The Rhode Island House voted Tuesday to override Governor Carcieri's 2005 veto of the state's medical marijuana bill. This makes Rhode Island the 11th state to legalize marijuana for medical use.

The bill was first passed by the Rhode Island House and Senate in June 2005, but Governor Carcieri vetoed it in light of last spring's Raich Supreme Court decision allowing federal authorities to prosecute patients, even in states where medical marijuana is legal.

Governor Carcieri's concerns notwithstanding, the Supreme Court decision did not actually overturn state law. Rhode Island legislators recognized this and took a second vote to establish the three fifths majority necessary to override the veto. The Senate voted almost immediately, but the House recessed before it could take its vote.

Now that the House has voted, Rhode Island is the first state to legalize medical marijuana since the Raich decision. The timing of the vote, just prior to the start of the state's 2006 legislative session, means that the new law will be able to take effect immediately.

The other states that legalize marijuana for medical use are Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.