Politics & Government

Maryland Politician to Renew Marijuana Policy Push

Senator Bobby Zirkin conferred with the Marijuana Policy Project and American Civil Liberties Union about marijuana policy reform in Maryland.

By Emilie Eastman, CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE

If the nation’s largest marijuana lobbying organization has its way, Maryland will legalize marijuana by 2017.

The Marijuana Policy Project announced this week that Maryland and nine other states will be targets of a renewed push for marijuana policy reform. 

“We’re very interested...” said Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, regarding laws regarding the drug in Maryland.

Over the next few years, Marylanders can expect increased public conversation about the topic, she said, adding that a portion of the $2 million to $5 million in donations the group receives every year could be designated for education and publicity initiatives in Maryland, O’Keefe said. 

Maryland is one of 12 states that considered marijuana decriminalization or legalization bills this year, O’Keefe said. The biggest push for new legislation is happening in New England and in the western United States, with particular appeal among younger voters, she said.  

In May, Gov. Martin O’Malley signed a bill that authorized teaching hospitals and research centers in Maryland to distribute medical marijuana. The state also recently reduced penalties for marijuana possession under 10 grams and authorized “medical necessity” as legal defense for marijuana use. But while these changes constitute a small step forward, the impact may not be widely felt, said O’Keefe. 

“Maryland has taken wary steps for medical marijuana,” she said. “There are tiny programs and barely any patients qualify.”

A bill by State Sen. Bobby Zirkin, D-Baltimore County, failed to come to a vote in the House this spring but he plans to re-introduce the bill next year, and may even propose legislation that would put the decision in voters’ hands by referendum, he said.

Zirkin’s decriminalization bill would have changed marijuana possession of less than 10 grams from a criminal to a civil offense. Instead of facing up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine, perpetrators would pay a maximum $100 fine. It was supported by a 30-16 bipartisan vote in the Maryland Senate.

“It’s been done in a variety of states all across the country," Zirkin said. "The results have been studied. It’s not a hard argument.” 

Zirkin said he met with representatives from the Marijuana Policy Project and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maryland last week to discuss plans.

“What I’m proposing is not some radical proposition,” Zirkin said.

If Zirkin’s bill passes next year, Maryland will be the 18th state to institute an alternative to incarceration for marijuana possession.

Incarceration and enforcement of marijuana prohibition cost the state millions of dollars each year, according to a new report by the ACLU. In 2010, Maryland spent more than $160 million enforcing and litigating its marijuana possession policies, the report said. The state also had one of the highest per-capita marijuana possession arrest rates, with approximately half a million arrests in 2010, according to the ACLU.

But gaining support from the House may prove a challenge. 

“I suspect the House Judiciary Committee will have to work long and hard to come up with an appropriate and intelligent bill,” said Del. Luiz Simmons, D-Montgomery.

Simmons said that while he is in favor of lessening penalties for marijuana possession and instituting fines instead of incarceration, he is concerned that Zirkin’s bill makes no distinction between children and adult marijuana users.

“[The bill] treated 9-year-olds the same as people who are 90,” he said. “I thought it was a terrible deficit. What I will be insisting on for my vote is that it addresses these issues.”

A common concern among opponents of more relaxed marijuana policies is that bills like Zirkin’s could cause an increase in marijuana and other drug use. 

As national attention on legalization and decriminalization efforts increases, Zirkin hopes the momentum will help carry his bill through the legislature, he said. Endorsements from public figures like CNN’s Sanjay Gupta and the U.S. Department of Justice’s landmark decision to honor state laws regarding recreational and medical marijuana use may also have an impact.     

“Recently you’ve seen an avalanche of national folks discussing this,” Zirkin said. “The federal government coming out and saying they’re going to respect the laws of the individual states...that’s a major change.”


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