33 Rhode Island cities voted yesterday on initiatives to allow marijuana businesses and sales within their jurisdictions, and a large majority were approved.
(AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
In total 25 of the 33 cities voted in favor of allowing marijuana businesses to operate within the limits of the city.
Specifically, voters were asked “Shall new cannabis-related licenses for businesses involved in the cultivation, manufacture, laboratory testing and for the retail sale of adult recreational use cannabis be issued in the city (or town)?”
The cities voting yes were: Bristol, Burrillville, Charlestown, Coventry, Cumberland, East Providence, Glocester, Hopkinton, Johnston, Lincoln, Middletown, Narragansett, Newport, New Shoreham, North Kingstown, North Providence, North Smithfield, Richmond, South Kingstown, Tiverton, Warren, Westerly, West Greenwich, West Warwick and Woonsocket.
Smithfield, Barrington, Jamestown, East Greenwhich, Little Compton and Scituate rejected the measure.
The initiatives were necessary due to legislation legalizing marijuana being signed into law in the state earlier this year. The measure allows legal marijuana sales to begin as soon as December 1st, but gives jurisdictions the option of approving or denying sales in their city.
The new law establishes a 20% tax on marijuana split up into a 7% sales tax, a 10% marijuana excise tax, and a 3% municipal tax.
