Thirteen states have already decriminalized marijuana possession, but a Rhode Island bill failed to pass the General Assembly when it was first introduced last year. This session, state Sen. Joshua Miller, D-Cranston, is trying again.
Miller re-introduced legislation Feb. 10 to decriminalize the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana. The bill is a response to the findings of a Senate commission to study the effects of prohibiting marijuana, which Miller chaired.
"It doesn't make sense to have our cash-strapped state spending money putting people in prison for possessing a little of something that is less dangerous than some of the things you can legally buy in stores," Miller said in a press release on the legislation.
Under the bill, marijuana possession would be categorized as a civil offense, even for individuals already on probation or parole. First-time offenders would pay a fine of $150, and second-time offenders would be fined $300. Eighteen legislators have already expressed their support for the bill.
In addition to the fine, minors would be required to participate in a drug awareness program of at least four hours and complete 10 hours of community service. Their parents would be notified of the offense by the state.
The bill's supporters charge that it would be a revenue source for worthwhile state programs. Half of the bill's revenue would be designated for youth drug awareness and treatment programs.
They also point to reductions in spending on law enforcement that the decriminalization would provide — a figure that could be between $1 million and $10 million, The Herald Editorial Board wrote last Thursday.
But Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron said that, beyond these savings, the legislation is too small of a change to "have a meaningful effect on the Rhode Island economy." A real economic impact would require "full legalization, not just decriminalization, of all drugs — and not just marijuana," Miron said.
Miron said the real issue with this type of legislation is not its economic impact, but "the freedom of people to be left alone by the government."
Jared Moffat '13, president of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, also emphasized the bill's implications for personal liberty. "What people do in private, if not harming other people, is no one else's business," he said.
Moffat added that while "we support decriminalization because it reduces the amount of people we send to prison for petty causes, the bill just doesn't go far enough." Moffat said prohibition and the resulting creation of a black market causes more harm than the drug itself.
But Calvina Fay, executive director of the Drug Free America Foundation, pointed to the dangers of the drug. Marijuana is "a drug that young people need to be protected from," she said, adding that the bill "sends the wrong message to young people."
Fay said decriminalizing marijuana would also reduce the accessibility of drug treatment programs to marijuana users, since people who are sentenced to jail for marijuana possession are often also required to undergo treatment.
"I get calls on a regular basis from families who see loved ones go down this drug spiral, and they are powerless to help their children to get treatment," she said. "The law is the only way to prevent this."
Fay also criticized the fact that the law could allow a drug dealer to escape prosecution for trafficking small amounts of marijuana and challenged the notion that minor offenders make up the majority of those incarcerated for drug-related crimes.
"Only a handful of people are truly being jailed for a petty crime," Fay said. In 2009, 337 people awaited trial for possession of marijuana, and 154 were incarcerated, according to the bill. Fay said this is an "insignificant number of people" in a state of millions and that many of these are repeat offenders or drug dealers.
State Sen. Rhoda Perry P'91, D-Providence, is a co-sponsor of the bill and a member of the committee that will first consider it. Perry said the bill will "help a lot of young people who have already been found guilty of possession," adding that criminal convictions are permanent marks on young people's record that especially hurt them when searching for jobs. She said similar Massachusetts legislation that passed in public referendum in November 2008 has worked.
Perry said she expects a delay before the bill is put to a vote. A date for a first hearing on the bill has not yet been announced.
Other legislation to tackle high-profile economic issues has taken precedence over the decriminalization bill, Perry said. "Sometimes it takes years to get people to listen," she said.
But Moffat is optimistic that a demographic shift means the electorate will be more favorably disposed not just to decriminalizing marijuana, but also to legalizing it.
He cited polls showing that young people favor legalization in larger numbers than their parents and grandparents.
"Legalization is inevitable — the debate is no longer about whether or not we should legalize, but how we should legalize," he said.
