(08-25) 16:08 PDT Providence, R.I. (AssociatedPress.com) --
Prospective proprietors of medical marijuana stores in Rhode Island asked Tuesday for permission to make home deliveries to patients, but state health officials were unsure whether that was legal.
State lawmakers voted this year to make Rhode Island the third state in the country after California and New Mexico to permit marijuana sales to chronically ill patients. The state Department of Health heard criticism and questions about the program Tuesday as the public got its first chance to comment on rules proposed for the stores.
The new law will eventually permit up to three nonprofit stores, dubbed compassion centers, to sell marijuana to the roughly 900 patients registered with the state.
Michael Anderson, 42, of Providence, who is interested in operating a store, suggested the businesses should be allowed to pick up housebound patients and drive them to the store. He also wanted permission to deliver marijuana to patients.
"I think it would be a nice thing for the patients," said Anderson, who credits marijuana with helping him cope with the debilitating effects of Crohn's disease, which causes a painful inflammation of his digestive system.
"It's the only way I can really keep my appetite up, to keep my quality of life relatively good," he said.
State Police Capt. David Neill, commander of the detective unit, worried at the meeting that thieves could target drivers delivering the drug. Neill also said police need a way to easily identify through the health department caregivers and patients who can possess it legally.
Right now, police can only learn that information by examining a state-issued card given to patients and caregivers who register. This week, police spent time secretly watching a suspected marijuana dealer in Warwick only to learn he was allowed to have the drug under the medical marijuana program, Neill said. Police learned of the man's status when they confronted him.
Before issuing a license, the new law requires state officials to consider whether the host community supports the proposed store. Charles Alexandre, chief of the office of health professionals regulation, said he was uncertain what would count as evidence of support.
The state cannot met a Sept. 14 deadline to finalize the rules governing marijuana stores because they need more time for public feedback, Alexandre said. He expects the state will begin accepting applications from potential store owners in late fall or early winter.
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