STATE HOUSE WEIGHS TWO BILLS ENDING BAN ON POT

Two bills that would end the criminal prohibition of marijuana use
came before the Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee last Wednesday.
The first bill -- proposed by Rep. Edith Ajello, D-Providence, whose
district includes College Hill -- would legalize the drug under certain
conditions. The second bill -- introduced by Rep. John G. Edwards,
D-Tiverton and Portsmouth -- would decriminalize marijuana consumption
and levy a $150 fine for possession.

The two bills come on the heels of a March recommendation by a state
Senate study commission that the state decriminalize small amounts of
the drug.

While Ajello took into account the commission's findings, she said
that her support for legalization arose largely from a realization
that the state's marijuana policy is ineffective. "Marijuana laws are
not working," Ajello said. She cited the fiscal toll of imprisoning
marijuana offenders as well as the fact that "more people of color are
arrested and imprisoned for small amounts of marijuana."

Letters urging legalization from Professor of Economics Glenn Loury
and Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Community Health David Lewis --
who both also served on the Senate marijuana commission -- further
contributed to her decision to propose the bill, Ajello added.

Ajello's bill would legalize the use of up to one ounce of marijuana,
provided that users refrain from driving under the influence, among
other restrictions. Cultivators and distributors would be required to
register with the state government. The bill would also establish a
"verification system" so that law enforcement can ensure that
marijuana retailers are approved by the state.

While this would require new infrastructure to regulate the market for
marijuana, Ajello asserted that the bill would be a financial boon for
the state.

"The taxing and the licensing would pay for that infrastructure and
the savings from law enforcement effort and imprisonment would
actually increase state revenue," Ajello said. According to Ajello,
decriminalization of the drug would not go far enough because state
resources would still be directed at punishing cultivators and
distributors.

The resulting conflict with federal laws designating marijuana as an
illegal drug "is of some concern," she said. But the federal
government under President Barack Obama seems disinclined to intervene
in state marijuana policy, particularly in light of California's
progressive laws regarding the drug, Ajello said.

Mischa Steiner '10, treasurer of the national board of directors of
Students for Sensible Drug Policy and former president of the Brown
chapter, said the group was "pleasantly surprised" by Ajello's
decision to introduce the legalization bill.

"We, in fact, did not expect a full tax and regulate bill to even
happen at all," Steiner said. Most of the group's efforts, which
include door-to-door campaigning for progressive marijuana
legislation, have been focused on decriminalization, according to
Steiner. "What decriminalization would do is make sure that the black
Hope High School student is treated the same way by the law as the
student at Brown" for marijuana possession, Steiner said.

Lt. Jack Cole, the executive director of Law Enforcement Against
Prohibition, testified in favor of both bills. But he said he believes
legalization to be the better policy. "The act of making these drugs
illegal creates a danger for the distribution of them," Cole said.
"That very danger is the reason why there's an artificially inflated
value for these drugs."

Cole cited reductions in drug-related disease and in the use of every
narcotic except marijuana following the decriminalization of
recreational drug use in Portugal.

Kristen Westmoreland MPH '09, a member of the Barrington Substance
Abuse Task Force, testified before the Senate marijuana commission and
is opposed to both bills.

"For us, the laws are very important in terms of prevention of
marijuana use, especially in youth," Westmoreland said. "Anything that
weakens the laws would be seen as an entryway for youth to use more."

According to Westmoreland, though some have hailed changes to
marijuana laws as means to lower enforcement costs and incarceration
rates, these benefits fail to take into account the costs of increased
consumption, including health risks and traffic fatalities. Marijuana
use would increase due to a decreased "perception of harm" if it is
legalized or decriminalized, Westmoreland said.

Edwards, who introduced the decriminalization bill, opposes
legalization because the ensuing conflict with federal law could cause
the federal government to "suspend payments for various programs in
retribution" for a policy of legalization.

Edwards said his concern for the effects of harsh marijuana laws on
young people influenced his decision to propose decriminalization.

"I think that civil possession is a pretty normal occurrence for kids
and young adults, and I don't want to see their lives ruined just
because they get caught with a small amount of marijuana," he said.

Edwards also emphasized the financial toll of incarcerating people for
civil possession, an expenditure of "up to $44,000 a year" per offender.

Edwards said a similar Massachusetts decriminalization law, which
mandates a $100 fine for possession, inspired the bill that he
proposed. Edwards' bill raises the fine to $150 because Rhode Island
"is in a much deeper financial mess than Massachusetts," he said.
Edwards said the consequences of the new law in Massachusetts
encouraged him to introduce the similar legislation.

"People are not running out and smoking marijuana if they never did"
before, Edwards said. "That has not occurred in Massachusetts or the
13 other states that have already approved" decriminalization.

While the House Judiciary Committee will subject both bills to further
review, it is likely they will have different political fates.

"I probably don't think there will be more discussion or a vote this
year," Ajello said of her legalization bill.

Edwards was more optimistic about decriminalization, particularly
given that he has received commitments from about 40 legislators who
would support the bill if it came to the floor for a vote, he said.

"I've already been told that if I put the bill back in next year, it
would be my bill that would go through," Edwards said.