Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
This is an exciting time to be in drug policy. With five states (California, Arizona, Nevada, Maine, and Massachusetts) on the ballot to regulate recreational marijuana, we have the potential to have one-fifth of the population of the United States smoking legally in the coming year. Our sitting President has said that this would make Federal Prohibition 'untenable', and that the government would have to have a 'serious discussion' about marijuana use following the policy change on November 8th.
And yet, there are still those that want to maintain the status quo. They line our prisons with non-violent drug offenders, they think that medical marijuana is a 'joke', and they actively legislate against the will of the people, even here in Middletown. A 2014 Public Policy Polling (PPP) poll placed Rhode Island residents' approval of legal recreational marijuana at 53%, a number that goes as high as 75% when divided into age groups. This same poll showed an overall support of medical marijuana in the state at 77%.
And yet, the Middletown Town Council actively legislates against marijuana. Maybe it's because there are two former policemen on the council, including the President, who was a Middletown police captain and served as the chief of a Narcotics Strike Force team for the Attorney General, or maybe it's because the median age of the Town Council is 68, an age group which polls the lowest in support of regulation at 34% in that 2014 PPP poll, or maybe it's simply because these legislators are only uninformed and unwilling to admit it.
At the end of this summer, the Middletown Town Council looked ahead to the election cycle and saw that regulation may actually pass in Massachusetts. With Governor Raimondo noting recently that there may be 'economic advantages to being first' in New England to regulate marijuana, and House Speaker Nick Matiello saying that the Rhode Island State House would 'consider' regulation if Massachusetts passes their initiative, they may have correctly sensed that change was on the horizon.
But instead of following this gradual but inevitable ascent of support, the Council moved in the opposite direction. Paranoia set in, and the Council preemptively acted to ban the sale of both medical and recreational marijuana in the town. This was a 'multipronged effort' to prevent the proliferation of marijuana should it be legalized for recreational use in Rhode Island; a plan to enacted first through the Zoning Board, and then through the Issuance of Renewal of Town Licenses and Permits.
The latter was enacted unanimously with minimal discussion or public comment and the former was postponed pending the employment of a private consultant, also without public comment. Our Middletown Town Council is actively legislating in the opposite direction of public opinion, and there is no one to hold them accountable but the electorate. So this Election Day, vote them out!
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Vote Them Out - Middletown Town Council Violates Public Will On Marijuana
Author: Michael J. Simpson
Contact: Middletown Patch
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Middletown Patch
And yet, there are still those that want to maintain the status quo. They line our prisons with non-violent drug offenders, they think that medical marijuana is a 'joke', and they actively legislate against the will of the people, even here in Middletown. A 2014 Public Policy Polling (PPP) poll placed Rhode Island residents' approval of legal recreational marijuana at 53%, a number that goes as high as 75% when divided into age groups. This same poll showed an overall support of medical marijuana in the state at 77%.
And yet, the Middletown Town Council actively legislates against marijuana. Maybe it's because there are two former policemen on the council, including the President, who was a Middletown police captain and served as the chief of a Narcotics Strike Force team for the Attorney General, or maybe it's because the median age of the Town Council is 68, an age group which polls the lowest in support of regulation at 34% in that 2014 PPP poll, or maybe it's simply because these legislators are only uninformed and unwilling to admit it.
At the end of this summer, the Middletown Town Council looked ahead to the election cycle and saw that regulation may actually pass in Massachusetts. With Governor Raimondo noting recently that there may be 'economic advantages to being first' in New England to regulate marijuana, and House Speaker Nick Matiello saying that the Rhode Island State House would 'consider' regulation if Massachusetts passes their initiative, they may have correctly sensed that change was on the horizon.
But instead of following this gradual but inevitable ascent of support, the Council moved in the opposite direction. Paranoia set in, and the Council preemptively acted to ban the sale of both medical and recreational marijuana in the town. This was a 'multipronged effort' to prevent the proliferation of marijuana should it be legalized for recreational use in Rhode Island; a plan to enacted first through the Zoning Board, and then through the Issuance of Renewal of Town Licenses and Permits.
The latter was enacted unanimously with minimal discussion or public comment and the former was postponed pending the employment of a private consultant, also without public comment. Our Middletown Town Council is actively legislating in the opposite direction of public opinion, and there is no one to hold them accountable but the electorate. So this Election Day, vote them out!
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Vote Them Out - Middletown Town Council Violates Public Will On Marijuana
Author: Michael J. Simpson
Contact: Middletown Patch
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Middletown Patch