Welcome to RIPAC!
View RIPAC's pamphlet about the Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Act
Recent RIPAC and medical marijuana news:
IF YOU ARE APPLYING TO THE RI MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROGRAM FOR THE FIRST TIME, USE THE NEW APPLICATION. You can download it at http://www.health.ri.gov/forms/registration/MedicalMarijuanaNewApplication.pdf
12/1/11: Governor Chafee joins with Washington State Governor Gregoire in a petition to the DEA to reclassify Marijuana from Schedule I (no medical value) to Schedule II (a physician can prescribe, pharmacies can dispense). The DEA rejected a petition in July after considering it for 9 years. If marijuana is rescheduled, it won't be for many years. We have no way of knowing what strains would be available and in what form (tinctures, pills..). As we understand it, a DEA license is required to manufacture and a pharmacy license is required to dispense schedule II medications. That would be in conflict with RI law which patients and their caregivers produce medicine. To listen to the Governors' joint press conference: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wrni/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1880727 To read the petition: http://www.governor.wa.gov/priorities/healthcare/petition/combined_document.pdf
10/1/11: RIPAC HELD PROTEST RALLY AT STATE HOUSE. We protested the Governor's decision to deny patients access to Compassion Centers. Speakers included Rep. Scott Slater and Seth Bock from Greenleaf Compassion Center. To read the Governor's press release announcing his decision go to http://wrnihealthcareblog.wordpress.com/
9/27/11: RIPAC held press conference to announce that we are working with the ACLU to bring legal action against the Governor for violating state law by refusing to issue Compassion Center licenses.
7/18/11: Governor Chafee still has Compassion Center licenses on hold due to his concerns that the Centers could be illegal under federal law and state employees involved with licensing could be prosecuted. The fact is that federal authorities have NOT threatened to prosecute RI state employees. The most recent memo from the U.S. Justice Dept. articulates the intent of the Dept. to possibly prosecute dispensaries with grandiose numbers of plant and projected profits but does not include state employees as targets of prosecution.
Given that the federal Justice Department has never threatened RI state employees and that there are vast numbers of RI patients with debilitating medical conditions who do not have caregivers or access to quality medicine, and that the RI law requires 3 Compassion Centers, many patients have questioned why Governor Chafee seems more concerned with federal law than the state law he was elected to uphold. Many frustrated patients have questioned why the Governor seems so eager to stand up to federal law to fight for an accused murderer (to be tried under RI state law so that he will not be subjected to the death penalty under federal law) while he is actively using fear of federal law to negate or ignore RI law that requires his administration to license 3 Compassion Centers to ease the suffering of RI patients. Why will the Governor stand up to the feds for an accused murderer but not stand up for the 3700 RI debilitated patients who have a right under state law to assign a compassion center as one of their caregivers? RIPAC met with the Governor in June and did not receive a satisfactory response to that question. We encourage patients and their supporters to contact the Governor directly at 401.222.2080 or at governor@governorri.gov
RIPAC does not currently have an accurate way to gauge the pain and suffering or the reduced life expectancy of those licensed patients who are entitled and yet unable to get medicine from a RI Compassion Center. The RI law required the first Compassion Center to be licensed in December 2009. Please ask Governor Chafee to follow the RI law by issuing the Compassion Center licenses immediately.
5/4/11: RIPAC to hold PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY at State House in the rotunda at 1PM to respond to federal threat to Compassion Centers
4/29/11: Feds threaten RI Compassion Centers in letter to Gov. Chafee. The U.S. Attorney says that Compassion Centers will violate federal law. For more info:
http://www.projo.com/news/content/Pot_04-30-11_C0NR00V_v55.18642ef.html
http://wrnihealthcareblog.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/ris-us-attorney-warns-chafee-about-compassion-centers/
3/30/11: Successful hearing at the State House was held March 30 on House Bill 5401 which would, among other things, terminate grow rights for patients and caregivers. 175 patients and caregivers signed up to testify. The committee did not vote on the bill and it is not expected to pass. To read the full text of these bills, go to: http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText11/HouseText11/H5401.pdf http://www.rilin.state.ri.us//BillText11/SenateText11/S0204.pdf
3/15/11 The Health Department announced that it will issue 3 Compassion Center licenses to the following applicants: Greenleaf Compassion Center in Portsmouth, the Thomas C. Slater Center in Providence in Providence and the Summit Center in Warwick. We have received many inquiries asking how to contact the Centers. We will provide the contact info as soon as it is available to us.
3/16/11 RIPAC testified before the House Committee on Judiciary on H. 5290 and H 5032, bills concerning tenants' rights to grow in a leased dwelling. H. 5290 would require licensed patients and caregivers to inform landlords of their intent to grow medical cannabis and give landlords the right to prohibit growing. H. 5032 would require patients and caregivers to indemnify landlords by being liable for damages that may be caused by a garden. The Committee has not voted on the bill and we continue to speak with Committee members. To read the full text of these bills: http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText11/HouseText11/H5290.pdf and http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText11/HouseText11/H5032.pdf
11/12/10: Applications for Compassion Center Applications are due by noon today at the Health Department. A public hearing will be held on the applications on February 7, 2011. The Health Department will announce its licensing decision on or before March 8, 2011.
9/13/10: RALLY OUTSIDE OF HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO PROTEST THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT'S REJECTION OF ALL 15 COMPASSION CENTER APPLICATIONS AT 12:30PM. RAIN OR SHINE. THE DEPARTMENT SAYS IT WILL START ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS AGAIN IN OCTOBER. RIPAC REVIEWED THE APPLICATIONS THAT WERE SUBMITTED AND FOUND 7-8 OF THE APPLICATIONS TO BE IMPRESSIVE. THE MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACT REQUIRED THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO LICENSE THE FIRST COMPASSION CENTER BY DECEMBER 23, 2009.
09/10/10: The RI Department of Health announces that it will NOT issue Compassion Center licenses, claiming that the applicants are not qualified! To see the Dept's press release click here:
http://www.ri.gov/press/view/12191
7/27/10: The Rhode Island Department of Health will be taking additional time to reach a final decision on licenses for up to three compassion centers.
In a statement released today, the Department indicated that a decision will be made by early September.
To view the press release click here
http://www.ri.gov/press/view/11885
6/29/10: Today the RI Dept of Health held a hearing on which of the
15 Compassion Center applicants to license next month. RIPAC Executive Director JoAnne Leppanen testified to RIPAC's involvement in this process and the organizational values that divide a few top applications from the pack. At the end of July, DoH will choose whom to license as America's first state-regulated, retail, non-profit medical marijuana dispensary.
6/25/10: Today, Rhode Island has enacted medical marijuana legislation, for the fourth time. 2006: Medical Marijuana Act; 2007: Permanent MMJ Act; 2009: Compassion Centers; 2010: Physician Confidentiality. You can read H8172 at
http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/billtext10/housetext10/h8172.pdf but basically it adds this text:
"Applications and supporting information submitted by qualifying patients, including information regarding their primary caregivers and practitioners, are confidential and protected under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, and shall be exempt from the provisions of the RIGL chapter 38-2 et seq. the Rhode Island access to public records act and not subject to disclosure, except to authorized employees of the department as necessary to perform official duties of the department."
This is the also the first medical marijuana bill to become law without a gubernatorial veto and ensuing override votes! Governor Donald Carcieri allowed the bill to become law without his signature.
5/20/10: In spite of the extremely short notice and long wait to be heard, there was a great turnout for last night's legislative hearings. Those of you who couldn't make it, please know that your fellow patients and caregivers could not have been more persuasive. For those of you who had to leave before the hearing on House Bill 7275 (the bill that would eliminate cultivation rights), you should know that the hearing ended at close to 11PM with Rep.Peter Martin telling us that it was the best hearing he had ever attended. He went on to remind us that yesterday would have been Rep. Tom Slater's birthday (the Medical Marijuana Act is named after Rep. Slater, the much beloved lead sponsor of the MMj law). The Committee did not vote on the bill.
Click here to read the bill.
5/19/10: There will be two hearings at the State House tomorrow: House Bill 7275 would essentially
eliminate growing rights for patients and caregivers, effective January 2012. It would also bar patients and caregivers from GIVING medicine to each other and would allow out of stater patients to be members of the Compassion Center board of directors. The hearing is expected to start at about 4PM in room 313.
Click here to read the text of the bill.
At about the same time, in room 212, there will be a Senate hearing on a bill that will bar the Department of Health from releasing the names of physicians who sign applications for patients.
To read the bill click here.
4/20/10: As a part of a special series on 4/20 entitled
Marijuana and Money, CNBC published an article on the difficulties of medical marijuana states that lack distribution systems featuring RIPAC's own Joanne Leppanen.
Read it here.
4/19/10: Slate Magazine published the third part in their series about medical marijuana and autism, "Why I Give My 9-Year-Old Pot."
Read it here.
4/14/10: The South County Regional Meeting will be canceled tomorrow (April 15). The next meeting will be May 20.
4/7/10: New Mobility Magazine published a piece entitled "RX for Pot" featuring RI medical marijuana patient Ellen Smith and RIPAC's own Joanne Leppanen.
Read it here.
3/25/10: Due to the state of emergency caused by flooding, the March patient meeting was canceled. The next patient meeting will be on April 27. Thank you all for your cooperation and for all the offers to help patients in need.
3/17/10: The Rhode Island Department of Health apparently reversed its stance on the confidentiality of doctors when it provided a list of all doctors who have recommended medical marijuana more than ten times to the Providence Journal, which then
published it. On the same day, the Providence Journal also published
a story featuring several Rhode Island doctors arguing that they should be allowed to recommend whatever works for their patients.
2/3/10: The Rhode Island Department of Health held a hearing on the proposed Compassion Center regulations yesterday, February 2. The article features Rhode Island patients as well as RIPAC's own JoAnne Leppanen. Read the Providence Journal article
here.
1/31/10: Announcing the first Newport County Patient Meeting. Meetings will take place on the first Tuesday of every month in Middletown, RI. This meeting is only open to licensed patients and licensed caregivers attending with their patients. Call 861-1601 for directions. Patients living in Tiverton and Little Compton are also welcome.
1/28/10: Patients Out of Time, in association with RIPAC, UC San Francisco and the Rhode Island State Nurses Association will be holding an Accredited Medical Cannabis Therapeutics Conference. The conference will be held April 15-17, 2010 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, RI.
Click here for more information including registration, continuing medical education credits, and a day-by-day schedule.
Compassion Center apps are online, Public Hearing is Feb. 7
1/11/10: Today New Jersey became the 14th medical marijuana state! The law will take effect in six months. Although patients will not be allowed to grow their own medicine, they will be able to acquire it through state-regulated dispensaries. Click
here to read the New York Times article. For further inquiry, please contact the
Coalition for Medical Marijuana - New Jersey.
12/18/09: Today the RI Dept of Health released a working draft of the
Announcement of open Application Period for Operation of a Medical Marijuana Compassion Center. The final version of the announcement will be made available when the amended regulations are filed with the Secretary of State. A formal public hearing on the regulations has been scheduled for Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 2:00PM in the Auditorium of the Cannon Building (on the lower level).
Click here to read.
Click here for the updated regulations.
12/13/09: Today Congress voted to lift the Barr amendment in Washington D.C. that prevented medical marijuana and Initiative 59. The city will now use administrative regulations to implement its medical-marijuana policy. Initiative 59 was overwhelmingly approved by voters in 1998.
11/10/09: Today the American Medical Association (AMA) voted to reverse its long-held position that marijuana be retained as a Schedule I substance with no medical value. The report entitled, "Use of Cannabis for Medicinal Purposes," affirmed the therapeutic benefits of marijuana and called for further research.
Click here to read the report.
11/3/09: Today, with a citizens ballot initiative, Maine became the fifth state in the nation to allow dispensaries where medical marijuana would be available to patients with certain medical conditions. Under the law, the state will oversee and license those dispensaries, much like RI.
10/19/09: We are overjoyed that the Obama administration has come out publicly again today to direct federal prosecutors, FBI officials and DEA officials
NOT to arrest patients and caregivers who are complying with state law in the 13 states that currently have medical marijuana laws in place. It is great to see that our President has kept this promise from his presidential campaign and that he realizes that this is not a good use of time or resources.
Click here to read the memorandum.
10/10/09: The RI Medical Marijuana Program (MMJ) and two patients in RI have been featured in the well know and accredited publication, The New York Times.This is quite an accomplishment.
Click here to read the web version of the article.
10/9/09: Today the RI Dept of Health announced that the RI Medical Marijuana Program has just licensed it's 1000 patient!
8/11/09: Today the RI Dept of Health released a draft of the regulations for the first state regulated, not for profit compassion center in Rhode Island.
Click here to read.
8/10/09: We are deeply saddened by the news of the loss of Rep. Thomas C. Slater earlier today. He was a hardworking champion for patients and all Rhode Islanders and he helped to create and protect the rights of medical marijuana patients in the Ocean State. Rep. Slater kept fighting for people until the end, as long as it took, he was there. Rhode Islanders can’t help but to mourn and remember him in light of all the real and lasting positive changes he brought about for our state.
7/21/09: Thank you for making our compassion center Victory Party tonight a huge success! Your support has brought RIPAC to where we are now. We're sad to see Founding Executive Director Jesse Stout depart, but pleased to welcome Incoming Executive Director Stephen Hogan, Jr.
6/12/09: Today Governor Donald Carcieri vetoed the medical marijuana bills. RIPAC calls on the General Assembly to override his veto as soon as possible.
6/9/09: Today the Senate Health & Human Services committee unanimously approved the final version of the compassion center bill, and the full Senate passed the bill 31-2, sending it to the Governor!
6/7/09: Today's Providence Journal has a moving profile of Representative Thomas Slater that touches on his years of fighting for medical marijuana patients.
6/3/09: Tonight the House voted 64-4, passing S0185, the Senate's compassion center bill - the Senate can next consider the House's bill, and send it to the Governor.
5/27/09: Tonight the House HEW cmte passed the Senate mmj bill S0185 10-0!
4/30/09: Today the House Health Edu & Welfare committee passed H5359 8-0!
4/22/09: Tonight the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services voted UNANIMOUSLY 8-0 in favor of S0185 on medical marijuana
compassion centers! After the vote, the Providence Journal
posted the good news right away.
3/18/09: Today New Mexico issued its 1st license to a non-profit mmj producer! We hope RI will
be the 2nd state to license non-profit distributors.
2/25/09: At a Justice Department press conference, Attorney General Eric Holder said that ending raids on medical marijuana dispensaries "is now American policy." You can watch the
video on YouTube!
Feb 2009: This year's bills are out! On Feb 4, Sen. Rhoda Perry introduced
S0185, and on Feb 10, Rep. Tom Slater introduced
H5359. 50 of RI's 75 state representatives are co-sponsors of H5359! Watch for hearing dates in March...
5/2/08: A
new poll says 69% of Rhode Islanders support Compassion Centers.
9/9/07: The Sunday Providence Journal featured a major article about RIPAC members Kelly Powers, Rhonda O'Donnell, Denis Dubois, Emelie Archibald, and Bobbie Ebert. This story is a turning point for medical marijuana in RI, read it here! A follow-up letter-to-the-editor by RIPAC member Bill Cotton appeared in the Sunday Providence Journal on September 16; here it is.
For more stories on medical marijuana in Rhode Island, visit our NEWS page.
Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Act
On January 3, 2006, the Rhode Island General Assembly overrode Governor Carcieri’s veto, protecting patients and passing the RI Medical Marijuana Act, or:
The Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act
“to protect patients with debilitating medical conditions, and their physicians and primary caregivers, from arrest and prosecution, criminal and other penalties ... if such patients engage in the medical use of marijuana.”
