While Gov. Gina Raimondo considers another attempt to legalize recreational marijuana in the next legislative session, she’s already agreed in principle with several Northeast states to a coordinated approach to marijuana regulation, vaping protections and possibly taxation.

Rhode Island marijuana regulators and health officials met last week in New York with the governors from New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, as well as their counterparts from Massachusetts. Together the group announced they had endorsed a regional approach to marijuana policy and vaping legislation, noting the need for cooperation in the current absence of federal oversight.

While Raimondo didn’t attend, she said in a statement, “The principles we’ve agreed to today will allow us to better coordinate our efforts as we address some of the most challenging issues facing our states. Through this partnership, we will work together to protect families from the dangers posed by the illicit cannabis market and vaping.”

On Tuesday, during a news conference to explain why she was asking a Superior Court judge to declare General Assembly control of new cannabis regulations unconstitutional, Raimondo said the regional states were also considering a similar taxation structure if and when they approve recreational marijuana.

Such a measure could stabilize competition within states and stem customers from crossing state borders for much cheaper marijuana.

“It is important that governors in our region try to collaborate and have similar structures because we are so close to one another,” the governor said. “But we’re not there yet. We haven’t legalized, Massachusetts has, so it’s something we will have to work through.”

Rhode Island lawmakers did not act earlier this year on Raimondo's proposal to legalize recreational marijuana.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, of New York, where lawmakers in June decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana but stopped short of approving recreational use, said after last week’s summit, “All states have agreed to a series of principles to setting a cannabis tax structure, as well as best practices to ensure that disproportionately impacted communities from the war on drugs have access to the new industry.”

Rhode Island Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott was one of the Rhode Island representatives at last week’s meeting.

She told The Journal on Tuesday that issues of e-cigarette labeling and marijuana education for children, for instance, are concerns in every state. Therefore “we’ll be crafting policy that more effectively promotes public health if it is aligned with the approaches being taken in neighboring states.”

Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts are the only Northeast states to have so far legalized recreational marijuana, though every state from Pennsylvania north have medical marijuana programs.

-tmooney@providencejournal.com

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