Voting on medical marijuana centers

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP - Patients who use marijuana for pain relief could buy the drug at nonprofit stores under a bill Rhode Island lawmakers will soon consider.

The state Senate was expected to vote Wednesday on a proposal allowing up to three centers to dispense the drug to patients registered with state health officials.

Sen. Rhoda Perry’s bill attempts to close a gray area in state law. Rhode Island became the eleventh state in the country to legalize marijuana use for the chronically ill in 2006.

But lawmakers never explained how patients could get the drug.

Its sale remains illegal.

Gov. Don Carcieri has repeatedly vetoed bills creating or expanding the state’s medical marijuana program, saying it promotes illegal drug use and conflicts with federal law.