Rhode Island

Biden pardons all federal offenses of simple cannabis possession

Posted on October 6th, 2022 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , .

BidenUS President Joe Biden on Oct. 6 pardoned “all prior Federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana.” Biden explained that criminal records for marijuana possession have negatively impacted “too many lives,” particularly those of black and brown people through disproportionate conviction rates.

Rhode Island senate approves legalization bill

Posted on June 22nd, 2021 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

RhodeWith little time remaining in the regular legislative session, the Rhode Island Senate has approved a bill to legalize the possession, purchase and cultivation of cannabis for personal use for adults 21 and older. S 568 would establish a Cannabis Control Commission to regulate the legal market, tax adult-use sales at 20%, and establish a social equity program to support communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis criminalization.

Advocates push workers' right to cannabis use

cannabisAdvocates increasingly assert that cannabis legalization is not fully realized unless workers are guaranteed their right to employment even if they partake of the herb off-hours. Some states are finally taking measures to rein in the use of urine-test results as an excuse to fire or turn down job applicants.

Courts rule for workers denied employment for medical marijuana use

medical marijuanaAfter years of upholding employee firings for use of cannabis even under state medical marijuana programs, the courts are finally starting to turn around on the question.

One of the ways state medical marijuana programs have failed to fully extend protection to medicinal users is in failure to defend against employment discrimination. This is now beginning to change, thanks to a few recent court decisions in favor of patients and employees.

Patient advocates respond to Rep. Patrick Kennedy's anti-cannabis campaign

Posted on January 9th, 2013 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , .

medical marijuana In response to public comments made against marijuana reform by former Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy, patient advocates wrote to Kennedy inviting him to attend a national conference on medical marijuana scheduled for Feb. 22-25 at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel in Washington DC. Kennedy announced on Jan. 9 the formation of a new group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), which claims to take a different approach than either legalization advocates or government drug warriors. However, advocates argue that SAM's supposed pro-public health approach ignores the therapeutic benefits of the cannabis plant and is simply using a new narrative to make the same arguments used by marijuana opponents for years.

Colorado and Washington: will the ripples reach Mexico and Colombia?

Posted on November 24th, 2012 by Peter Gorman and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

leafWell, the dust has hardly settled but the boots are at the door; they might come storming through, riling up that dust some more.

But we hope not. The boots belong to the Justice Department and the door belongs to the states of Washington and Colorado. The dust is the election that saw those two states make the biggest moves toward cannabis legalization any state has made in a long long time. No, neither law is perfect, and it is going to be a cold day in hell probably before state stores are up and running. But still, the fact that the voters got out there and said enough is enough and let's get something on legalization out there is very freaking refreshing. Ask anyone who works in any capacity to end the drug war: Wins are few and far between. It took more than 10 years of effort to rein in law enforcement's forfeiture spree; it took a lot longer than that to get New York's racist Rockefeller sentencing laws even semi-tossed. So what happened in Washington and Colorado is in the win column, though we cannot be at all sure that the feds are not going to come in and try to muck things up like they have with California's and Oregon’s medical marijuana laws.

Rhode Island senate approves compromise bill to revive state dispensary program

Posted on May 11th, 2012 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

medical marijuanaThe Rhode Island Senate passed compromise legislation May 9 intended to revive a stalled effort to open medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, with new limits on quantities the facilities may possess. If the measure passes the House, the dispensaries could be open within months. The vote represents progress for dispensaries that were poised to open last year, when Gov. Lincoln Chafee held up their permits citing the threat of federal prosecution.

Governors petition for cannabis reclassification

Posted on December 1st, 2011 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , , , , .

medical marijuanaGovernors Christine Gregoire (D-WA) and Lincoln Chafee (I-RI) announced at a press conference in Olympia Nov. 30 that they are jointly filing a federal petition to reclassify cannabis for medical use. Under the Controlled Substances Act, the federal government considers cannabis a Schedule I substance, a dangerous drug with no medical value. The rescheduling petition filed by governors Gregoire and Chafee comes after their administrations were sent letters threatening medical marijuana producers and distributors and the implementation of state laws.

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