Nearly 1,000 Misdemeanors Avoided in Only 4 Months of Cannabis Being Decriminalized in Rhode Island

Nearly 1,000 Misdemeanors Avoided in Only 4 Months of Cannabis Being Decriminalized in Rhode Island

On April 1st of this year, a piece of legislation aimed at decriminalizing cannabis possession officially become law in Rhode Island. Due to this change, the possession of up to an ounce of cannabis is now just an $150 ticket; prior to this new law taking effect, the possession of any amount of cannabis was a misdemeanor charge which carried with it a potential jail sentence of up to a year.

In just 4 months since the law took effect – from April 1st to August 1st – roughly 850cannabis-related tickets have been given out for the possession of an ounce or less of cannabis: In other words, 850 people have avoided a misdemeanor charge that not only could have landed them in jail, but would have permanently effected their lives, given that a cannabis misdemeanor can make it near-impossible to get proper education, work and even housing opportunities.

At this rate, roughly 2,500 misdemeanors a year will be avoided thanks to this new law.

– TheJointBlog