Medical Marijuana Bills Advance in Rhode Island and Delaware

There was good news on medical marijuana from two statehouses late today:

In Rhode Island, the news hasn't hit the wires yet, but a statement from the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition reports: "Tonight, Wednesday, June 3, the Rhode Island House of Representatives voted 64-4 for a bill to allow the Health Department to license a non-profit compassion center to grow medical marijuana for state-approved patients." Having already passed the Senate, the bill now goes to Gov. Donald Carcieri.

The bill would make Rhode Island the first state to ever to expand an existing medical marijuana law to permit state-licensed dispensaries. Rhode Island's original medical marijuana law was enacted over Carcieri's veto in 2006, and observers think a similar outcome is likely this time.

Meanwhile, Delaware's medical marijuana bill passed its first committee hurdle, the Senate Health and Social Services Committee, after a 90-minute hearing at which MPP legislative analyst Noah Mamber spoke. No one testified against the measure.