Rhode Island To License Medical Marijuana Dispensaries On Tuesday, June 16, the General Assembly voted 102 to 3 to override Gov. Carcieri's veto of the 2009 [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Medical [COLOR=blue !important]Marijuana[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] Act. This makes Rhode Island the second state to regulate the distribution of medical marijuana to authorized patients. The 2009 Medical Marijuana Act mandates the Department of Health to establish rules governing the licensing of non-profit facilities "to acquire, possess, cultivate, manufacture, deliver, transfer, transport, supply, or dispense marijuana, or related supplies and [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]educational[/COLOR][/COLOR] materials, to registered qualifying patients." Earlier this year the New Mexico legislature codified language allowing for the state to license non-profit facilities to dispense medicinal cannabis. However, no such facilities are currently up and running. In California, several hundred facilities provide medical cannabis to qualified patients, though these operations are typically licensed by local governments. Approximately 700 Rhode [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Island[/COLOR][/COLOR] residents are registered with the state to use marijuana legally. Lawmakers legalized the possession and use of medicinal cannabis by authorized patients in 2007. For more information about this effort, please visit the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition.