Does the Kinsley Ave Fire Help or Hurt Marijuana Legalization in RI?
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Will the fire at Kinsley Avenue in Providence, which is alleged to have had highly flammable butane present for hash oil production, have an impact on marijuana legalization efforts in the state?
Legislation was introduced on March 6 at the State House for the tax and regulation of marijuana -- where both supporters and opponents were present at the press conference. Currently, Rhode Island is one of 23 states along with Washington, DC that allows for medical marijuana.
"This is just an example of why we should be regulating this type of activity, and having it done by people who are allowed to do it," said Mason Tvert with the Marijuana Policy Project, of the Kinsley Avenue fire. "There are all sorts of legal products we wouldn't support the average.person trying to make in their homes or offices."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe product in question, butane hash oil -- which is procured by solvent extraction -- would be regulated under the Rhode Island legislation proposed.
"There is a section that speaks to the regulation of oils through the [Department of Business Regulation]," said State Representative Scott Slater, one of the bill sponsors. "The production would be subject to fire code and require safety guidelines are in place, similar to what Colorado has."
Butane hash oil, however, has been the cause of a dozens of fires elsewhere around the country.
Dr. Kevin Sabet with Smart Approaches to Marijuana (which he co-founded with former Rhode island Congressman Patrick Kennedy) addressed the argument put forth by legalization supporters
"That might sound nice in theory, but in practice it's a very different story. Colorado has legalized marijuana and it has only increased butane hash oil explosions in that state," said Sabet. "The burn units of major hospitals have seen an increase in burn victims. Legalization means more people using, and more problems like this occurring. "
On March 19, WPRI reported that the state fire marshal's office confirmed that butane tanks were pulled from the rubble the office. The Office of Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare referred all phone calls to U.S. Attorney Jim Martin as the investigation continues.
"The Providence Fire Marshall, the ATF, and the State Fire Marshal's office have been regularly updating us on the investigation," said Martin on Friday. "That's all I have to say at this time."
Regulation at Center
Following the fire on March 10, Rhode Island Fire Marshal John Chartier told GoLocal that Kinsley Avenue aside, that he had serious concerns about marijuana growing facilities in the state.
Regulate Rhode Island's Jared Moffat, like Tvert, said the incident-- should it be proven to be butane hash oil related -- provided additional ammunition for proponents of legalization legislation.
"Butane hash should be regulated, it's our core argument. Any production should be regulated to minimize public health risks," said Moffat on March 10. "If you don't regulate, you'll have people do it an unregulated setting."
Long time legalization advocate State Representative Edie Ajello also argued in favor of regulation for safety purposes.
"In all of my time working on the issue, a big part of my reason for wanting to see marijuana regulated and taxed, is to get rid of this sort of thing," said Ajello. "When we push something that is commonly used, and used in medical situations in Rhode Island -- when we push that underground, we have all sorts of risks. There's the criminal element, and more dangerous drugs....and this sort of processing into places where by definition it has to hide, and there's no oversight."
"To pull marijuana away from the illicit trace is a good thing," Ajello continued. "Criminals who have a hand in the trade, they don't have the economic incentive not to sell to minors. Since they're selling one illicit substance, why not sell others that are more dangerous?"
Patient Concerns
Joanne Leppanen, the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition, had been housed in the now destroyed Kinsley Avenue building, but said she had been unaware of any butane hash oil production.
"I don't know what they found, or what someone could have left off there," said Lepannen. "I think anybody knows about hash oil production, this was a primitive way to do it. You can't do it indoors to do it safely. We don't know if someone was doing it there, or leaving it there."
As for the end product of butane hash oil, Leppanen has mixed feelings on the product.
We work with a lot of patients who are ill with compromised immune systems, no one wants to put butane in their bodies. Even if you were to use it, how would you know all the butane is out of there? So if you're looking for something that's organic, that's valued for being non-toxic? That's counter-intuitive," said Lepannen. 'How do you insure the patient that it's safe to consume?"
"However, I've met patients who've said that it has worked for them better than any other remedy, so who am I to take away the best medicine for someone," said Leppanen. "How do you get the most effective form to the patient that's safe to ingest? That's a conversation we need to be having."
Leppanen spoke to the current law -- and confusion -- surrounding hash oil.
"I've reached out to the Attorney General's office, about hearing from the State Police as to law enforcement changes specifically pertaining to butane oil and marijuana - that they can arrest if they find butane in the presence of marijuana," said Lepannen. "I do worry about if you say something's illegal, you have to put people on notice. People are getting mixed messages. There are serious legal concerns.
The AG's office did not answer repeated request for clarification when asked on March 10 about the new regulations mentioned by Rhode Island State Police Detective Commander Major Kevin O'Brien.
"I was out in California this summer, and I believe they had banned [butane hash oil] in San Jose -- the compassion centers too -- if my memory serves me," said Lepannen. "I thought the compassion centers could afford the proper equipment, but maybe they thought if people would get hooked on it."
SAM's Sabet, who serves as an assistant professor of psychiatry and Director of the Drug Policy Institute at the University of Florida, said the public should more aware of the impact of butane hash oil.
"What we need to do is educate people on why hash oil - which can contain 90% or more THC - is so dangerous to both consume and produce," said Sabet.
Related Slideshow: Ten Bills to Watch in 2015 General Assembly
The last day for bill introductions in the Rhode Island House of Representatives is slated for February 12, but things should really begin heating up one month following, when Governor Gina Raimondo is due to present her FY16 budget proposal to the chamber -- and members have a new sense of the fiscal realities facing the state, and what the Governor will be pushing for.
With the 2015 General Assembly just underway (and over four months to go), below is a list of 10 of the top bills facing the General Assembly now, or expected to come.
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