NEW: Smithfield to Repeal Anti-Medical Marijuana Ordinance, Pay $30K in Legal Settlement
GoLocalProv News Team
NEW: Smithfield to Repeal Anti-Medical Marijuana Ordinance, Pay $30K in Legal Settlement
Read the Case Here
Under the settlement, the Town of Smithfield has agreed to repeal the ordinance and pay $30,000 in attorneys’ fees.
“The ACLU is hopeful that this settlement will prompt other municipalities to think twice before burdening patients in their communities with similar onerous restrictions. This is, after all, a medicine for people with documented illnesses, and municipalities should not be playing doctor,” said ACLU of RI executive director Steven Brown.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIn the lawsuit, the ACLU argued that the ordinance was an attempt to undermine the state’s medical marijuana law by imposing significant burdens on patients’ access to treatment.
The Lawsuit
In September 2017, R.I. Superior Court Judge Richard Licht issued a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the ordinance, which the ACLU had called a troubling restriction on the rights of medical marijuana patients. Efforts to resolve the case without further court action stalled until the election of a new Town Council earlier this year.
According to the ACLU, the Town’s ordinance imposed a number of onerous constraints on the possession and growth of medical marijuana, despite, and directly contrary to, stringent regulations already in place under Rhode Island’s medical marijuana law.
The ACLU adds that among other restrictions, the ordinance limited the growing of medical marijuana to two mature plants and two seedlings, and only at a patient’s primary residence, even though state law specifically allows for the cultivation of 12 mature plants and outlines where medical marijuana can be grown.
The ordinance also barred caregivers from growing medical marijuana anywhere in the town and required patients to disclose their identity to a number of municipal authorities, which would undermine their right to confidentiality under the law.
The lawsuit, filed by ACLU of RI volunteer attorneys C. Alexander Chiulli and Matthew Plain, was on behalf of two licensed medical marijuana patients – listed as Jane Does to protect their confidentiality – and the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition (RIPAC), a medical marijuana public education organization. In its 2017 decision granting the injunction, the Court said that the plaintiffs had demonstrated that enforcement of the ordinance would cause “irreparable harm” by leading to the “unwarranted disclosure of Plaintiffs’ status as medical marijuana cardholders” contrary to state law, that Town interference in the state’s detailed medical marijuana system “could impair the public interest,” and that the hardships to the plaintiffs in terms of their “increased difficulty or inability to either grow or obtain their medicine” weighed in favor of issuing an injunction. The ACLU had unsuccessfully urged the Town Council not to adopt the ordinance because of its adverse impact on local residents suffering from serious illnesses.
Following the court’s ruling, the ACLU attorneys sought to settle the case so as to avoid the need for further court hearings or appeals. The Town Council that had passed the ordinance resisted, but with the election of a new Council this past year, a settlement has been reached.
The lawsuit will be formally dismissed once the Council rescinds the ordinance, which is expected to occur in the next month or so.
19 to Watch in 2019 - FULL LIST
Angie Armenise
Chef and co-owner of Blackie’s Bulldog Tavern in Smithfield, Angie Armenise has it all going. Expansion to a new and larger location, a wonderfully loyal customer base and a big stack of awards -- and more to come in the new year. READ MORE
Marcela Betancur
Marcela Betancur, the new head of Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University and will be the power behind Latinx think tank in 2019.
Betancur, a Central Falls native, most recently worked READ MORE
Brian Goldner
No one will influence the psyche of Rhode Island more this year than Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner. After the loss of the PawSox to Worcester and the closing of Rhode Island’s beloved Benny's in 2017, Rhode Islanders are a bit raw.
He is poised to announce that Hasbro is...READ MORE
Cortney Nicolato
New United Way of Rhode Island President and CEO Cortney Nicolato succeeded Anthony Maione in 2018 — and takes on her first full year at the helm of the social service organization in 2019.
She is a Rhode Islander turned Texan returned back to Rhode Island. The Pawtucket native is all about Rhode Island and is passionate about helping to improve issues of housing affordability and the quality of education in RI. She is the mother of two elementary school-aged children. READ MORE
Sabina Matos
It is the rise of the Phoenix in Providence. On Monday, Sabina Matos won back the Presidency of the Providence City Council and returns to the top legislative position in the City of Providence.
As Providence goes so goes Rhode Island. Matos will be faced with taking on some of the most difficult issues in the state. READ MORE
Jamie Bova
The Newport City Councilor At-Large lined up the votes to votes for Mayor after being elected to just her second term on the Newport City Council this past November.
Bova, an engineer who grew up in Middletown, attended URI, and moved to Newport in 2012, succeeds Harry Winthrop as the city faces major changes ahead for 2019, including the construction of a new hotel on Thames Street — and more hotel proposals in the pipeline — and READ MORE
Jennifer Wood
The former private practice attorney turned top government aide turned non-profit director might have her biggest — and most public — battle on her hands in 2019.
RI Center for Justice Executive Director Jennifer Wood joined GoLocal News Editor on GoLocal LIVE where she spoke to the next steps after filing a federal class-action lawsuit in late November on behalf of all Rhode Island public school students to establish the right, under the U.S. Constitution, to an adequate education to prepare young people for full civic education.
Catholic Church Sex Abuse Survivors
In 2018, Bishop Tobin with the Diocese of Providence landed on GoLocal's “18 to Watch” as the Catholic Church was — and continues to remain — at the center of lawsuits pertaining to the collapse of the St. Joseph pension fund.
He’ll remain squarely in the spotlight — and not for good — in 2019, when he has pledged to release a list of names of abusive priests “credibly accused” over the years in the Diocese, as pressure mounts nationally for how sexual abuse claims were handled around the country — READ MORE
Matt Voskuil
One of Newport’s most iconic — and upscale — dining locations has a new look, a new chef — and people are taking note not just in Newport, but beyond.
Executive Chef and Director of Food and Beverage, Matt Voskuil at the newly opened Cara at the Chanler READ MORE
David Torchiana
The most powerful person in healthcare in Rhode Island may soon be a man who rarely visits the state and few here know his name.
Dr. David Torchiana is the CEO of Partners HealthCare and he is poised to push through an acquisition of Rhode Island’s second largest hospital group, ending the local control over three of Rhode Island’s most important healthcare assets. And, the deal has the potential of putting in peril thousands of Rhode Island jobs through consolidation. READ MORE
RI GOP Party Chair
Rhode Island Republican Party Chair Brandon Bell was defeated in his run for the General Assembly in 2018.
Republican Cranston Mayor Allan Fung lost in his second attempt at the Rhode Island Governor’s office, after a bruising primary that saw former opponent and House Minority Leader opt to endorse former Republican-turned-independent (and honorary chair for President Donald Trump’s campaign in Rhode Island) Joe Trillo. READ MORE
Anthony Baro
Anthony Baro heads Newport-based PowerDocks — one of Rhode Island’s most interesting startups. It is a market-making green tech company that, in many ways, combines the best of Rhode Island.
The emerging maritime renewal energy company is having an impact in the U.S. and globally. READ MORE
Blake Filippi
Blake Filippi is the new House Minority leader and is a fresh-faced leader for the GOP in Rhode Island. But, he faces a number of challenges. READ MORE
Desmond Cambridge
Brown University sophomore basketball player Desmond Cambridge has been a human highlight film his first year and a half on College Hill. He won Ivy League Freshman of the Year and this year he is READ MORE
Sarah Markey
South Kingstown School Board member Sarah Markey has been at the center of controversy since her election in November.
Markey, a top labor leader for the RI National Education Association, has drawn criticism by Democrats, Republicans and multiple municipal attorneys because READ MORE
Peter Neronha
Peter Neronha, the new Attorney General, takes over for the controversial Peter Kilmartin. The former U.S. Attorney for Providence now faces a far busier assignment than his federal one. READ MORE
Dylan Conley
Dylan Conley seems to be everywhere. Recently, GoLocal featured the attorney as one of Rhode Island's "Emerging Leaders."
He is the chairman of the Providence Board of Licenses and is in a hotbed READ MORE
Mike McGovern
Chef Mike McGovern -- formerly the chef at Red Stripe -- is taking the helm at East Greenwich's Kai Bar -- and now 241 Main Sports Bar and Grill.
Kai Bar is a combination of small plates and big drinks, “Kai offers a rotating small plates menu from an award-winning Chef and Craft Cocktails READ MORE
BIg Tourism Voids
Tourism is one of the most important sectors of the Rhode Island economy and two of the most important positions in the state are now vacant. READ MORE
