to our war on drugs.”
“I continue to see it every day that despite decriminalization, there is significant cause for concern about disproportionate enforcement and punishments that continue to result from our failed marijuana laws,” he said. “Far too many are still being arrested, entangled with the court system due to marijuana laws that are still in place.”
In accordance with the social elements in arguments for legalization, the Regulate RI Report says that between 2001 and 2010, black Rhode Islanders were arrested for marijuana possession at three times the rate of whites. James Vincent, Regulate RI co-chair and president of NAACP Providence Branch, emphasized this point.
“The war on drugs has been a war on people, and those people have been people of color like me and the communities that I represent,” he said.
Michelle McKenzie, a public health researcher and addiction recovery advocate, tried to dispel the notion that marijuana is a gateway drug: she cited an analysis from the Institute of Medicine, saying there is “no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs.” She added mention of a paper from the Journal of American Medical Association, which said states with medical marijuana laws had 25 percent fewer opioid overdose deaths compared to states without medical marijuana laws.
Elizabeth Comrey, a former Providence police officer, said that time law enforcement spends on marijuana offenses could best be spent on other more pressing matters. She discussed a letter from the Governor and Attorney General of Washington state, which said that their efforts to regulate the sale of marijuana are succeeding and that “illegal drug trafficking activity is being displaced by a closely regulated marijuana industry that pays hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes, which frees up significant law enforcement resources to protect our communities in other more pressing ways.”
Other Rhode Island leaders, including Attorney General Peter Kilmartin who has given presentations to cities and towns on the matter, have favored a slower approach to legalization of marijuana and expressed support for more research or for forming a study commission. Slater said he was disappointed by “misinformation” being put out at press conferences.
“Not only misinformation, but the thought process to try to slow us down now is to create a study commission, which I am totally against,” Slater said. “I think we’ve studied this issue long and hard and our neighbors are moving forward.”
Others said Kilmartin’s presentations contained inaccurate information. The Attorney General’s office, however, is standing by the presentations, saying it wouldn’t publicly present information without ensuring it was properly cited.
“We are very confident that the information we present to cities and towns, as well as to our business community, is 100 percent accurate. The information and data in the presentation are properly cited from legitimate and widely regarded expert sources. And further, we have seen no rebuttal facts disputing information in our presentation,” said Amy Kempe, the Attorney General’s Public Information Officer. “The purpose of the presentation is to provide cities and towns with information on the current state of marijuana and the impact of a recreational marijuana industry in Rhode Island so municipal leaders can make policy decisions that are in the best interest of their communities.”
Miller and Slater were both confident in support for the legislation, saying they both know of colleagues in the House and Senate that would vote for passage should the legislation reach a floor vote. The full Regulate Rhode Island report is available online at http://regulateri.com/report.
Conversation focused on a new report released by Regulate Rhode Island called “Now is the Time: Why Rhode Island should legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana in 2017” and attempted to disprove “myths” circulating around marijuana. The 14-page report advocates for legalization of marijuana this year, claiming that prohibition disproportionately harms people of color, that legalization of marijuana will reduce illicit drug sales, and that taxing marijuana will generate “tens of millions of dollars” in additional revenue annually, among other things.
In the Senate, S 0420 is sponsored by Cranston Senator Arthur Miller and has Warwick Senator Jeanine Calkin on as a co-sponsor. In the House, H 5555 is sponsored by Providence Representative Scott Slater and has Providence Representative Edith Ajello as a cosponsor.
“Our current policy only puts Rhode Islanders in harm’s way. But regulating and taxing marijuana would create better safeguards, significantly reduce the illegal drug market, and provide a source of much needed revenue,” said Slater.
Andrew Horowitz, Regulate RI co-chair and assistant dean of the Roger Williams University School of Law, discussed how youth could potentially be impacted by legalization. Any high school student in the state “will tell you that marijuana is widely available, much more readily available” than regulated substances like alcohol or tobacco, he said. In addition, Horowitz said decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana has not addressed “pressing social justice issues related to our war on drugs.”
“I continue to see it every day that despite decriminalization, there is significant cause for concern about disproportionate enforcement and punishments that continue to result from our failed marijuana laws,” he said. “Far too many are still being arrested, entangled with the court system due to marijuana laws that are still in place.”
In accordance with the social elements in arguments for legalization, the Regulate RI Report says that between 2001 and 2010, black Rhode Islanders were arrested for marijuana possession at three times the rate of whites. James Vincent, Regulate RI co-chair and president of NAACP Providence Branch, emphasized this point.
“The war on drugs has been a war on people, and those people have been people of color like me and the communities that I represent,” he said.
Michelle McKenzie, a public health researcher and addiction recovery advocate, tried to dispel the notion that marijuana is a gateway drug: she cited an analysis from the Institute of Medicine, saying there is “no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs.” She added mention of a paper from the Journal of American Medical Association, which said states with medical marijuana laws had 25 percent fewer opioid overdose deaths compared to states without medical marijuana laws.
Elizabeth Comrey, a former Providence police officer, said that time law enforcement spends on marijuana offenses could best be spent on other more pressing matters. She discussed a letter from the Governor and Attorney General of Washington state, which said that their efforts to regulate the sale of marijuana are succeeding and that “illegal drug trafficking activity is being displaced by a closely regulated marijuana industry that pays hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes, which frees up significant law enforcement resources to protect our communities in other more pressing ways.”
Other Rhode Island leaders, including Attorney General Peter Kilmartin who has given presentations to cities and towns on the matter, have favored a slower approach to legalization of marijuana and expressed support for more research or for forming a study commission. Slater said he was disappointed by “misinformation” being put out at press conferences.
“Not only misinformation, but the thought process to try to slow us down now is to create a study commission, which I am totally against,” Slater said. “I think we’ve studied this issue long and hard and our neighbors are moving forward.”
Others said Kilmartin’s presentations contained inaccurate information. The Attorney General’s office, however, is standing by the presentations, saying it wouldn’t publicly present information without ensuring it was properly cited.
“We are very confident that the information we present to cities and towns, as well as to our business community, is 100 percent accurate. The information and data in the presentation are properly cited from legitimate and widely regarded expert sources. And further, we have seen no rebuttal facts disputing information in our presentation,” said Amy Kempe, the Attorney General’s Public Information Officer. “The purpose of the presentation is to provide cities and towns with information on the current state of marijuana and the impact of a recreational marijuana industry in Rhode Island so municipal leaders can make policy decisions that are in the best interest of their communities.”
Miller and Slater were both confident in support for the legislation, saying they both know of colleagues in the House and Senate that would vote for passage should the legislation reach a floor vote. The full Regulate Rhode Island report is available online at http://regulateri.com/report.
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