The effort to legalize marijuana in Rhode Island this legislative session has stalled. The session will conclude the last week of June, and lawmakers have not made progress towards a compromise between the three proposals. 

Leaders in the Senate are hopeful they can bring something to the table for a vote by the end of the session. However, House Speaker Joe Shekarchi said that later this year a special session might return to tackle legalization. Governor Dan Mckee also had a similar opinion about the issue.

“Marijuana legalization will not be decided until after the budget is adopted this month, Shekarchi said. “It is possible we will return sometime in the summer or fall.”

For the first time this year, Senate leaders were getting behind recreational cannabis. It had more support than ever before. Despite the momentum early on, lawmakers did not arrive at a compromise bill or schedule a vote on any three proposals. 

The Three Proposals

In the legalization bills, adults 21 and over can purchase and possess up to one ounce of marijuana in public. They will also be able to grow up to six cannabis plants at home. All three measures include a 20 percent tax, with the only differences in how the municipalities and the state divide the revenue. 

Senate Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey and state Senator Josh Miller put together a legalization proposal in March. It aims to create an independent Cannabis Control Commission for marijuana business licensing and running the program. It will license up to 150 cannabis stores based on a town-by-town calculation. The cannabis commission will be responsible for approving the applicants. 

Governor Mckee also put together a legalization proposal included in his budget bill. In this proposal, the program would remain under the R.I. Department of Business Regulation’s umbrella. It will also issue fewer licenses, utilizing a lottery system to select 25 cannabis stores for the first round of permits. 

The final proposal comes from Rep. Scott Slater (D). His measure has a greater focus on social equity compared to the other two. It does still contain similar policies to tax and regulate cannabis. Another difference comes in the form of expungements. Slater’s proposal calls for automatic expungements for people with prior cannabis convictions. 

Legalization Pressure Intensifies

As more states legalize recreational marijuana, the pressure to follow suit builds. 

In an interview Wednesday, McCaffrey and Miller recognized that Connecticut lawmakers are getting closer to full legalization in their state. This would put Rhode Island between two states with legal recreational cannabis markets. 

“Something could be signed by the governor … by the end of this week in Connecticut,” Miller said. “We’ll be surrounded by legal recreational cannabis.”

House Speaker Shekarchi recently said that he views legalization as inevitable, but he is unsure if there will be time to address the cannabis measure before the session concludes. However, he is open to the idea of marijuana legalization.  

The senators remain optimistic that between the three proposals, lawmakers will be able to find common ground. 

“We’re working on it, and we’re going to keep our fingers crossed,” McCaffrey said. 

Make sure to check back for more cannabis and hemp-related news.