Legislators override Carcieri’s medical marijuana veto

The state House of Representatives on Tuesday voted 59 to 13 to override a veto by Gov. Donald L. Carcieri of legislation passed last year to legalize medical marijuana, making Rhode Island the 11th state to allow people with certain illnesses to use the substance.

Federal law forbids marijuana use, but Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington allow it to be grown and used for medicinal purposes. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that patients who used the drug in those states could still be prosecuted under federal law.

The new Rhode Island law allows people with severe illnesses such as cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and hepatitis C, on a doctor’s recommendation, to get registered with the state and get permission to grow up to 12 marijuana plants or buy up to 2.5 ounces of the drug.

The law is effective immediately, but the state Department of Health, which will register users and give them identification cards, still has 90 days to develop procedures to do so.

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The medical marijuana bill was one of the highest-profile measures in last year’s legislative session, but Carcieri vetoed the measure. The state Senate voted the override his veto the following day, but the House recessed without taking action, leaving the bill’s fate up in the air. Legislators voted on Tuesday before convening the 2006 House session – the last possible time they could do it.

After the vote, Carcieri issued a statement saying the law “will encourage criminal activity,” because it does not provide any means for the legal purchase of medical marijuana, forcing them to buy the drug in the illegal street market.

The governor also objected to the lack of “safeguards to protect the community,” such as restrictions on where marijuana can be cultivated and stored, and he called the definition of eligible medical conditions as “so broad that it would allow nearly any Rhode Islander to be a user.” Finally, Carcieri noted, “this bill appears to violate federal law.”

The governor noted that along with himself, the state police, the state Department of Health, and the chief judge of the Rhode Island Family Court had opposed the law.

The full text of the law is posted here.

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