HALFWAY DOESN'T COUNT

This certainly is a blue state.

Only somewhere so liberal - or progressive, whichever one prefers -
as Rhode Island could a legislature buck the political wisdom that
traditionally says being soft on drugs is bad in every scenario.
There's something very bold about a General Assembly that would put
aside decades of scare-mongering propaganda and acknowledge marijuana
- - long demonized as a scourge of the youth and unmotivated - might
actually have legitimate and supportable uses.

So we'll pass along our kudos to the General Assembly for making
permanent its legalization of medical marijuana for certain patients
suffering pain that can't truly be mitigated in any other way. That
the common recreational use of the drug has attached to it such a
pervasive stigma as to make even doctors reluctant to acknowledge its
medical benefits is simply sad; that legislators could look past the
stigma is wholeheartedly encouraging.

Here's a drug that even in its unregulated form is often far less
potentially hazardous than many of the others doctors and pharmacists
are free to dole out as they see fit. Yet the idea of applying its
benefits to those most in need of pain relief has for so long fallen
victim to the War on Drugs that we've almost forgotten how
comparatively benign marijuana can be.

Yet still, Rhode Island's legislature falls short of truly
legitimizing what its members acknowledge is a legitimate use for the
drug - because the law provides no legal mechanism for distribution
or regulation. It tells patients in pain it's OK if they're caught
with a manageable amount of marijuana on their person, but they'll
need to traverse the seedier side of society to actually obtain the
stuff. Forget regulation or testing that's absolutely key to drug
safety - the black market isn't known for its rigorous quality
control standards. The neighbor's punk kid might be able to tell you
who has the hook-up, but don't expect your dime bag to include a nice
federally mandated label with appropriate warnings and an honest
breakdown of what's inside.

Legislators say they're afraid of running afoul of federal law, and
that by legalizing distribution they'd draw the attention of the
heavy-handed federal government. But "wink-wink, nod-nod" doesn't
make for good medicine, and it certainly doesn't make for good public
policy. If Rhode Island's legislators truly believe medical marijuana
can be valuable to the people of the Ocean State, they've got to
stand up to the federal government and demand a change. Until then,
we're dealing with half-measures that might help some, but put others
at unnecessary risk - and that's simply unacceptable.