By Duke London
As of a few months ago, not one state on the east coast had made marijuana legal for adult use — now we have two. Massachusetts and Maine made history in November by passing adult-use legislation, effectively putting surrounding New England states on the clock.
Enter Rhode Island, where lawmakers submitted the Cannabis Regulation, Control, and Taxation Act yesterday. The proposed bill, spearheaded by State Senator Joshua Miller (D-Providence) and State Representative Scott Slater (D-Providence), would legalize marijuana for adults over the age of 21.
Connecticut and Rhode Island, in particular, face a unique challenge in that they are in such close proximity to Massachusetts that it is not outside the realm of possibility to imagine residents from the non-legalized states making a short trip over the border to acquire their cannabis. This practice was commonplace in Connecticut, where ancient alcohol restrictions made it illegal to purchase after 9 p.m. or on Sunday.
These states recognize the amount of money they stand to lose to their neighbor once legal cannabis retail operations begin, and we’re now starting to see what could be a race to legalization between the two tiny Northeast states.
Massachusetts and Maine have both made the decision since passing adult-use bills to delay the opening of any recreational shops until they have a firmer grasp on the regulation components. This moratorium on legal marijuana sales creates an opening in the marketplace that another neighboring state may try to capitalize on.
“On the heels of Massachusetts, Maine, Nevada and California, we think this year is a really great opportunity for us to get the bill passed,” Jared Moffat, Director of Regulate Rhode Island, told the Brown Daily Herald. “It’s certainly not a guarantee, but we do have more momentum than we’ve ever had before.” When Moffat was President of the Brown University chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, he was instrumental in the passing of the Ocean State’s decriminalization laws in 2012, and now he wants to finish the job.
Brown University’s Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy conducted a research poll last April that determined 55% of Rhode Islanders likely to cast ballots would support a recreational marijuana law, with 44% standing firm against the possible measure.
This is the third consecutive year that Rhode Island has seen an adult-use marijuana bill introduced, but state lawmakers feel this year may offer their best chance yet at getting one passed.
“We have had several years to see how regulation works in Colorado and Washington… And we have learned important lessons from their experiences,” Rep. Slater told TIME last month while preparing the bill. “This legislation represents a sensible policy reform that has been shown to work successfully in other states.”
This new version of the Rhode Island Cannabis Regulation, Control and Taxation Act would restrict cannabis advertising, set guidelines for packaging and labeling, require lab testing of all cannabis products, and provide funding to law enforcement operations. As other legalized states have accomplished, Rhode Island would allow individual cities and towns to decide for themselves if they want to allow retail cannabis shops or commercial cultivation facilities.
Governor Gina Raimondo has not yet indicated her level of support for the bill, but it’s difficult to imagine Rhode Island passing up this opportunity to beat Massachusetts to market.
