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Maryland lawmakers who are part of a marijuana legalization workgroup convened on Tuesday, hearing testimony on workplace and impaired driving policy issues related to the reform.<\/p>\n
Members of the Cannabis Referendum and Legalization Workgroup\u2014which was\u00a0formed last year by House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D)<\/a>\u2014took testimony from representatives of the non-profit National Safety Council (NSC).<\/p>\n The witnesses advised the panel on a number of issues as lawmakers work to inform future regulations following Maryland voters\u2019 approval of a legalization referendum during last month\u2019s election, which triggered the implementation of complementary legislation<\/a> covering rules for basic policies like possession and low-level home cultivation.<\/p>\n The focus of this latest meeting was on drug testing policy for workers and drivers.<\/p>\n \u201cThroughout this entire process, all of us here have given thoughts and raised concerns about how legalizing recreational cannabis will impact employees in the workplace, how employers could enact or adjust policies when it comes to employment protections for off-duty cannabis cannabis use and how government bodies could legislate laws to appropriately respond to and address this issue and any related concerns,\u201d Del. Luke Clippinger (D), who sponsored both the referendum bill as well as a complementary implementation measure and serves as the chair of the workgroup, said at the beginning of the meeting<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n NCS takes a neutral position on marijuana legalization and decriminalization issues, and the conversation generally reflected the organization\u2019s interest in supporting evidence-based practices for states that move ahead with the reform.<\/p>\n Jane Terry, vice president of government affairs at NCS, said that it\u2019s likely a matter of time before every state in the U.S. has \u201csome type of legalization\u201d or cannabis is legalized at the federal level. Lawmakers should take steps to prepare for that inevitability, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we really want to drive home is that it is impairing when you use it, and it\u2019s going to have safety impacts,\u201d she said. \u201cSo how can we really try to mitigate those impacts?\u201d<\/p>\n The Cannabis Legalization and Referendum Workgroup continues its work tonight with a presentation from @NSCsafety<\/a> on the crossroads of workplace policies, laws, and safety and cannabis legalization.<\/p>\n View the live stream\/recording here: https:\/\/t.co\/lMaUhiyGmo<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Luke Clippinger (@LukeClippinger) December 21, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n One of the group\u2019s main takeaways is that it\u2019s difficult for employers and law enforcement to determine active impairment from THC, as current tests detect metabolites from the cannabinoid that can remain present in a person\u2019s system for weeks after consumption.<\/p>\n Dave Madaras, president of the Chesapeake Region Safety Council, echoed several of Terry\u2019s points, emphasizing to the lawmakers that a person could use cannabis off-duty in compliance with the state\u2019s new law on Friday and \u201cthen Monday morning, I could take a drug test, and I can come up positive\u2014but that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean I\u2019m impaired. Actually, I\u2019m probably not impaired at all.\u201d<\/p>\n The witnesses also went over a number of policy recommendations<\/a> for legislators to consider. Notably, they argued against states setting \u201cper se\u201d THC limits for driving impairment because \u201cit\u2019s not based on science, and it\u2019s not necessarily showing impairment.\u201d<\/p>\n At the workgroup\u2019s prior meeting last month, members talked about how to tax cannabis and distribute revenue<\/a>.<\/p>\n Maryland House Majority Leader Eric Luedtke (D), who has also served as a member of the legislative workgroup, said in October that he would be voting in favor of legalization at the ballot, and he emphasized that the vote would be \u201cthe beginning of the conversation.\u201d It has since been announced that Luedtke will be joining the administration of Gov.-elect Wes Moore (D).<\/p>\n The language of the ballot referendum itself was straightforward, but where the more complex aspects of the reform come into play is with the complementary HB 837.<\/p>\n Under that legislation, the purchase and possession of up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis will be legal for adults. The legislation also will remove criminal penalties for possession of up to 2.5 ounces. Adults 21 and older will be allowed to grow up to two plants for personal use and gift cannabis without remuneration.<\/p>\n Past convictions for conduct made legal under the proposed law will be automatically expunged, and people currently serving time for such offenses will be eligible for resentencing. The legislation makes it so people with convictions for possession with intent to distribute can petition the courts for expungement three years after serving out their time.<\/p>\n Even though voters have passed the referendum, the reform won\u2019t take effect immediately. Possession of small amounts of cannabis will become a civil offense on January 1, 2023, punishable by a $100 fine for up to 1.5 ounces, or $250 for more than 1.5 ounces and up to 2.5 ounces. Legalization for up to 1.5 ounces won\u2019t kick in for another six months.<\/p>\n \u2014 Advocates have taken issue with that protracted timeline. Having possession legalization take effect sooner was among several asks they made that were not incorporated into the legislation. They also wanted lawmakers to include a provision preventing police from using the odor of marijuana alone as the basis for a search.<\/p>\n Adult-use legalization began to advance through Maryland\u2019s legislature in the 2021 session, but no votes were ultimately held. The Senate Finance Committee held a\u00a0hearing last year on a legalization bill<\/a>, which followed a House Judiciary Committee\u00a0hearing on a separate cannabis proposal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Maryland legalized medical cannabis 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 of marijuana with a civil fine of $100 to $500.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) separately allowed a bill to create a state fund to\u00a0provide \u201ccost-free\u201d access to psychedelics<\/a>\u00a0like psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine for military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury to take effect without his signature this year.<\/p>\n New Washington Bill Would Allow Interstate Marijuana Commerce<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Maryland Lawmakers\u2019 Marijuana Workgroup Examines Employment And Driving Concerns Following Voter-Approved Legalization<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Maryland lawmakers who are part of a marijuana legalization workgroup convened on Tuesday, hearing testimony on workplace and impaired driving policy issues related to the reform. Members of the Cannabis Referendum and Legalization Workgroup\u2014which was\u00a0formed last year by House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D)\u2014took testimony from representatives of the non-profit NationalContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":59840,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59839"}],"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=59839"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59839\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59841,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59839\/revisions\/59841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Maryland Lawmakers\u2019 Marijuana Workgroup Examines Employment And Driving Concerns Following Voter-Approved Legalization<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"