RIPAC v. Town of Smithfield

The ACLU of Rhode Island today announced the favorable settlement of a lawsuit it filed two years ago against a Smithfield ordinance that the ACLU argued was an attempt to undermine the state’s medical marijuana law by imposing significant burdens on patients’ access to treatment. Under the settlement agreement, the Town has agreed to repeal the ordinance and pay $30,000 in attorneys’ fees.

In an important victory for the rights of medical marijuana patients in the state, R.I. Superior Court Judge Richard Licht today issued a preliminary injunction against a Smithfield ordinance that the ACLU argued was an attempt to undermine the state’s medical marijuana law by imposing significant burdens on patients’ access to treatment in conflict with state law. The decision establishes an important precedent because a number of other municipalities have adopted, or are considering adopting, similar troubling restrictions on the rights of medical marijuana patients, although Smithfield’s appeared to be the most egregious.

In its first legal effort to counter efforts across the state to undermine the state’s medical marijuana law, the ACLU of Rhode Island today filed a lawsuit against the Town of Smithfield over a recently enacted ordinance that imposes significant burdens on medical marijuana patients’ access to treatment.  The lawsuit, filed in R.I. Superior Court, is on behalf of two licensed medical marijuana patients – listed as Jane Does to protect their confidentiality – and the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition (RIPAC), a medical marijuana public education organization. The suit was filed as other municipalities consider adopting similar troubling restrictions on the rights of medical marijuana patients, although Smithfield’s appears to be the most egregious.