Steven Steiner has the First Amendment right to act like an asshole and he is not afraid to use it. After his son overdosed on prescription medications, Steiner snapped. Broken by grief, Steiner has been waging war on medical marijuana patients as a way of dealing with his son’s death. Steiner has no medical training, but he believes that marijuana was responsible for his child taking too many prescription drugs. He has just finished an attack on the people of Connecticut, and now he wants to stop Rhode Island residents from using marijuana to stop their pain. If he has to hurt, they should too.

Rhode Island permits the use of medical marijuana, but the law that allows it is set to expire. Lawmakers are considering whether to continue to allow patients an herbal option to health care, or to listen to folks like Steiner and let them suffer.

As the first state to declare Independence from the British, and the last to ratify the Constitution, the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (the actual name of the state) has a history of independent and courageous thought. It would be a new course of action if Rhode Island were suddenly to abandon its sovereign history and be swayed by a fear monger like Steven Steiner. But weirder things have happened, so we’ll keep an eye on Little Rhody.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Medical marijuana patients urged legislators on Wednesday to permanently legalize the drug for medicinal uses in Rhode Island, saying it is one of the few things that provide relief for crippling pain often
caused by chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis and AIDS.

”Please approve this law again - this time permanently,” said multiple
sclerosis patient Rhonda O’Donnell of Warwick at a Senate hearing on a bill
that would remove the sunshine clause from the state’s medical marijuana
law, essentially legalizing medical marijuana use for good.

O’Donnell, 44, who got out of her wheelchair and leaned over a podium to
speak, said marijuana is often the only thing that can relieve burning pain
in her legs from the disease. She asked the committee to ”please show your
compassion once again.”

Rhode Island became the 11th state to legalize marijuana for medicinal
purposes in 2006. A total of 244 Rhode Islanders are now permitted to
possess small amounts of marijuana under the state’s medical marijuana
program, according to state health authorities. Eighteen applications are
pending.

If the law is not renewed by June 30 the licenses will become invalid.

The senate could consider Sen. Rhoda Perry’s bill by mid-April. The
House is also considering a proposal to permanently legalize medicinal
marijuana.

Patients seeking to use marijuana for medical purposes in Rhode Island
need documentation from a doctor saying they have one of several chronic
illnesses, such as cancer or AIDS, and that the benefits of marijuana use
outweigh the risks.

Applicants must provide certification from a doctor in the state that
says marijuana may mitigate their symptoms. They also can designate someone
to grow or buy marijuana for them, and those under 18 may use the drug if
they get permission from a parent or legal guardian.

Perry’s bill would also extend medical marijuana licenses to two years
rather than one year.

Possessing marijuana remains illegal under federal law and people who
use the substance could still be prosecuted by federal officials.

Steven Steiner, co-founder of the Americans for Drug Free Youth, urged
the committee to let the bill expire, saying the use of medical marijuana
needs further study and that marijuana acts as a gateway to other drugs.

”Let the bill die. Let science do it’s job,” he said.

But Kelly Powers, 32, a Warwick mother of two, said she was sickened by
prescription medication and found little relief for multiple sclerosis and
chronic anxiety until she used marijuana.

She told the committee that marijuana has helped reduce her use of
prescription drugs and enabled her to resume much of her life.

”To have this taken away from all the chronically ill patients would be
a crime,” she said.

Several doctors told the committee that marijuana is now recognized for
treating intractable nerve pain and helps many patients cope with an
otherwise incapacitating illness.

Dr. Margaret Son, an East Providence family physician, said the fact
that only several hundred people in Rhode Island are allowed to use medical
marijuana shows that the state has been prudent in granting licenses.

”I don’t believe that this has been abused in any fashion,” she said.

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