Juvenile Marijuana Use (H 6004, S 0584A)

When the State of Rhode Island decriminalized marijuana just two years ago, it did so in part to keep youth out of jail for minor marijuana use. Yet, legislation under consideration this year sought to undo that progress and put juveniles found with under an ounce of marijuana back in front of a judge. In May, the ACLU testified before the House and Senate Judiciary committees that placing juveniles with marijuana tickets back in the Family Court instead of the Training School would allow judges to place youth in the Training School if they did not – or could not – abide by any requirement the judge placed on them. Once a child enters the Family Court system it can be very difficult for them to break out, and low-risk youth who are placed in the Training School with harder youth can only learn the bad habits and behaviors of children involved in significantly more serious offenses. The Senate approved a version of this harmful legislation in June but it was not voted on by the House and died.