The Providence Journal, 28 Sep 2010 – NEWPORT — A probation violation hearing for a Tiverton man in the state’s medical-marijuana program, who was arrested three weeks ago on drug-trafficking charges for the second time in five years, has been continued in Newport County Superior Court for the second consecutive week. Shayne R. Costa, 50, of 698 Windwood Drive, Tiverton, will remain held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions for at least another week when he is scheduled to return to court for a possible resolution on the violation charges. In 2006, Costa received a 10-year suspended sentence for growing 28 marijuana plants on his property.

The Providence Journal, 11 Sep 2010 – PROVIDENCE – In a surprise move, the state Health Department on Friday announced that none of the 15 applicants seeking to open the state’s first compassion center for medical-marijuana patients are qualified to open their doors. The announcement came in a four-paragraph e-mail that said all of the applicants "either failed to meet the minimum scoring requirements or they were disqualified from review for failing to comply with the application requirements."

The Providence Journal, 06 Jul 2010 – PROVIDENCE — A group of developers, residents and artists that have helped transform a section of the Valley neighborhood into a thriving community are upset with a proposal to establish a medical-marijuana compassion center near them. The state Health Department has yet to select operators for up to three centers for people in the state’s medical-marijuana program, but officials are reviewing 15 applications and they are bound by a state law to select an operator for the state’s first marijuana dispensary no later than July 30.

The Providence Journal, 28 Jun 2010 – PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The old warehouse complex in the Valley neighborhood has been many things to many people over the past 150 years. It was once home to the James Hanley Brewing Co., and Harry Houdini, the renowned escape artist, paid a visit and successfully broke free from a locked beer cask. In recent years, the fortress-like site has served as the Capitol Records Center, a storage facility for reams of archived state documents.