Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Wednesday said she would issue pardons for tens of thousands of people convicted of misdemeanor marijuana charges going back decades in the latest example of a state ambitiously seeking to forgive low-level drug offenders.… MORE
Recreational marijuana can now be legally purchased in Rhode Island, with the December 1 start of adult-use cannabis sales at five state-sanctioned compassion centers under a newly enacted law. … MORE
A federal appeals court has upheld the extortion and fraud convictions of a once-celebrated young Massachusetts mayor who was found guilty of extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars from marijuana businesses.… MORE
Rhode Island’s governor signed legislation Wednesday making the state the 19th in the nation to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana, an issue that some lawmakers have been working on for years.… MORE
Rhode Island lawmakers unveiled changes Tuesday to a bill to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana, revisions that aim to ensure the legislation passes the state’s General Assembly.… MORE
Two lawmakers who’ve been working for a decade or more on legalizing adult-use marijuana Tuesday unveiled legislation that would set the stage for sales of marijuana in Rhode Island by the start of 2023. … MORE
A Rhode Island man has been sentenced to eight years in prison on gun and drug charges, prosecutors said Wednesday.… MORE
The Rhode Island Senate approved legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults on Tuesday, marking the first time either chamber of the state Legislature has voted on a bill to legalize cannabis. … MORE
Lawyers made their final pitch to jurors Monday in the fraud and corruption case against a once-celebrated young Massachusetts mayor, painting contrasting pictures of a shrewd con man driven by greed to line his own pockets or a victim of lies who never committed a crime. … MORE
After he was elected mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts, at just 23 years old, it seemed Jasiel Correia’s political career had nowhere to go but up. Bright and dynamic, Correia charmed voters by portraying himself as a successful entrepreneur who could revive the struggling old mill city. Prosecutors say in reality he was a fraud and a thief. … MORE
