Pubdate: Wed, 26 Feb 2014
Source: Evansville Courier & Press (IN)
Contact:  2014 The Evansville Courier Company
Website: http://www.courierpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/138
Author: Christian Schaffer

Mary Jane in Maryland

STATE COULD LEGALIZE MARIJUANA THIS YEAR

Lawmakers Spark Debate in Annapolis

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Maryland General Assembly is once again 
considering bills that would increase access to marijuana.

Last year legislators approved a bill that would allow hospitals to 
study pot for medical uses, but so far none of them have.

Supporters of marijuana decriminalization say the General Assembly 
didn't go far enough last year. They say Maryland should move closer 
to Colorado and Washington State, which allow marijuana to be sold to 
anyone age 21 or over.

Sheriffs and police chiefs from across the state gathered outside a 
Senate hearing room at the State House to denounce the separate 
bills, which would either legalize marijuana or allow doctors to 
distribute it to patients.

"The idea that less violence will occur is an unproven talking point 
casually used by proponents of legalization," said Chief Kenneth 
Davis of the Anne Arundel County Police Department.

The governor of Colorado expects revenue from legal pot sales to top 
$100-million in the next fiscal year. He is cautioning governors from 
other states considering legalization to proceed carefully.

Harford County State's Attorney Joe Cassilly said Maryland should 
wait for more results from Colorado and Washington State, which has 
also legalized the sale of marijuana.

"Then we can come back and have a discussion that's based on 
scientific evidence and not anecdotal comments from a bunch of pot 
heads," he said.

A former state trooper told the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee 
legalization would cut down on crime.

"By pulling the profit out of the street market we will also stem the 
violence. Citizens will be more likely to talk to the police, and the 
police in turn will be better equipped to solve murders, rapes and 
robberies," said Leah Maddux, the former trooper.

Supporters of legalization also cite statistics showing 
African-Americans are much more likely to be charged with marijuana 
than whites.

Anna Oman, a mother from Montgomery County, testified that she 
occasionally uses marijuana.

"Men and women who've done no worse than I have been arrested and 
prosecuted because of where they live and the color of their skin and 
this is wrong," she said.

State Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery), who is sponsoring both the 
medicinal marijuana bill and the decriminalization bill, said he is 
expecting the Judicial Proceedings Committee to vote on both of them 
on Thursday, March 3.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom