GreenSurfer
Well-Known Member
PROVIDENCE, RI (AP) - A Senate commission will soon explore whether Rhode Island should follow Massachusetts by making possession of less than an ounce of marijuana a civil infraction, rather than a criminal one.
Sen. Joshua Miller, the commission chair, says he hopes to issue findings early next year.
The Cranston Democrat says he expects to hear testimony from officials in Massachusetts, where voters in 2008 approved a law decriminalizing possession of an ounce or less of marijuana. Those caught carrying the drug risk a $100 fine.
Some cities and towns in Massachusetts have since created additional penalties to discourage marijuana use.
Among the questions the Rhode Island panel will examine is whether the cash-strapped state could raise money by imposing a $35 per ounce sin tax on marijuana.
Sen. Joshua Miller, the commission chair, says he hopes to issue findings early next year.
The Cranston Democrat says he expects to hear testimony from officials in Massachusetts, where voters in 2008 approved a law decriminalizing possession of an ounce or less of marijuana. Those caught carrying the drug risk a $100 fine.
Some cities and towns in Massachusetts have since created additional penalties to discourage marijuana use.
Among the questions the Rhode Island panel will examine is whether the cash-strapped state could raise money by imposing a $35 per ounce sin tax on marijuana.