Decriminalizing Marijuana Could Save Rhode Island $11 Million Annually

​According to Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron’s estimates, reducing the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana to a civil fine would save Rhode Island about .1 million per year in reduced expenditures on police.Miron also estimates that taxing and regulating marijuana would save the state roughly .5 million per year in reduced expenditures on police, prosecutors, judges and prisons. Taxing and regulating marijuana could also generate about .6 million per year in tax revenue, according to Miron.Miron will testify Thursday before Rhode Island’s Marijuana Prohibition Study Commission and explain how changing the state’s current medical marijuana policies could save tens of millions of dollars annually, and possibly even generate additional tax revenue.

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