Governor in 'no rush' to legalize marijuana

By Tim Forsberg
Posted 2/22/17

While a recent poll continues to show a majority of Rhode Islanders support legalizing and taxing marijuana, local, state and law enforcement officials are taking a not so fast" approach toward decriminalizing and regulating the plant"

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Governor in 'no rush' to legalize marijuana

Posted

While a recent poll continues to show a majority of Rhode Islanders support legalizing and taxing marijuana, local, state and law enforcement officials are taking a “not so fast” approach toward decriminalizing and regulating the plant for personal use.

 “We expect that the General Assembly will be, if not in this fiscal year then at some point, taking a hard look at legalizing marijuana. That’s what’s happening in other states, that’s what’s happening with our neighbors,” said David Ortiz, spokesperson for Gov. Gina Raimondo in an interview last week.

“The governor expects that could well be in our future. She’s not opposed to it if it’s done responsibly, so she is less concerned with Rhode Island being first at rushing to legalize and more concerned with making sure that if and when it’s made legal that it’s done in a manner that protects general public safety and provides protections for children.”

According to a poll conducted by Public Policy Polling, a Raleigh, North Carolina survey company working on behalf of Regulate Rhode Island, an organization advocating for cannabis legalization, 59 percent of Rhode Islanders now support legalizing recreational marijuana. In 2015, a similar poll conducted by the organization showed a 57 percent approval rating for legalization.

The poll was conducted between January 27 and 29 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percent. The poll used a pool of 759 registered voters and found that 52 percent of Johnston residents, 58 percent of Cranston residents, and 62 percent of Warwick residents supported legalization.

What about added state revenue from marijuana taxation and what that could mean to finance car tax relief and two years of free college tuition, two initiatives of the governor?

Ortiz said Raimondo has talked to the governor of Colorado and observed Massachusetts has had issues since voters approved the legalization of marijuana there.

“But we believe that it’s important to have the proper regulatory framework. And there would be new revenue as a result but the governor isn’t looking to rush to legalize marijuana to get that revenue to pay for other things. We believe that the proposals we put forth in this budget are affordable and that it’s important to be deliberate and have the regulatory framework in place for when and if marijuana’s legalized.”

According to Ortiz, the governor has concerns about young children in other states consuming edible marijuana products that aren’t being properly regulated. He said her concern for public safety comes first and she believes that if the proper regulatory environment is in place it will make for an easier conversation toward legalization.  

“I would say that she understands this could be in our future, and she’s not opposed,” said Ortiz. “But she’s committed to making sure it’s done responsibly and safely.”

Continuing a trend in the General Assembly, legislation to legalize has again been introduced this session, though its passage remains unclear.

“Speaker Mattiello has not taken a position on the marijuana legislation. The bill was just introduced in the House this week and a hearing will be held by the House Judiciary Committee. He will review the testimony that will be provided to the committee,” said Larry Berman, director of communications for the Office of the Speaker of the House. “He has not supported this legislation in the past but will be reviewing the testimony. Massachusetts has delayed implementation of its pot shops until July 2018, so there is time to carefully review all of the arguments, pro and con, including the financial impact and the societal impact.”

Massachusetts voters approved a ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana in November, which would also allow residents to grow small quantities. Maine has also legalized cannabis through a ballot measure. 

Representative Joseph McNamara, chairperson for the House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare, has been involved in co-sponsored medical marijuana statutes going back approximately 10 years, which he states took a cautious approach. He believes that the state should take a similar tactic to legalization and also has concerns about youth access, regulatory controls, and the availability of edible marijuana products.

"We should be very cautious as to any steps that we take in legalization and would use the example that we use initially for medical marijuana. The bill we had in the first year, we had a Sunset Provision, so in other words if we did not renew the legislation upon review, that program would have ended, and what we did is we monitored how many doctors were prescribing it, how many patients were involved and what their diagnoses were, had a hearing before that Sunset Provision where we invited patients to come in and testify, so it was a very cautious, guarded approach,” said McNamara. “I think with something that has the potential to be disruptive to society on many levels, we have a responsibility to use the same approach and be wary of how we process.”

McNamara added that, in addition to revenue, there would also be increased demand on the budget for counseling and substance abuse prevention – a liability on the other side – and increased spending on prevention programming and counseling.

Other local leaders and law enforcement agencies voiced their opposition towards any legalization, citing multiple societal risks.

“I’m not for it. I’m against it, totally against it. First of all, I’m 62 years old, I never had a drink of alcohol in my life and I’ve never tried marijuana. As a registered nurse and also someone who’s served on the fire department, I think to me, and I hate to use the term, it’s a gateway drug. I think it is,” said Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena. “We have a huge heroin overdose problem in this country, people are dying every day, and we’re not even addressing that. That’s all we need is to have people get stoned, get in the car, and kill somebody. They’re looking at the money, and I think it’s a big mistake.”

Polisena cited concerns about drug testing and employees who may come to work under the influence. He also questioned what would happen at the federal level if Rhode Island passed legalization legislation.

 “It’s against the federal law. What happens if Trump says, “You know what, anyone who has legalized marijuana, stop their federal funds.” What are they going to do? They’re never going to make that up,” he said.

Johnston Police are also concerned about the possibility of drugged driving and enforcement. Unlike alcohol, there are currently no standardized chemical tests that police can use to determine if a driver is under the influence of marijuana.

“We’re definitely against legalization," said Deputy Chief Daniel Parrillo. I think I can speak for myself and the chief, obviously, we don’t do a lot of the in depth studies on this, but from what we hear and the information that’s provided to us by the attorney general’s office, and a lot of the other agencies out there, we think it’s definitely a gateway drug, and I don’t think there’s any way of knowing for sure that it doesn’t cause more harm than good. To legalize it just for tax purposes I think is sending the wrong message.”

(With contributions from Tessa Roy and John Howell)

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  • davidbaldwin1

    The Governor is to be applauded for being on the right side of history, and for ensuring that Rhode Island does not rush into cannabis legalization without first preparing for the regulation, taxation, and control of a new industry. Her attitude is much more pragmatic in the face of the inevitable march of legalization across the country, than to take a position "against" and try to resist the tide. Enlightened also, because while opponents site "has the potential to be disruptive to society on many levels", a pro-legalization stance takes into account the fact that the existing, illegal traffic is already disruptive and damaging, in ways that can be mitigated through legalization. Hopefully, the Legislature will see fit to bring a bill forward while this progressive attitude still prevails in the State House.

    Monday, February 27, 2017 Report this