PROVIDENCE - Following the lead of the House of Representatives, the Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation Thursday that would make permanent the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. The Senate vote was 28-5, a plurality that easily surpassed the 60 percent threshold needed to overturn an expected veto by Gov. Donald L. Carcieri. All four Newport County senators voted for the bill. In 2005, the General Assembly passed legislation legalizing the doctor-prescribed use of marijuana for patients with debilitating diseases such as cancer, multiple sclerosis or AIDS. The patient could possess up to 5 ounces of useable marijuana or grow up to 12 marijuana plants. The patient also could have up to two qualified "caregivers" who could help the patient buy marijuana. [continues 386 words]
PROVIDENCE - For about half his life, Warren Dolbashian has been a criminal. The 34-year-old Cranston man has been smoking marijuana since he was 17 to combat symptoms of Tourette's syndrome. Pot greatly eased the violent tics associated with this neuropsychiatric disorder. Dolbashian found it worked better than the pharmaceuticals prescribed by his doctors. "Something must be working because I'm standing here and there are no tics," a smiling Dolbashian said Tuesday standing in a Statehouse hearing room. [continues 680 words]
The House of Representatives is expected to meet early Tuesday, the first day of the 2006 legislative session, to override the governor's veto of medical marijuana legislation. Last year, both the House and Senate overwhelmingly approved the legislation, but Gov. Donald L. Carcieri vetoed the bill. The Senate easily overrode the veto before the legislature recessed for the year. House leaders said at the time that they expected the General Assembly to return sometime in September to consider several of the governor's vetoes, but it never did. [continues 340 words]
If the state House of Representatives joins the state Senate and overturns the governor's veto of medical marijuana legislation it will represent a triumph of compassion and reason over indifference and ignorance. When Gov. Donald L. Carceiri vetoed the measure - overwhelmingly approved in both legislative chambers - he cited a host of reasons, including the following, some of which left people scratching their heads. - - "Marijuana is an addictive narcotic." C'mon, that sounds like something out of the 1960s, when ignorance of marijuana had paranoid people comparing it to heroin. That ludicrous idea sent those smoking pot into gales of laughter and had the side effect of negating those spouting such tripe of any shred of credibility. I have never known anyone - and I've known plenty of people who smoked pot regularly for years - who became "addicted" to marijuana. Most of those I knew from my younger days have long since moved on to legal - and probably more addictive - highs of liquor. [continues 713 words]
PROVIDENCE - Rhode Island soon could be the 11th state to legalize the use of marijuana by people with debilitating or chronic diseases. The Senate on Tuesday voted 33-1 to send identical House and Senate medical marijuana bills to Gov. Donald L. Carcieri. Although the governor has vowed to veto the legislation, the Senate and House approved it by large enough margins to override him. Last week, the House approved the bills 51-10. The General Assembly needs a 60 percent vote to override a gubernatorial veto. [continues 372 words]
PROVIDENCE - The House Health, Education and Welfare Committee gave a ringing endorsement to medical marijuana legislation Wednesday, providing hope that the General Assembly has enough votes to override an expected gubernatorial veto. Buoyed by the 10-2 committee vote, the bill's sponsor, Rep. Thomas C. Slater, D-Providence, predicted he would get more than 60 votes on the House floor, or about 80 percent of the chamber. Last week, the Senate passed a nearly identical bill 34-2. Both chambers need 60 percent approval to override a veto. But Slater said he hoped the override vote wouldn't be necessary. [continues 306 words]
PROVIDENCE - In a powerful show of support, the Senate Tuesday voted 34-2 to allow Rhode Islanders to smoke marijuana to ease the symptoms of debilitating illnesses. The vote came a day after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal laws against marijuana use trump states' medical marijuana laws. The decision overturned a 2003 federal appeal court ruling that California's medical marijuana law prevented federal law enforcement officials from prosecuting those with marijuana prescriptions. Sponsored by Sen. Rhoda E. Perry, D-Providence, the legislation would direct the Department of Health to issue licenses to patients diagnosed with "a debilitating medical condition," including cancer, glaucoma, AIDS, Hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease and Alzheimer's disease. [continues 530 words]
Marijuana Is Justified As Medicine OK. Right up front, full disclosure: I have inhaled. Considering I came of age in the 1960s, this shouldn't come as any surprise. Those of my generation can understand. Those younger need to know that the vast majority (and that is no exaggeration) of my peers also inhaled. Pot was so prevalent in the late 1960s and early 1970s that if a cop busted you and you had less than an ounce, he would just confiscate it and send you on your way. And you can be sure that pot would never see its way to the evidence room. [continues 563 words]
PROVIDENCE - When he was 10 years old, Irving Rosenfeld was diagnosed with multiple congenital cartilaginous exostosis, a long description for a condition that means painful tumors grow on his bones. The tumors cause severe muscle spasm and tears. Doctors told him he'd be lucky to make it through his teenage years. But on Wednesday, Rosenfeld, now 52 and a successful stockbroker, was in Rhode Island to share his success story. Testifying before the House Health, Education and Welfare Committee, Rosenfeld held up a round aluminum tin containing the drug he claims has allowed him to lead a normal life. [continues 780 words]
Watching the over-the-top display from one state senator during a legislative hearing last week made me feel like using a retort favored by my friends more than 20 years ago: "You don't have to be a jerk just because you know how." Of course, we didn't use the word "jerk" back then, but the meaning remains the same. The hearing was on legislation that would allow the medical use of marijuana. Ten states already have a similar law, which would allow people with debilitating diseases to seek prescriptions for marijuana to control their symptoms. Even in relatively conservative, Republican Arizona, the bill was overwhelmingly approved in a voter referendum. [continues 527 words]
