Thomas C. Slater

Thomas C. Slater (1945–2009) He served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve for 30 years, reaching the rank of Sergeant Major. and one of the final pieces of legislation that he sponsored involved the 2009 legalization of medicinal marijuana dispensaries in Rhode Island.

Early life and military career Thomas C. Slater was born in Providence, Rhode Island May 21, 1945, to Thomas J. and Edith M. (Simpson) Slater. Slater served in the Rhode Island House of Representatives from January 3, 1995, until his death in 2009. In 2003 he supported a bill for a hike in the state minimum wage, to increase the rate from US$6.15 to a mandatory $6.57 an hour.

Medical marijuana legislation He was supporting legislation to legalize medical marijuana in Rhode Island by 2005,

Personal life and legacy Slater and his wife Jody McKierman had three children: He was buried at the Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery in Exeter, Rhode Island.

When Slater died later in 2009, his son Scott Slater succeeded him in his position as a Providence representative. The Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center is a medicinal dispensary in Rhode Island named after Slater, and was the first dispensary in the state, opened in spring of 2013. The Thomas C. Slater Training School for delinquent youth in Providence is also named for him. Eight years after Slater helped push the bill through, on March 28, 2017, the "Legislative Oversight Commission of the Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act" met for the first time, with his son Scott Slater included as the representative of the House.