In a sign that Rhode Island is likely to legalize recreational marijuana in 2022, legislators unveiled a proposal Tuesday (House version, Senate version) that would regulate and tax small amounts of cannabis, effective in October.
“The time for Rhode Island to move forward with cannabis legalization is now,” state Sen. Joshua Miller (D-Cranston), chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, said in a news release. “This historic shift in public policy will create a vibrant new marketplace in our state and end the failed practice of prohibition, which has caused such harm to so many in our communities. To help address those past wrongs, and to ensure all Rhode Islanders have the opportunity to share the economic benefits associated with legalization, equity is a central focus of this legislation.”
The bill sponsored by Miller and state Rep. Scott Slater (D-Providence) would legalize the sale and possession of one ounce of cannabis for Rhode Islanders 21 and up, and keep up to 10 ounces of marijuana in their primary residence for personal consumption.
The cannabis legislation calls for up to 33 retail licenses in six statewide zones, with one cooperative and one so-called social equity license in each zone. Individual cities or towns could opt in through a municipal vote.
A new three-person Cannabis Control Commission, with appointments by the governor and legislative leaders, would regulate the process.
Cannabis sales would be subject to a 10% excise tax, the state’s 7% sales tax and a 3% municipal tax.
The legislation would also allow people convicted of marijuana-related crimes to seek expungement if the charge involved a decriminalized amount of cannabis.
Rhode Island legalized medical marijuana in 2006, but it has lagged Massachusetts and other New England states in approving recreational marijuana. The introduction of the effort in an election year shows how the controversy once associated with legalization has subsided.
In a statement, the Formerly Incarcerated Union of RI, the Working Families Party, Reclaim RI, and the Marijuana Policy Project said they applaud “the bill and its inclusion of a social equity licensing program — including a first-in-the-nation reservation of retail licenses for worker-owned cooperatives — which will benefit people disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.”
The groups added: “Advocates also vowed, however, to push legislators to amend the bill and add improved language around the expungement and sealing of past criminal records related to cannabis. The groups pointed out that states with automatic expungement policies for past marijuana convictions, such as California and Illinois, are far more effective and provide relief to many more individuals compared to states with non-automatic expungement policies. Automatic expungement will also prove less costly to state government.”
