ONE CRIME AT A TIME
LOCAL NEWS
>> Continued from pg. 17
W
hile much of the Northeast has legalized Cannabis, there are still limits for just how much marijuana you can possess. A Maine man found this out the hard way after leaving a Massachusetts courthouse. Forty-three-year-old Yves Duboc was in court being arraigned for driving without a license and for illegal pot possession. Duboc was released from Newburyport District Court under strict orders not to drive, as his Maine driver’s license was suspended. It’s safe to say that Duboc didn’t learn his lesson from his brush with the law as he hopped into an SUV immediately upon leaving court and promptly drove off. Unfortunately the scofflaw was observed driving away by a Massachusetts State Trooper who quickly pulled him over and arrested him (again) for driving without a license. While getting busted committing the same crime for which you were just arraigned in court is bad enough, it appears Duboc is unfamiliar with the old adage of only committing one crime at a time. After being removed from the SUV and getting cuffed, the trooper searched Duboc’s car and discovered Cannabis in zip lock baggies, vacuum sealed bags and duffel bags, as well as several large jars containing marijuana extract. In all, Duboc left the courthouse riding dirty with more than 70 pounds of pot, 20 pounds of concentrates, a bong and a large roll of cash. Duboc’s mobile stash far exceeded the legal limit in the Bay State, as Massachusetts law allows adults 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of weed and as much as 10 ounces of Cannabis secured in their home. Those caught with more than an ounce of pot in public could face up to six months in jail and a $500 fine.
20 Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
S C H O O L DA ZE
Photo by Elsa Olofsson
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new state regulation will require Rhode Island school districts to create policies for administering medicinal Cannabis to qualified students. Under the new rules, school nurses are charged with administering medical pot to students and the state is calling on school districts to establish the protocol. In order to qualify for in-school Cannabis use, students are required to have a valid medical marijuana card, a doctor’s signature and a parent’s signature allowing the child to use Cannabis. According to Rhode Island’s Department
AUG. 2022
of Health, there are 22 patients under the age of 18 with medical Cannabis cards in the state. After a lengthy legislative process, Rhode Island became the nineteenth state to legalize adult-use Cannabis on May 25 when Gov. Dan McKee signed a legalization bill into law. McKee approved the landmark legislation one day after it easily passed both the Senate and the House, which put the bill on the governor’s desk. The Ocean State’s legalization law allows adults 21 and older to purchase and possess up to an ounce of pot with as much as 10 ounces permitted to be stored in a household. Home cultivation is also allowed, with a maximum of six plants for personal use. However, the new school regulation had nothing to do with the state’s new recreational law according to the health department. Qualified medical Cannabis use had been allowed in Rhode Island schools prior to the adult-use legislation. In addition to establishing the pot protocol, school districts also need to select a space where medical Cannabis can be administered. Students are not allowed to administer marijuana to themselves and smoking Cannabis is strictly prohibited. Medical marijuana is also not allowed on school trips. However, students with a medical Cannabis prescription cannot be disciplined for being under the influence of pot. The new regulations have left some nurses feeling uncomfortable with their role and the Rhode Island Certified School Nurses Teachers Association has expressed concerns regarding the new rules. School nurses do have the right to refuse to administer medical Cannabis to students – provided that alternative arrangements are put in place to ensure that students receive their medicine.
