PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island state lawmakers who want to legalize recreational marijuana before retail pot shops open in Massachusetts are proposing a last-minute alternative plan they hope the Legislature will consider before adjourning for the year.
Legalization advocates announced the plan Thursday after their earlier legislation stalled. They’re calling it “incremental legalization,” because it would legalize possession of smaller amounts of marijuana than originally proposed.
Cranston state Sen. Joshua Miller and Providence state Rep. Scott Slater, both Democrats, say it’s a compromise and they want progress before lawmakers adjourn this month.
They’re opposed to a rival bill that would hold off the legalization debate and form a 22-person commission to study the issue. Miller and Slater instead want to create a smaller advisory board that would craft a way to implement legalization.
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