“A final, formal vote by the state Senate Thursday night forwarded the bill to the governor’s desk. Chafee, an independent, says he is inclined to sign the bill into law.”

And here’s the WTF part:

The bills now contain a “three strikes” provision: possessing an ounce or less would become a civil offense punishable by a $150 fine, but if someone received three such violations within an 18-month period, he or she would face a misdemeanor with larger fines and up to 30 days in prison.

> “Not only are we seeing a troubling rise in drug overdose-related patients, we are seeing the devastating effects of much stronger street drugs such as heroin and the influx of synthetic drugs.”

When Rhode Island ranked #1 in mental illness, serious mental illness, illegal drug use, and suicide attempts, our newsroom started wondering what in the world was wrong with this state.

“A source of mechanism for patients to obtain their marijuana in a safe and legal manner.” Dude, wait, what?

“We found that current major depression increased the risk of crack use, but depression in the past year that had gotten better did not. This suggests that if the depression remits, the risk of crack use goes down. Screening for depression and effective depression treatment may be important components of drug court services.”

“Gov. Lincoln Chafee signed legislation into law Wednesday that will create a so-called ‘recovery school’ for students from around the state who need extra help beating their drug or alcohol habits.”

“[O]ver 11 percent of Rhode Islanders 12 and over use illicit drugs, the highest rate in the nation, and that Rhode Island has the highest percentage of persons 12 years and over needing but not receiving treatment for illicit drug use, at 3.3 percent. We also have the lowest perceived risk of substance abuse in the country, according to national statistics.”

…while driving through Podunk, Connecticut.