(4.23) Colorado and Washington recently passed voter initiatives to make the sale and cultivation  of marijuana a legally regulated industry — should other states follow their lead? As marijuana legalization is being considered by lawmakers in Rhode Island and nationally, two sides will argue for and against more liberalized marijuana laws.

Head over to the List Art Center Tuesday to hear a debate on this issue. Kevin Sabet, board member of Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) and “quarterback” of the anti-marijuana movement and Aaron Houston, national director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

This event presented by the Janus Forum, the student arm of the Political Theory Project, and the Brown University chapter of SSDP.

4:30pm to 6pm, Tuesday, April 23, Brown University, List Art Building, 68 College Street, Room 120, (directions)

The marijuana decriminalization law, passed by the general assembly last summer and signed into law by Governor Chafee, will take effect on the first nanosecond of Monday, April 1st. Possession of small amounts of marijuana will no longer carry criminal penalties in Rhode Island. The indispensable Robert Capecchi of the Marijuana Policy Project has the facts in a nutshell.

S-2253/H-7092, sponsored by Sen. Josh Miller and Rep. John “Jay” Edwards and signed into law by Gov. Lincoln Chafee last June, replaces criminal penalties for possession of up to one ounce of marijuana with a $150 civil fine similar to a traffic ticket. If the offender is under the age of 18, his or her parents or legal guardians will be notified and he or she will be required to complete an alcohol and drug education course, as well as perform community service, in addition to the fine. Fifty percent of the fines collected by the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal will be directed toward drug education and treatment programs.

The Providence Journal ran a related story today — “New law may boost drug use, chiefs say.” May? Why didn’t the chiefs look into it and find out? The news might have put their minds at ease. Forbes magazine reports, “Ten years ago, Portugal decriminalized all drugs. One decade after this unprecedented experiment, drug abuse is down by half.”

Press conference to celebrate, noon, Monday, April 1st, Rhode Island State House, Smith Street

(3.24) Some years ago I was sitting on my couch watching a Lewis Black comedy special. At one point, he took to task the Baby Boomers as a cohort so feckless that they had failed to do the one thing expected of them — legalize marijuana. And I knew he was right. I felt shame for my people.

As fate would have it, I was soon to fall in with various marijuana activists (not an oxymoron) who brought me to the attention of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP)* and I have been representing and testifying ever since. And I hate public speaking. But as of April 1st, the new marijuana decriminalization legislation goes into effect here in Rhode Island, and just last month a new bill for taxing and regulating marijuana (legalization) was introduced.

So Mr. Black, you have succeeded where countless others have failed. You got me off my big fat couch.

*I am a former Providence Police officer.

The Rant is Due; tickets still available. Very amusing interview with Channing Gray in today’s ProJo. I love this guy. (Black, not Gray.)

$29.50 to $65, 8pm, Sunday, March 24th, The Rant is Due, PPAC, 220 Weybosset Street

The House Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing on the Marijuana Regulation, Control, and Taxation Act (HB-5274) at 4:30pm, Wednesday, February 27th. Passage of this legislation means Rhode Island would join Colorado and Washington state in legalizing the recreational use of marijuana for adults.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee is moving forward, instructing the state Liquor Control Board to come up with rules for implementing the law. Knowing that federal law conflicts with these plans Inslee has been in touch with the Justice Department. According to The Seattle Times,

Saying “the world is watching,” Gov. Jay Inslee has sent a five-page letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder that outlines how Washington’s new legal marijuana system will be tightly controlled to prevent illegal activity such as state-licensed pot from leaking into other states.

The federal government considers all marijuana illegal, despite voter-approved laws in Colorado and Washington that legalize recreational use for adults. And Holder, the nation’s top law officer, has suggested that leakage of Washington weed into other states is one of the Department of Justice’s top concerns, Inslee said after a meeting last month with Holder.

Weed leakage . . . this is what keeps Holder up at night. Take a quick scroll through the roster at Marijuana Majority where people of note have agreed to go on record supporting marijuana reform. It’s not surprising to see the likes of Bill Maher, Seth Rogen, and Jimmy Kimmel; but others in favor include former U.S. Supreme Court Judge John Paul Stevens, conservative columnist George Will, and the Episcopal Church. And here are the kickers for persuading your reactionary old grampa: Glenn Beck, Newt Gingrich, Texas Governor Rick Perry, and Sarah Palin.

Hearing 4:30pm, Wednesday, February 27, Rhode Island State House, 82 Smith Street (directions)

Oh Patrick, how can we miss you if you won’t go away?  Former Rhode Island Rep Patrick Kennedy has come out against the legalization of marijuana. From the Reuters report;

Kennedy, who was married for the first time in 2011, said he worries his 8-month-old son might be predisposed to drug abuse – due to a kind of genetic “trigger” – and that is part of his fight against legalization.

He also said he wants to “reduce the environmental factors that pull that trigger,” such as marijuana use being commonly accepted.

No doubt the Kennedys have an unfortunate genetic load, but Patrick admits his problems were with alcohol and Oxycontin, both legal drugs. So Patrick, you are going to need a more nuanced message for your son than “Don’t use illegal drugs.” and I’d start the conversation early. And by the way, he will definitely be bumping into marijuana and noticing that it is already “commonly accepted” — legal or not — or will you be home schooling him from kindergarten through college?

One more thing Patrick, how many years in prison did you spend as a result of your run-ins with airport security, the Coast Guard, and the Capitol police? Or were you given other options?

Attitudes are changing across the country regarding marijuana reform. A piece at HuffPo —  “Colorado, Washington Pot Legalization Deals Drug War Major Blow” — has a great quote from my LEAP cohort Tom Angell.

“To put this into historical context, there is no historical context,” said Tom Angell, spokesperson for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. “It’s the first time any state has ever voted to legalize marijuana — and two of them did it.”

Tom is also the founder of Marijuana Majority a website where people of note (a real mixed bag of pols, celebs, religious leaders, etc.) have thrown in with the movement. It’s real fun to scroll through.

Mr. Angell helped local reformers immensely with the testimony at the Rhode Island state house that finally  resulted in the new marijuana decriminalization legislation (takes effect next April 1st). When facing the committees, we all cited recent polls to the legislators that we felt indicated there would be no political price to pay for backing marijuana reform. Were we right?

Answer after the jump.

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I don’t normally use exclamation points in the title line but . . . HOORAY! Rhode Island lawmakers have voted to decriminalize the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana. The House passed the legislation 50-to-24 Tuesday; the Senate passed the bill 28-to-6. It’s already a headline at NORML.

Members of the House and Senate passed twin bills, House Bill 7092 and Senate Bill 2253, which amend state law so that the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by an individual 18 years or older is reduced from a criminal misdemeanor (punishable by one year in jail and a $500 maximum fine) to a non-arrestable civil offense — punishable by a $150 fine, no jail time, and no criminal record. You can read NORML’s testimony in favor of these measures here.

Congrats to my pals at Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) — Tom Angell, Shaleen Title, and Jack Cole — the Brown and URI chapters of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, Becky Mer at Open Doors, Robert Capecchi of the Marijuana Policy Project, and the citizens who just showed up and testified. And big, big thanks to the legislators who recognized the injustice of imprisoning people and ruining lives for no good reason. The following lawmakers have stuck with this issue for a couple of years now and deserve your support in the future — Senators Josh Miller (D-Cranston) and Rhoda Perry (D-Providence), and Representatives John G. Edwards (D-Tiverton) and Edith Ajello (D-Providence). The Governor’s signature is still required; residents of Rhode Island can write him here, and let him know you support this legislation.

(Providence Journal June 6 — “Marijuana Bills Pass House, Senate”)

It’s nice to have some good news for a change.

Hooray! The House and Senate Judiciary Committees have voted to send the Marijuana Decrim bills to the House and Senate floors for a vote. (Last year these measures died in committee with House Majority leader Gordon Fox stating that it “wasn’t time.” There’s been some rejiggering with money received for the civil penalties no longer going to the city or town of the infraction, but rather to the state (with 50% earmarked for those drug awareness programs that have no measurable record of success but make everybody feel better). More at Providence Journal 5.30.12.

Big thanks to prime movers Rep. John G. Edwards (D-Tiverton) — who says he has 42 cosponsors in the House — and Rep. Edith Ajello (D-Providence); and on the Senate side Sen. Josh Miller (D-Cranston) and Sen. Rhoda Perry (D-Providence) deserve great praise for sticking with this issue. Support these elected officials! Integrity, brains and common sense — that’s all you can hope for. If you don’t live where you can actually vote for them, you can still shower them with money; and then let your representatives and senators know you support this legislation. It is time.

(5.22) And let’s stop destroying lives and breaking up families.  Join the good people of Open Doors Rhode Island for a rally in the State House rotunda in support of marijuana legislation now under consideration in the general assembly.

Legislators at the RI State House are considering bills to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana (under 1 ounce). Concerned residents across the state are invited to attend a rally to support marijuana decriminalization, a sensible measure which would remove current criminal penalties with a $150 civil fine.

Confirmed speakers include: Representative Jay Edwards (D – Tiverton, Portsmouth), House Sponsor of the Bill; Dr. David Lewis, MD, Professor Emeritus of Community Health at Brown University; Beth Comery, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

Open Doors is a non-profit organization which provides support for the formerly incarcerated as they prepare to leave prison, return home, and stabilize in the community. The agency’s programs include discharge planning within the men’s Minimum Security, policy and advocacy on criminal justice issues, as well as a resource center and employment program. More info including their new location on Plainfield Street at Open Doors. See their informative video after the jump.

(Image from the Urban Institute.)

3:30pm, Tuesday, May 22, State House rotunda, Smith Street, (directions)

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As a speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) I have testified at the state house in favor of liberalizing our marijuana laws, and I have written in this space before advocating an end to the “War on Drugs” altogether. So I keep an eye on related events and news from around the country. But the current campaign by President Obama and the Justice Department against the California marijuana dispensaries — culminating in the recent raid by IRS and DEA officers on Oaksterdam University in Oakland — have left me baffled. Turns out I’m in good company as the assembled talking heads on last week’s Real Time with Bill Maher were also unable to discern the President’s thinking or possible motivation in all this. Never mind that Obama is going back on his promise not to use federal resources for this purpose, but from a political point of view this is insanity. Why is he going so far out of his way to alienate his political base? It’s just baffling.

To learn more about what drug legalization might look like, check out this article from Forbes Magazine, “Ten Years After Decriminalization, Drug Abuse Down By Half in Portugal.”

Drug abuse is bad, the War on Drugs is worse.

Testimony in front of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees in support of reforming our marijuana laws has concluded. There are actually two separate initiatives under consideration: decriminalization and legalization.

Last week the house committee heard testimony on H7092 — the decriminalization bill introduced by Representative John G. Edwards (D-Portsmouth, Tiverton), which would make possession of an ounce or less of marijuana a civil offense punishable by a fine of $150, and no jail time — as well as H7582 a bill submitted by Representative Edith H. Ajello (D-Providence) for the taxing and regulation of marijuana. Testifying in support of both bills were: Jack Cole, retired New Jersey State Police Lieutenant and founder of LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition); Robert Capecchi, a legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) in Washington D.C.; Jarred Moffat from the Brown University chapter of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP); Becky Mer from Open Doors an organization that provides services to formerly incarcerated individuals and their families; and myself, also a LEAP speaker.

Continued after the jump.

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It speaks volumes that several members of the General Assembly feel comfortable re-introducing a Marijuana Decriminalization bill even though it’s an election year. Perhaps politicians are finally figuring out that not only is there no political price to be paid for taking this position, but just the opposite may be true.

We reported last month on the recent Rhode Island poll showing an overwhelming 65% supporting a decrease in the penalties for simple possession of less than an ounce of marijuana by removing the possibility of jail time and making the offense a civil citation. That means members of the General Assembly will be enhancing their chances of re-election by supporting this bill.

Big thanks to representatives John G. Edwards (D- Portsmouth, Tiverton), Frank Ferri (D-Warwick), House Minority Leader Brian C. Newberry (R- North Smithfield, Burrillville), Anastasia P. Williamson (D-Providence), and Peter G. Palumbo (D-Cranston) who introduced H-7092 on January 11; it has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee with a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, March 28.

This issue now brings together people from both sides of the aisle: small-government Republicans, progressive Democrats, and Libertarians of either stripe. A Gallup poll last October showed 50% of Americans support legalizing marijuana; most recently Pat Robertson came out in favor of complete legalization as well.

Sadly the only elected officials who seem to be doubling-down on enforcement and interdiction are the guys in the White House. What are they thinking?  (More info at Marijuana Policy Project.)

You’d think with someone named Weed at the helm . . . oh well, maybe next year. Big big thanks to Representative John Edwards (D-Tiverton) for sponsoring the ‘Marijuana Decriminalization’ bill which, despite having 40 cosponsors, apparently lost momentum in the final days/hours of this year’s sausage-making session of the General Assembly. (More on what did and didn’t make it in the ProJo.) Make sure your legislators know you want this to pass next year. Too bad.

The editorial board of the Providence Journal has come out in favor of bill H-5031/S-270 so that we may join the 14 other states that have eliminated jail time for possession of small amounts of marijuana. (ProJo 6.23.11)

. . . we strongly support a bill in the Rhode Island General Assembly sponsored by state Senators [sic] John G. Edwards and Joshua Miller to decriminalize possession of up to an ounce of pot.

Rather than facing up to a year in jail, people found with this amount would pay a civil fine of $200. (Even as people found drunk in the street with a bottle of bourbon are left alone . . .) Half the money would go to fund drug education and half to localities that issued the citations.

It’s past time to bring some reason to the needlessly fierce and expensive battle against marijuana use and better allocate strained law-enforcement resources.

In a recent editorial to The Tiverton-Little Compton Patch (also signed by Senator Miller) Representative Edwards lays out his position to his constituency. Both he and the ProJo note that in the states that have decriminalized marijuana, “the sky has not fallen in.” Dose readers drive through Massachusetts all the time, noticed anything different?

Let’s get this done! Make sure your State Reps and Senators know that you support this bill!

(On the national front: Students for a Sensible Drug Policy are rallying behind legislation aimed at eliminating the federal government’s authority in marijuana prohibition, “Congressmen Barney Frank and Ron Paul, along with courageous co-sponsors, have introduced H.R. 2306 the “Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011″ and we need your help to pass this historic piece of legislation that would end federal marijuana prohibition as we know it.”)

This was a hard act to follow. I should know. . . I had to follow it.  First, big thanks to Chris and Patrick et al. from the URI chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, and dj/producer Reza Clifton and the team over at WRIU for taking such great care of us yesterday. I was one of the two speakers from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and it appeared that the day’s events were in capable hands.

After the radio interview we headed for the stage where we would speak to the crowd and found Shaun Anzalone (seen here), Steve McCaul, and Tom Symes — aka Sonic Titan — covering Sabbath and just killing it! They ended their performance (which included some real swell original material) with an insane extended Led Zeppelin set. This guy totally shreds — they all do. (Can drummers shred? That doesn’t sound right.) I had not expected to be following a face-melting power trio with my little speech, but I found it a most welcome distraction. Nothing like a little metal to steady the nerves. These guys are from Massachusetts and seem to be keeping pretty busy. Somebody get them to Providence. Go listen to Sonic Titan at Facebook. More pix after the jump.

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URI Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) invite you down to the URI Quad for Hempfest 2011. Food, vendors, and music; and a few words from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) representatives. Bands include Broken Ground, Turbine, Consider the Source, Sonic Titan, Sauce, the Phreaks, Moga, Peanut Butter Lovesicle, and headliners Triangle Forest! Listen live all day on WRIU, radio 90.3FM. (Facebook event page.)

11am to midnight, Saturday, April 30, URI Quad, Upper College Road, Kingston