Senate Commission To Study MJ Decriminalization

Providence, R.I. â?? Weeks after legalizing the sale of marijuana to sick people, law makers have voted to explore how much Rhode Island might collect in revenue if it were to make all sales of marijuana legal and impose a â??sin taxâ?� of $35 perounce. During the General Assemblyâ??saborted rush to adjournment Friday, the Senate approved a resolution â??introduced earlier the same day â?? to create a nine-member special commission to study a swath of issues surrounding marijuana.

Amongthem: â??The experience of individuals and families sentenced forviolating marijuana laws â?¦ The experience of states and European countries, such as California, Massachusetts and the Netherlands, which have decriminalized the sale and use of marijuana.â?�

The sponsors of the eleventh-hour measure â?? which requires no further action â?? include Senators JoshuaMiller, D-Cranston; Leo Blais, R-Coventry; Rhoda Perry, D-Providence;Charles Levesque, D-Portsmouth, and Susan Sosnowski, D-South Kingstown.

In a brief interview Wednesday,Miller said the resolution was sparked by the referendum-driven move to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana in Massachusetts, and by what he perceives as â??a national trend towards decriminalization.â?� InNovember 2008, Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana,making getting caught with less than an ounce of pot punishable by acivil fine of $100.

Asked why he waited until whatwas to be the last day of the session to introduce the measure, Millersaid he and his fellow sponsors felt it was â??very importantâ?� for this study to be â??defined as an issueâ?� completely separate and apart fromthe passage â?? over Governor Carcieriâ??s veto â?? of legislation allowingthe creation of state-regulated dispensaries to sell marijuana formedicinal use.

Miller said it also â??took that long for it to be taken seriously.â?�

The resolution creates a â??Special Senate Commission to Study the Prohibition of Marijuanaâ?� made up ofâ??elected members of the Rhode Island Senate, local law enforcementofficials, physicians, nurses, social workers, academic leaders in thefield of addiction studies, advocates or patients in the stateâ??smedical marijuana program, advocates working in the field of prisoner reentry, economists, and members of the general public.â?�

The measure poses a number of specific questions for study, among them: â??Whether and to what extentRhode Island youth have access to marijuana despite current lawsprohibiting its use. â?¦ Whether adultsâ?? use of marijuana has decreased since marijuana became illegal in Rhode Island in 1918. â?¦ Whether the current system of marijuana prohibition has created violence in the state of Rhode Island against users or among those who sell marijuana.â?¦ Whether the proceeds from the sales of marijuana are fundingorganized crime, including drug cartels. â?¦ Whether those who sell marijuana on the criminal market may also sell other drugs, thus increasing the chances that youth will use other illegal substances.â?�

The resolution also cites questions about the â??dangers associated with marijuana resulting fromit being sold on the criminal market, including if it is ever contaminated or laced with other drugs.â?�

The panel has until Jan. 31,2010, to report its findings and recommendations to the Senate, thoughit would stay alive through Jan. 31, 2014.

Miller, a bar owner who says he does not use illegal drugs â?? or even drink liquor more than a few timesa year â?? said he is not hoping or expecting any specific outcome. â??I am more open-minded that that,â?� he said. â??I am hoping to react to the bestresearch and data we can get out of looking at it.â?�

A year ago, Carcieri vetoed a joint House and Senate call for a study of the wisdom of creatingstate-regulated marijuana dispensaries.

But â??since this was only a Senate resolution, it does not come to the governor for his approval,â?�Carcieri spokes woman Amy Kempe said.

In February, one of the cosponsors, pharmacist Leo Blais, proposed a bill â?? The Sensible State Marijuana Policy Act â?? that would have decriminalized the possession ofan ounce or less of marijuana, reducing it to a civil offense for whichanyone age 18 or older would face a $100 fine and forfeiture of the marijuana. The bill never made it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

As of Wednesday, no person or group had formally applied for the license to run the first of the three marijuana dispensaries allowed by the so-called â??compassion centersâ?� bill.

Both the House and Senate haveeach passed, for the second year in a row, their own versions (S39 andH5007) of a bill to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for certaindrug crimes.

But no one version of the measure has yet cleared both chambers, in this year when the House and Senate went on hiatus, with no certain return date, and no final action on abevy of high-profile bills.

Source: The Marijuana Blog- Marijuana News, Marijuana Growing, Marijuana Information, Everything Marijuana! - Senate Commission To Study MJ Decriminalization

Yeah, never mind studying why the cannabis prohibitionist laws are counter-productive, unjust, or cause more problems than they seek to resolve; let's examine how much money the government can make off of legalization.

Makes me want to throw up a little bit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by leadmagnet

Yeah, never mind studying why the cannabis prohibitionist laws are counter-productive, unjust, or cause more problems than they seek to resolve; let's examine how much money the government can make off of legalization.

Makes me want to throw up a little bit.

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It makes us all sick.:(

what pisses me off, is that we are 'asking and begging' the Government to let us have access to our marijuana :wtf: ... I think the root of the problem, is that the U.S. Government doesn't have the RIGHT, to prohibit it, in the first place ! :mad: ... piss on them, and their 'for the common good' reasoning ... I've said it before, and will repeat myself ... the black people didn't get their Rights, by begging, they marched in the streets, in open defiance ... yup, a lot suffered, got beaten, went to jail, etc., but they finally got their rights established ... it's time, so-called 'pot activists' grew a set of balls ... :smokin:

That's damn right they don't have the right to keep us from using marijuana! How about the Tenth Amendment! Powers not enumerated are for the states and for the people! Where is the law against pot enumerated in the constitution? They needed to amend it to prohibit alcohol, where's the amendment for pot? Oops, I don't believe there is one and any decent judge would have to be smart enough to understand that simple fact!