Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee to hold hearing today on regulating and taxing marijuana

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The state House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing today on a bill that would regulate and tax marijuana for adult use in Rhode Island. The hearing on H 5555 is scheduled to begin at the rise of the House and will take place in the House Lounge, according to a press release from Regulate Rhode Island, a non profit committed to ending marijuana prohibition.

A lineup of witnesses is expected to testify in support of the legislation, including Rhode Island SEIU State Council Director Emmanuel Falck. The SEIU New England 1199 threw its support behind H 5555 late last week, joining the Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyers and the state affiliates of the ACLU, the NAACP, and the Sierra Club. Testimony will also be provided by several doctors, public health researchers, clergy members, civil rights advocates, former law enforcement officials, and political and business leaders.

“Removing marijuana from the criminal market and regulating its production and sale would improve public health and safety,” said Regulate Rhode Island Director Jared Moffat. “It would create good jobs, generate tax revenue, and end an unjust prohibition policy that has disproportionately impacted minority communities. It is not surprising that this legislation enjoys such a broad spectrum of support.”

H 5555, titled the Adult Use of Cannabis Act, would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and grow one mature marijuana plant in an enclosed, locked space. It would establish the Office of Cannabis Coordination within the executive branch, which would be charged with coordinating among state agencies to establish a tightly regulated system of licensed marijuana retail stores, cultivation facilities, processing facilities, and testing facilities. The measure would also enact a 23% excise tax on retail marijuana sales in addition to the standard 7% sales tax.

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