Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

another commission a waste of taxpayer money and time.i would elimate most boards and commissions in this state

I'd love to see pot legalized, taxed and regulated. It's not a gateway drug. I smoked plenty of pot in my younger days and it NEVER gave me the urge to stick a needle in my arm.

Put the tax money into RI budget, instead of drug cartels pockets.

Most of the research mentioned has already been done, but if that's what it takes to convince our putzy governor, so be it.

I know nurses, shrinks and and cops alike who support decriminalization so it's not a matter of "if" as much as "when".

Legalized marijuana could bring huge dollars into the state far beyond the regulation and taxing. Without question, tourism would increase. That would benefit many businesses.

If it's grown in the state, you also have a by-product market. Hemp is the strongest natural fiber and also makes a great raw material for paper.

The biggest benefit could be the sale and distribution of hemp seed oil. At one time it was a very common fuel oil.

It makes economic sense to legalize.

What? Is the government actually growing out of the reefer madness stage? Took long enough. 70+ years of lies might come to an end! Leagalize the stupid plant already, the punishment for marijuana is harsher than the effects on society.

This is a fantastic step. For years opponents of sensible drug policies have scoffed at the idea that the subject is even worth looking into. Now we can take a full and fair look at the realities of the drug war. I'm confident that the commission will find marijuana drug laws horribly out of date and in need of a complete overhaul. It's about time.

And what about those who just so happen to be under 18? Will they be hauled off to jail and be denied financial aid when they apply for it because they have been convicted of a drug offense?

This isn't helping anyone. It's a step, but not necessarily the right one.

Legalize/decriminalize it for everyone, just because you're under an arbitrary age does not mean a plant such as marijuana will do ANY more harm to you. This is ridiculous.

Oh and for anyone who wonders, I happen to be 21.

In 2002 the Canadian Senate formed a committee to study Cannabis and come up with a government position on it. The study was comprehensive (available online today) and looked at both sides of the issue. The Senate recommendation was to decriminalize cannabis as it harms society relatively little and prohibition does more harm than good.

You might ask what happened after that. Answer. Nothing, the report was ignored because all decisions made by governments these days are politically/ideologically driven and devoid of common sense and reason.

This US senate committee may have better luck because decriminalization of cannabis is at top of the public agenda.

I haven't touched that stuff since my college days.

But honestly, who cares? Legalize the plant already...

It would boost tourism, that poster made a good point. Also in my opinion, its not just the taxable $$ the state would then beneift from. It's more the taxpayer dollars that would be saved from all the court costs of small time offenders who have to be processed.

Too bad our Gov is a putz, at least on this issue.

Whats really silly here is that alcohol, which is far more dangerous and physically addicting is legal nationwide. How many people die from drunk driving every year?

When I used to smoke marijuna in my dorm room days, the worst that happened to me was eating too many doritos.

No hang over either, just good nights sleep.

Eh, people are ignorant and set in their ways. It will still be a long time before a plant is legally accepted. Shame.

Bravo. There's been a sudden outbreak of rational thought, political courage and fact-based policy-making among Rhode Island legislators lately.

Note to the rest of America's politicians: this is what real leadership looks like.

The public is sick of the idiotic "war on drugs" and is demanding reform. There is no longer any real political liability in supporting legalization; in fact the opposite is true. Trail-blazers like Senators Miller, Blais, Perry, Levesque and Sosnowski and the rest of the RI House and Senate are doing this because they care more about doing the right thing for the people of Rhode Island than they do about the (largely imaginary) political consequences of stepping on what was once a third rail.

Politicians who are still too cowardly to follow their lead should note that the day will soon come when support for legalization and rational drug policies will basically be mandatory for any politician who is serious about winning elections.

To Joshua Miller and the bill's other proponents: please consider running for the US Congress and doing so with drug policy reform as a basic plank in your platform. Your courage and vision are too valuable to waste on a single state -- the rest of America needs you!

Its nice to see that everyone is slowly coming to their senses. The majority of people that buy and sell pot are only dealing with pot. The leniency in the laws over the country have given a silent thumbs up to a lot of local crop growers (and they're getting pretty damn good at it.)
However, the people who sell marijuana along with their cocaine or X (who are supporting the cartels somewhere down the line) usually have the horrible Mexican headache weed that your average pot smoker wouldn't want to smoke anyways.

p.s.
I'll take the liscence by the way to open up a shop.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the license application for the Compassion Center: This article states: "As of Wednesday, no person or group had formally applied for the license to run the first of the three marijuana dispensaries allowed by the so-called "compassion centers'' bill."

No person or organization has applied for the license yet BECAUSE AN APPLICATION DOES NOT EXIST YET! As per the Bill itself, the RI Dept. of Health has 90 days to write the regulations, that includes the application and application process. They haven't finished yet.

I wish when reporters (including news stories on TV I've seen) would do better research before misleading statements like this are released.

the punishment out ways the crime, its a plant that has nowhere near the effects that man made, taxed and produced alcoholic has on the human body. legalizing the darn thing would create more revenue in our state and save millions just keeping innocent pot loving enthusiast out of prison where the real criminal belong. the list goes on but might i also through in that our own founding fathers indulged themselves. doesn't it seem a bit hypocritical and down right foolish to shun the likes of George Washington and ban a plant because a millionaire magazine revolutionist saw its potential to save trees!!!! the list goes on, but in conclusion, lets give this freedom back to the land that prides itself for it.