Medicinal marijuana can be a godsend for some people, helping patients using it experience a higher quality of life.
But the state is looking to expand the program in such a manner that it appears designed to help plug holes in the budget as much as to fill gaps in medical treatment, seeing as the state takes a cut of every sale.
Roughly one in every 44 adults in Rhode Island participate in the program. But as of right now the authorized growers of marijuana for the program produce 19.3 percent more than patients are prescribed, which has helped create a black market for pot from authorized growers.
The state, rather than trying to tighten this oversupply, is proposing to expand that amount of marijuana cultivated in a big way, partially as a way to provide more alternatives to opioid prescribing, but also with the idea of helping to solve the intractable and consistent state budget deficit.
Increasing the supply of medical marijuana with no clear need for it doesn’t make a lot of sense without having much more public discussion about it.