RI Governor Will Propose Legalizing Cannabis

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island's governor is going to propose the legalization of marijuana in her 2019 budget, according to reports. Gov. Gina Raimondo cited the passage of the measure in other states as a main driver behind her decision.

Raimondo told the Providence Journal that she's reluctant about supporting legal pot, but added it's "inevitable" that the Ocean State will be surrounded by states that have adopted the measure.

“I have resisted this for the four years I’ve been governor," she said. "Now, however, things have changed, mainly because all of our neighbors are moving forward," she said, according to the Journal.

Raimondo's reluctance is showing in her proposal. It's going to be the "strongest regulatory framework for adult-use marijuana in the nation," according to her press secretary, Josh Block, an NBC report says.

Included in this tough framework is a band on high-potency products like resins, often known as dabs. Also, edibles would contain no more than 5 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana which gives users a high.

The governor's proposed framework would also prohibit recreational users from growing cannabis in their homes. Medical users who demonstrate need will be able to, and dispensaries will be required to carry enough product to ensure medical users always have access.

See more on Patch:

• RI Department of Health Seeking Medical Marijuana Testing Labs
• Medical Marijuana Approved For Autism Treatment In RI

Other states having legalized pot are going to affect Rhode Island, Raimondo said, regardless of the state's own laws. “Like it or not, we’re going to be incurring public safety and public health expenses because it’s legal in Massachusetts," the Journal quotes her as saying.

The governor has spoken with state lawmakers, the Journal reported. “I suspect at the end of the day they will probably come to the same conclusion that I have, which is: it’s here, it’s inevitable, so let’s do it right,” she said.

See the Providence Journal's full report.

Photo credit: Governor of Rhode Island Gina Raimondo speaks onstage during Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit - Day 2 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on October 13, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Fortune/Time Inc)