All Fired Up

Rhode Island became yesterday the 11th state to legalize medical marijuana and the first since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that patients who use the drug can still be prosecuted under federal law.

The House overrode a veto by Gov. Don Carcieri, 59-13, allowing people with such illnesses as cancer and AIDS to grow up to 12 marijuana plants or buy 2.5 ounces of marijuana to relieve their symptoms. Those who do are required to register with the state and get an identification card.

Federal law prohibits any use of marijuana, but Maine, Vermont, Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington allow it to be grown and used for medicinal purposes.

What I like about how this went down is that Rhode Island legislators overrode a veto and did what was right instead of taking the usual chickenshit avenue of a ballot initiative.

However, there is the thorny matter of registration. Personally, I would think twice about registering with the state and getting an ID card if only because that list will end up in the hands of egg-faced DEA thugs whose idea of a good time is to point guns at sick people and, hopefully, get them imprisoned.

As for choosing between growing twelve plants or buying 2.5 ounces of herb, Rhode Islanders should definitely go with the plants.