Press Release: Rhode Island Committee Holds Hearing Today on Marijuana Decriminalization Bill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
MAY 4, 2010
Rhode Island Committee Holds Hearing Today on Marijuana Decriminalization Bill
S 2786 Would Remove Criminal Penalties for Adult Possession of One Ounce or Less of Marijuana and Replace with a $150 Fine
CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP director of communications …………… 202-905-2030 or [email protected]
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — Today, May 4, the Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on S 2786, a bill that would remove the state’s current criminal penalties for adult possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and instead replace them with a civil fine of $150.
        In March, a Senate commission tasked with studying the effects of marijuana prohibition in Rhode Island voted 11-2 to recommend that the state decriminalize marijuana possession in order to free up law enforcement and reduce costs. Decriminalizing marijuana could save the state up to $11 million annually in law enforcement, judicial and corrections costs, according to Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron, who testified before the commission.
        Last month, the state House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on a similar marijuana decriminalization bill.
WHAT: Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on S 2786, a bill to decriminalize marijuana possession in Rhode Island
WHEN: Rise of the Senate, Tuesday, May 4.
        WHERE: State House
WHO: Several speakers will testify in support of the bill, including Sen. Josh Miller (D-Cranston), the bill’s sponsor, who chaired the Special Senate Commission to Study the Prohibition of Marijuana.
The entire text of S 2786 can be read at http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText10/SenateText10/S2786.htm
        With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.
####