Bill Approved By Veto-Proof Majority, Governor Carcieri Follows Federal Dictate And Says No Anyway

Flash: RI Senate vote overrides veto, next step is vote in House. For more info click here.

Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri (R) vetoed legislation which will allow patients in need to gain access to medical marijuana. The New York Times reported on June 30, 2005 ( "In Rhode Island, Uncertainty About Medical Marijuana Law") that "Gov. Donald L. Carcieri vetoed the bill Wednesday evening, saying it would encourage marijuana use, sanction criminal activity and make the drug more available to children. Additionally, Mr. Carcieri said, it would lull residents into believing they could not be prosecuted for marijuana use, which remains a federal offense. The bill also does not have strong safety precautions, he said, and would allow patients to grow large amounts of marijuana with no guidelines for its disposal."

Supporters of patient access are confident that they have the votes to override the governor. According to the Times, "It appears that proponents of the bill have the necessary three-fifths vote in each chamber of the legislature, both heavily Democratic, to override the veto. The bill passed the Senate 33 to 1 on Tuesday and was approved 52 to 10 last week in the House. If the veto is overridden, Rhode Island will become the 11th state to allow medical marijuana, and the first to do so after the Supreme Court ruled this month that federal authorities could prosecute those who use the drug for medicinal use, even in states allowing it."

In vetoing the bill, the governor was following the dictates of the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy. According to the Times, "Mr. Carcieri's chief of policy and a group of legislators met on Tuesday with two officials in the White House Office of Drug Control Policy, an agency spokeswoman, Jennifer DeVallance, said. The agency presented state officials data showing that the drug was highly abused and had not been shown to be medicinally effective, Ms. DeVallance said."

The Times noted that "The bill would allow those with medical conditions including AIDS, cancer and glaucoma to receive what amounts to a signed prescription for marijuana from their primary care physician. The doctor, patient and person providing care would be entered into a registry kept by the state's Department of Public Health, which has 90 days to promulgate regulations. The patient and attendant, who must be Rhode Island residents, would receive identification cards allowing them to cultivate up to 12 marijuana plants indoors or possess up to 2.5 ounces of the drug. The patient, attendant, doctor and anyone present while the patient was ingesting marijuana would be exempt from prosecution. Landlords, schools and employers would be barred from refusing someone because they were enrolled in the medical marijuana program. The Department of Health will issue a report on the program to the legislature by Jan. 1, 2007; if the legislature does not take action the bill will expire on June 30, 2007, and all marijuana will again be illegal. The Rhode Island bill does not address how patients would obtain the drug. Its chief sponsor, State Senator Rhoda E. Perry, said patients would 'get it illegally, just like they do in the 10 other states.'"

The effort to enact this legislation is a personal one for the bill's sponsors. As the Times reported, "Ms. Perry and Representative Thomas C. Slater, who sponsored a similar bill in the House, say the legislation is a way to help ease the suffering of the sick and dying and is well-supported by residents. A poll taken last March by the Marijuana Policy Project, a national nonprofit organization that promotes the legalization of marijuana, found that 69 percent of state residents supported a bill allowing the chronically ill to grow marijuana for medicinal use. The issue has been a personal crusade for both Ms. Perry, whose nephew died of AIDS and refused to smoke marijuana for fear of arrest, and Mr. Slater, who has inoperable lung cancer and has seen three of his five siblings and his father suffer from cancer. 'It's an issue of compassion,' Mr. Slater said. 'It's an issue for those who are sick and dying and suffering and need that last-minute peace of mind.'"