PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Impaired driving. Black market drug dealers. Public safety. Tax revenues. The issues that surrounded the more than four-hour marijuana legalization debate at the State House Tuesday night were the same familiar struggles that have been vetted by state lawmakers for seven years

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Impaired driving. Black market drug dealers. Public safety. Tax revenues.

The issues that surrounded the more than four-hour marijuana legalization debate at the State House Tuesday night were the same familiar struggles that have been vetted by state lawmakers for seven years.

But as Rep. Scott Slater, the Providence Democrat who has long fought to legalize the drug, put it: This year is different.

Citing the pending opening of recreational pot shops just across state lines possibly as soon as July 2018, Slater said the urgency to make a decision is real.

"Doing nothing is not a neutral stance," Slater said. "The choice is prohibition or regulation. There really is no middle ground."

It was clear Tuesday that the stakes in the debate have been raised this year as many familiar voices went to greater lengths to prove their points.

The Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association came armed with an astounding 36 pages of testimony detailing examples of more than 250 law enforcement issues police departments have seen with marijuana since 2008, including 36 cases of breaking and entering, nine shootings, four homicides, nine fires and four explosions.

The presentation was far more exhaustive than the association's previous arguments against legalization, and Hopkinton Police Chief David Palmer, who heads the group, called the examples the "tip of the iceberg."

"The only question is how much more money in taxes does Rhode Island need to collect to justify the devastation that will follow?" Palmer said in his written remarks.

New voices also joined the fray. For the first time, a Rhode Island labor union is backing legalization.

Emmanuel Falck of SEIU New England 1199, which represents 3,000 health-care workers, said marijuana use will continue to happen whether or not the drug is legal.

"Current laws are completely arbitrary in what products and substances are forbidden by law. Cigarettes, alcohol, trans fat, [and] soda are probably all worse for the public health than marijuana use," Falck said.

The Rev. Jamie P. Washam, of The First Baptist Church in America, argued in favor of legalization, saying that one does not have to use marijuana or approve of it to see that the current policy is failure.

"Jesus never threatened arrests and jail," Washam said. "We need to change our drug policy so that we can both respect a person's freedom of conscience and address real issues of addiction and abuse."

Meanwhile, the debate continually turned to potential revenues that the state could miss out on if marijuana remains illegal.

"If we don't legalize, my belief is we're still going to have the same problems, but we're not going to have the revenue to deal with the problems," Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee, D-South Kingstown, said, noting that Rhode Islanders will drive into Massachusetts to buy the drug. "It's a tough question for us to weigh in on. I don't think we're going to escape it."

Here are the arguments by the numbers: Advocates say Rhode Island could expect to see $161 million in recreational pot sales by 2020 if the bill passes this year.

At the proposed 30 percent tax rate, that translates to $48.3 million in revenue in 2020 — or less than 1 percent of Gov. Gina Raimondo's $9.25 billion 2018 budget proposal.

Smart Approaches to Marijuana, the anti-legalization organization founded by former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, released a report Tuesday suggesting that a "conservative estimate" of legalization costs, including regulation, drugged driving cases, hospital visits, homelessness and workplace injures would total more than $61 million.

Whether the bill will see a vote this year remains to be seen. The Senate has not yet scheduled a hearing.

Regardless, there are signs that Rhode Islanders are taking the possibility of legalization more seriously this year.

The Rhode Island Manufacturers Association is hosting a workshop at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick Thursday morning where employers can talk to human resources experts about what marijuana policies employers can legally have in place, particularly if the drug is legalized.

Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin warned in his 12-page argument against legalization that employers would see an uptick in lawsuits dealing with work place safety and unemployment benefits for those fired for drug policy violations.

Rep. Slater pointed to another sign that the legalization debate is being taken seriously: a competing bill suggesting the General Assembly put the brakes on legalization and instead form a legislative study commission.

"You know you're making progress in this building when you start hearing study [commission]," he said.

Legalization bills at a glance

Support: The House version of the bill, H5555, is sponsored by 25 of 75 representatives. The Senate version, S420, is sponsored by 15 of 38 senators.

When: The bills would permit use and possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for anyone 21 and older if and when it is signed into law.

Home grows: Every person would be allowed one mature plant (no more than three mature plants per house).

Pot shops: Existing medical dispensaries could open recreational shops within six months; other retailers could open within seven months.

Edibles: They would not be allowed for 18 months while the state develops regulations.

Oversight: A new state Office of Cannabis Coordination advised by a legislature-appointed Cannabis Advisory Board will oversee legal pot.

Taxation: Retail sales will taxed at 23 percent, plus 7-percent sales tax.

Municipal controls: Cities and towns could outlaw marijuana retailers, growers, processors and testing facilities, but only through referendum votes on each type of marijuana business.

— jbogdan@providencejournal.com

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On Twitter: @JenniferBogdan