LEAP

Legislature Approves MJ Legalization!

Good news! Following floor debates in both chambers of the General Assembly earlier today, a majority of Rhode Island legislators have approved legislation to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis for adults. Governor McKee who has previously indicated he would sign the measure. With the governor’s approval, Rhode Island will become the 19th state to end …

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Let Marijuana Legalization Go To A Vote

There is unprecedented support in the general assembly this year for legislation that would effectively legalize adult use of marijuana in Rhode Island. The past few years similar bills have not made it out of committee — but look who is already on board this year as co-sponsors. From Jared Moffat director of Regulate Rhode …

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Say ‘No’ To Tax On Medical Marijuana

So, recreational marijuana is legal in Colorado and the Denver Broncos just won the Super Bowl — one more argument in favor of legalizing and taxing marijuana here in Rhode Island. And while it appears that our governor is coming around to the whole taxing idea, she seems to be skipping the crucial legalizing step. …

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Tax And Regulate Marijuana In 2016 — Let’s Do This!

Marijuana reform advocates will be returning to the state house next year in the hopes of convincing the General Assembly that 2016 is the year for Rhode Island to join the forward-thinking states that already regulate and tax marijuana like alcohol. “War on marijuana a flop in R.I.” in today’s Providence Journal makes an excellent …

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Marijuana Legislation Forum At Rochambeau

(6.19) Head over to the Rochambeau Library on Thursday for a forum on the marijuana ‘Tax and Regulate’ legislation currently before the general assembly.  Regulate Rhode Island (RRI) will host a panel of advocates from varied backgrounds who will discuss why they believe marijuana should be legalized for adult recreational use in Rhode Island. Regulate …

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AG Kilmartin Asks For Bigger Budget, More Prosecutors

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin is asking for an increase of 8% in his budget for the next fiscal year. Governor Chafee wants him to find 7% in cuts.  Providence Journal staff writer Tracy Breton reports on the staffing woes at the A.G.’s office in today’s paper, “Stretched to the limit, prosecutors plead case.” …

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Attention Pols — Support Marijuana Reform And Be A Winner

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 …

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Heroin Bust In The News — The War On Drugs Drags On

Look familiar? Haven’t we been down this road before? The headline in today’s Providence Journal reads “Record heroin seizure in R.I.” as if this were a big win in our war on drugs, when in fact it means just the opposite. If we were winning this war after 40 years the hauls would be getting …

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“The House I Live In” Coming In November

[youtube]a0atL1HSwi8&feature=player_detailpage[/youtube] Coming to the Cable Car in November “The House I Live In” may be the film that will finally get this topic traction with the general public. Directed and written by Eugene Jarecki, and winner of the Grand Jury documentary prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, this film takes on the failed war …

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ProJo Editorial Suggests Ending War On Drugs

In its discussion of the recent elections in Mexico and why the National Action Party may have been voted out, the Providence Journal editorial board has recognized our role in the Mexican drug violence and suggests a possible alternative to our government’s current drug policy. Though voting the PRI back into power was not what …

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The New Jim Crow — The War On Drugs

Law professor Michelle Alexander is the author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, a book about the invidious effects of our decades-old war on drugs and our exploding (and disproportionately black) prison population. The paperback has been on The New York Times nonfiction* bestseller list for many weeks. In …

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Welcome To ‘Google Plus’ Hangout — Where Fools Discuss Snacking

. . . while Rome burns. I am shocked, shocked to discover that the recent President’s video question contest was merely a cynical ploy by Google and YouTube to increase traffic to their sites. Apparently Google pulled the top vote-getting question (posted below) regarding marijuana legalization. Here is a portion of a LEAP statement posted …

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Cop’s Marijuana Legalization Question Top Vote-Getter In White House Video Contest

[youtube]J0IpiATxdR4[/youtube] A question advocating marijuana legalization from a retired LAPD deputy chief of police won twice as many votes as any other video question in the White House’s “Your Interview with the President” competition on YouTube this weekend. President Obama is slated to answer some of the top-voted questions on Monday. The marijuana question was …

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Mexican Drug Cartels Now Recruiting American Children

A segment tonight on the NBC Nightly News series “Mexico: the War Next Door” reports on a recent incident along our border with Mexico. A pickup truck packed with a half ton of marijuana crashed following a high-speed chase by Alamo police; the driver turned out to be a 12-year-old boy. The official response so …

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