Possessing a little marijuana no longer criminal in Rhode Island

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Possessing a little marijuana no longer criminal in Rhode Island
Mon, 1 Apr 2013 17:41 GMT
Source: reuters // Reuters
By Daniel Lovering

BOSTON, April 1 (Reuters) - A law decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana went into effect in Rhode Island on Monday after the state last year became the 15th in the United States to enact such legislation.

Governor Lincoln Chafee signed the legislation into law in June but it did not take effect until Monday, a move intended to allow time for officials to work out procedures, said state Representative John Edwards, a co-sponsor of the measure.

Possession of one ounce (28 grams) or less of marijuana in Rhode Island now constitutes a civil offense punishable by a $150 fine and forfeiture of the drug, though three offenses in an 18-month period amount to a misdemeanor.

"I think it's going to save our police a lot of problems," he said, adding that what might have been mere "youthful indiscretion" will no longer lead to a criminal record that might have long-term consequences.


Read more: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/possessing-a-little-marijuana-no-longer-criminal-in-rhode-island

[skydive forever]

1. A step in the right direction

but there is still a long way to go.

[tridim]

2. Here's a quick "procedure" for the other states now that RI has spoken.

Stop busting people for ingesting an herb. No fines, no hassle, nothing. Just let people use it if they want. It's so freaking simple.

Done and done.

[Webster Green]

3. They take the pot away from you?

That's pretty fucked up.

[marshall]

4. Where does one buy it?

From a seller who also only has less than one ounce?

[maxsolomon]

8. Exactly the problem

Here in WA, where MJ is "legalized", you can posess it, but not grow, sell or purchase. Yet. Supposedly.

The Liquor Control Board (!) is responsible for devising a regulatory system of state stores by September. They haven't announced a single proposal yet.

In this state, if anything's up and running before Spring 2014 it would be a miracle. At that point, where you can walk in to a state store, prove you're over 18, and purchase a gram or 2 that was grown under a license, it will be "legal".

But the Feds will probably step in at that point and shut the whole edifice down.

[obama2terms]

5. It's progress

But once the federal law changes, that's when the REAL progress will begin. Once the under 30 crowd gets into politics, I'm sure legalization will happen pretty quickly. It's no longer an "if" it's a "when".

[tom2255]

6. Good.

The fact that drugs are illegal has caused violence and the rise of the illegal drug industry. If it wasn't for drug violence, America would not have a violence problem.

[littlewolf]

7. agreed .. it would also make police solve actual crimes against people and

property. instead of kicking in doors (often the wrong ones! ) and pointing guns
at innocent people. it would also keep the police from confiscation of private
property.

[TeamPooka]

9. Getting better all the time.... nt

[tabasco]

10. Are we seeing the beginning of rational drug laws?

How many more thousands of lives must be ruined by overzealous DAs and stupid laws?

[Mr.Pain]

11. Good start

but full removal of cannabis from the drug rolls and allowing Americans to grow it, (regulating it of course), taxing it, would save taxpayers a lot of money. I know you might say that we would have more social problems etc. but we spent somewhere around ten billion dollars fighting the cartels last year, ( I heard this on a documentary), I'm thinking that competition would put them out of business faster, and the government could put that money to better use.
In Missouri, (I looked it up), possession of 35 grams or less of cartel weed is a misdemeanor, (and the money still goes south), while growing one plant for personal use is a felony worth five to fifteen in the pen. This is only the state law. Does this seem illogical to anyone else but me?
BTW they used to have hemp plantations in my county, and it stills grows wild along the roads.

If you had to purchase tax stamps for every plant you possessed, at lets say $20.00 and you grew ten plants, that's $200.00 in revenue, include sales tax @ 7% avg. and you've got a nice revenue machine, fewer drug crimes, fewer people in the pen, (bad news for "for profit prisons&quot ,and the police/justice system can actually focus on something other than totally destroying our young peoples futures, (no student loans or grants with even a misdemeanor offense).

Yes, I am a cannabis advocate.
No, I don't want my kids to get high, they can wait until they are 21.
Yes, I believe it has medicinal value.
Yes, I think responsible laws are needed.
Yes, we need more industry in America.
Yes, I believe we could expand our economy by growing industrial hemp,(farm implement manufacture, processing equipment, final products,(paper, clothing, textiles).
No, I don't want all drugs legalized, we do have a drug problem in our nation due to "dangerous drugs" like opiate derivatives, (pain killers), cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine etc.
I was hospitalized a few years ago and by the time I was released I had developed a physical addiction morphine, getting off of that stuff was a nightmare I never want to go through again, it should never be allowed outside of a hospital environment where patients can receive proper dependency reduction treatment.
If anyone has any ideas or objections I would like to hear them, maybe we can formulate a responsible alternative to present philosophy of "forbid it so we can't make a dime off of it" .
Would competition with the cartels help shut them down, if 60% of their income is from cannabis?
Could education, regulation and taxation work?

[In_The_Wind]

12. Excellent! Now the rest of the states need to follow this example.