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The leader of the Maryland Senate on Monday said marijuana legalization is \u201cbeyond past due\u201d in the state, but he seemed reluctant to embrace a 2022 voter referendum on the issue that the House speaker proposed last week<\/a>. Instead, he wants to pass a bill to end cannabis prohibition sooner than next November.<\/p>\n Senate President Bill Ferguson (D) was asked about the ballot proposal from House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D) during an interview with WBAL NewsRadio. He indicated that the legislature should expediently tackle the reform, rather than wait to have voters decide on the issue.<\/p>\n \u201cAn overwhelming majority of folks believe that our policy around marijuana has been fatally flawed,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is an issue that I thought we needed [to[ reform for a very long time. I think it\u2019s beyond past due.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I\u2019m hoping for this year is that we can put forward a real framework,\u201d Ferguson, who cosponsored a legalization bill this session, said<\/a>. \u201cLook, there are very real concerns, be it around drugged driving or access to children. All of those things are absolutely essential and so that\u2019s why it\u2019s the responsibility of the General Assembly to put forward a framework that takes care of all of those issues and is thoughtful in the way that we approach adult use.\u201d<\/p>\n But because of the lack of action in the legislature so far and the need to address criminal justice disparities in cannabis criminalization, House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D) said last week that that \u201cleads me to believe that the voters should have a say in the future of legalization.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones has also appointed a 10-member working group to study a range of issues related to legalizing and regulating cannabis.<\/p>\n But as far as the Senate leader is concerned, the groundwork has been established and reform should be enacted expeditiously. He pointed to an earlier working group on legalization that he co-chaired in 2019 that \u201cidentified the key decision points and models for legalization in Maryland.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Senate continues to be ready to move a fair, just, and equitable program forward, and we intend to do so during the 2022 session,\u201d Ferguson said.<\/p>\n The Senate leader seemed less bullish on the referendum proposal and signaled that he would prefer to have the legislature tackle the issue to ensure that it\u2019s adequately implemented.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m hopeful we\u2019ll get that done this year,\u201d he said of the coming session. \u201cWe\u2019ll see about this whole ballot issue. I think this is something that the General Assembly should lead on.\u201d<\/p>\n Legalization legislation did start to advance through the legislature this session, but no votes were ultimately held.<\/p>\n The Senate Finance Committee held a\u00a0hearing in March on a legalization bill sponsored by Ferguson<\/a>, the majority leader and key committee chairs.\u00a0That followed a House Judiciary Committee hearing on a separate cannabis proposal<\/a>\u00a0in February.<\/p>\n \u2014 \u201cEighteen states and the District of Columbia have already legalized recreational cannabis for adult-use. Maryland must do the same and a large majority of Marylanders in both political parties support an equitable framework that immediately addresses the injustices in our current criminal justice system,\u201d Ferguson said last week in response to the speaker\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Del. Jazz Lewis (D), who sponsored the legalization bill in his chamber this year, praised the speaker\u2019s move to advance the issue and added that \u201clegalization must be grounded in equity and restorative justice.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawmakers had worked to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate proposals in the hopes of getting something to the desk of Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who has not endorsed legalization but has\u00a0signaled he may be open to considering the idea<\/a>.<\/p>\n The working group that the speaker convened\u2014which includes House Majority Leader Eric Luedtke (D), Minority Leader Jason Buckel (R), Legislative Black Caucus Chair Darryl Barnes (D) and other top lawmakers\u2014will study a wide range of cannabis policy issues before the referendum bill is formally introduced.<\/p>\n The panel will consider licensing rules, tax structures, social equity and expanded access to substance misuse treatment.<\/p>\n As Maryland lawmakers considered the two marijuana legalization bills this past session, a poll found that\u00a0the state\u2019s residents are on board with the policy change<\/a>. Two-thirds (67 percent) of Marylanders now back legalizing cannabis, according to a Goucher College survey. Just 28 percent are opposed.<\/p>\n Pressure to enact the reform is also building regionally.\u00a0Marijuana legalization took effect in Virginia<\/a>\u00a0at the beginning of this month, for example.<\/p>\n In Maryland, Democratic gubernatorial candidates\u2014former state Attorney General Doug Gansler and former U.S. Secretary of Education John King\u2014have also voiced support for legalization in recent weeks.<\/p>\n Maryland legalized medical marijuana through an act of the legislature in 2012. Two years later, a decriminalization law took effect that replaced criminal penalties for possession of less than 10 grams with a civil fine of $100 to $500. Since then, however, a number of efforts to further marijuana reform have fallen short.<\/p>\n A bill last year to expand the decriminalization possession threshold to an ounce\u00a0passed the House last year<\/a>\u00a0but was never taken up in the Senate.<\/p>\n In May, the governor vetoed a bill that would have\u00a0shielded people with low-level cannabis convictions from having their records publicized<\/a>\u00a0on a state database. In a veto statement, he said it was because lawmakers failed to pass a separate, non-cannabis measure aimed at addressing violent crime.<\/p>\n In 2017, Hogan declined to respond to a question about whether voters should be able to decide the issue, but by mid-2018 he had signed a bill to expand the state\u2019s medical marijuana system and said full legalization was worth considering: \u201cAt this point, I think it\u2019s worth taking a look at,\u201d he said at the time.<\/p>\n As for Maryland lawmakers, a House committee in 2019\u00a0held hearings on two bills that would have legalized marijuana<\/a>. While those proposals didn\u2019t pass, they encouraged many hesitant lawmakers to begin seriously considering the change.<\/p>\n Missouri Marijuana Activists File Legalization Initiatives For 2022 As Other Groups Prepare Separate Measures<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Maryland Senate Leader Pushes For Marijuana Legalization Bill While House Speaker Wants 2022 Ballot Referendum<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The leader of the Maryland Senate on Monday said marijuana legalization is \u201cbeyond past due\u201d in the state, but he seemed reluctant to embrace a 2022 voter referendum on the issue that the House speaker proposed last week. Instead, he wants to pass a bill to end cannabis prohibition soonerContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":48936,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48935"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48935"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48937,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48935\/revisions\/48937"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Maryland Senate Leader Pushes For Marijuana Legalization Bill While House Speaker Wants 2022 Ballot Referendum<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"