The Brown Daily Herald, 11 Apr 2011 – Though medical marijuana is now legal in Rhode Island, administrators maintain that under both state and federal law, the University cannot allow smoking of marijuana on school grounds. Medical marijuana was legalized in Rhode Island June 16, 2009 after state legislators voted to override a veto by then-Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65. Three new dispensaries for medical marijuana will open in Rhode Island this summer.

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.

DrugSense

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 Brown Daily Herald, 02 Sep 2010 – When medical marijuana became legal in Rhode Island in June 2007, Luis Hernandez figured it would only be a matter of time until a school teaching proper growing techniques sprang up. As he watched years go by, nobody took action, and he decided to take matters into his own hands. His school, the New England School of Alternative Horticultural Studies, will conduct its first class Sept. 25 in Barrington. "There’s a right way to do it, and there’s a wrong way to do it," Hernandez said of the process. "Here’s how you do it safely without electrocuting yourself, without burning the house down – and if you really want to get good results."

The Providence Journal, 16 Aug 2010 – It took time, but Congress has finally tightened the egregious sentencing gap between crimes involving crack cocaine and those linked to the powder form. In legislation signed by President Obama Aug. 3 – a disparity that had been 100 to 1 was trimmed to 18 to 1. Under previous law, a person charged in federal court with possessing 5 grams of crack faced a mandatory minimum of five years in jail. But someone with the powder form had to possess 500 grams to incur the same penalty. Along with narrowing this gap, the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 makes several improvements. The mandatory minimum sentence for first-time simple possession is gone. This should help bolster an important distinction between users (especially casual or first-time offenders) and dealers. The strongest punishment should be focused on the latter. Now, it will take 28 grams of crack cocaine, an amount a dealer might carry, to trigger a five-year sentence.

Johnston Sun Rise, 13 Aug 2010 – With the location announcement for Rhode Island’s first "compassion center" just weeks away, the Town Council adopted a new ordinance on Tuesday night, making town specific regulations for these medical marijuana facilities. "Under the Medical Marijuana Act it is a requirement of cities and towns that each applicant has to be in compliance with the local zoning board. This will give teeth to the laws," said Town Attorney Timothy Chapman. State regulations for compassion centers require that they be at least 500 feet from a school, have alarm and security measures to deter theft and follow dispense and possession restrictions.

The Providence Journal, 12 Aug 2010 – JOHNSTON — The town will allow the distribution of marijuana for medical purposes under a new ordinance approved Tuesday night by the Town Council. The ordinance establishes rules for permitting medical marijuana dispensaries, as well as facilities for cultivating the narcotic, only in Johnston’s industrial zoning districts.

The Call, 31 Jul 2010 – WOONSOCKET – Never mind that the state Department of Health has yet to grant a single license for a compassion center where medical marijuana would be distributed, local officials are all set to go on record against one that’s seeking a permit to set up shop in Park Square. The City Council will consider a resolution on Monday denouncing the proposal, which City Council President John Ward calls "illegal." Ward said the facility is in violation of the state law that allows DOH to license compassion centers on condition they are no closer than 500 feet from the nearest school. The Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Dispensary envisions opening in a vacant branch of Bank of America in Park Square – which Ward says is closer to a Catholic elementary school than the law allows.

Warwick Beacon, 22 Jul 2010 – With the selection announcement drawing near, municipalities, businesses and neighborhoods are bracing themselves in the event that a compassion center may be coming to the area. Three of the 15 compassion center applicants have proposed sites in Warwick, one of which may be chosen as the first center to sell marijuana to patients in the state’s growing medical-marijuana program.