Rhode Island lawmakers introduce cannabis legalization bill

Rhode Island lawmakers introduced legislation to legalize adult-use cannabis Tuesday with the introduction of identical bills in the state Senate and House of Representatives. The measure, introduced by State Senator Josh Miller and Rep. Scott Slater, would legalize the possession and purchase of up to an ounce of cannabis and create a framework for regulated cannabis sales.

Senator Joshua Miller, chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and a longtime proponent of legalization, said Tuesday that reforming cannabis policy would be a boon to the state.

“The time for Rhode Island to move forward with cannabis legalization is now,” Miller said in a statement. “This historic shift in public policy will create a vibrant new marketplace in our state and end the failed practice of prohibition that has caused so much harm to so many in our communities.”

In addition to allowing up to one ounce of cannabis possession in public, the legislation allows adults to possess up to 10 ounces of cannabis in a private location. The bill also allows adults to grow up to three immature and three mature plants at home.

The legislation would create a three-member Cannabis Control Commission to oversee the state’s regulated cannabis industry. Once in place, the new agency would also oversee Rhode Island’s medical marijuana industry. The legislation also establishes a Cannabis Regulatory Office and Cannabis Advisory Committee within the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation.

The bill allows for up to 33 cannabis retailers, including nine hybrid dispensaries, that would stock both medical and recreational cannabis. Weed would be taxed at a total of 20 percent, including a 10 percent cannabis excise tax, a 7 percent sales tax, and a 3 percent local tax that would go to local governments hosting licensed cannabis businesses. Jurisdictions could choose not to allow retail cannabis stores by putting a voting question on November’s vote, but municipalities that vote to disapprove dispensaries will not be entitled to cannabis tax revenue.

Social Justice Provision Bill

Miller noted that “Justice is a central focus of this legislation.” The bill includes provisions on using royalties and penalties to fund grants and technical assistance to applicants from underserved communities and those harmed by the War on Drugs. The legislation also reserves one license in each of the six retail districts for social justice applicants and another in each district for a cooperative form of retail business.

“It is the right public policy for Rhode Island to make the possession and sale of cannabis legal. We’ve been studying legalization proposals here for many years, and now we can look back on the experiences of our neighboring states and see that taxing and regulating cannabis makes sense,” Slater said.

“I am particularly proud that we consciously campaigned for social justice with this bill. We must recognize the damage that the ban has done to communities, particularly minorities and poor neighborhoods, and ensure those communities get the support they need to benefit from legalization.”

Advocacy groups for cannabis reform, including the Formerly Incarcerated Union of RI, the Working Families Party, Reclaim RI and the Marijuana Policy Project, praised the social justice bill’s provisions and said worker-owned co-ops will give a way for economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs Possession in the legal cannabis industry. But they also called for measures to restore justice, including automatically overturning previous marijuana convictions, to be included in the legislation.

“The criminalization of cannabis has harmed so many families in our state, and we are grateful that legislators are moving forward with more sane legalization policies,” said Cherie Cruz, co-founder of the Formerly Incarcerated Union of RI. “However, there is no excuse for denying automatic exemption from previous arrest records and criminal convictions to tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders who have fallen victim to this failed war on cannabis.”

More work to do

After thanking Slater for his “tireless” work on the legislation, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi acknowledged there is still work to be done on the road to cannabis legalization.

“I want to emphasize that today’s legislation is not the end product — rather, it is the beginning of the public process to legalize recreational cannabis in Rhode Island,” Shekarchi said. “We welcome input from the public on whether or how we should implement recreational use, and I also anticipate robust discussions with members of the House of Representatives.”

Rhode Island and New Hampshire are the only two New England states that are yet to pass legislation legalizing recreational cannabis. In January, Governor Dan McKee included a plan to legalize cannabis in his annual budget proposal.

Senate Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey said lawmakers “have been working hard to build consensus on the details since the end of last session, but our efforts to address the issue have been ongoing for many years, while our neighboring states have been.” have done this step before us. Rhode Island is now behind them from a competitive perspective as it is fairly easy for most Rhode Island residents to cross the state line to make a legal purchase.”

“The truth is, while legal cannabis is already widely available to Rhode Island residents, the revenue from it is not. With this bill, we will create jobs, revenue and control in our own state and help address some of the injustices that have resulted from the ban,” McCaffrey continued. “I look forward to working with my colleagues, stakeholders and the public to ensure we are taking the careful, nuanced and equitable approach we need to transform this sector of the economy.”