Pubdate: Sun, 06 Apr 2014
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Page: 1
Copyright: 2014 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
Authors: Michael Dresser, and Erin Cox

MARIJUANA BILL NEARS FULL OK IN ASSEMBLY

Delegates Vote to Approve Decriminalization Measure

The General Assembly moved Saturday to dramatically change Maryland's
drug laws as the House of Delegates joined the Senate in voting to
make possession of small amounts of marijuana a civil offense
punishable only by a fine.

The House voted 78-55 to approve a measure substantially similar to
the decriminalization bill overwhelmingly passed by the Senate last
month. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said his chamber would
agree to the House's relatively minor changes and send the bill to
Gov. Martin O'Malley.

Meanwhile, key lawmakers also have reached a tentative compromise on
how to revamp the state's medical marijuana law to make sure patients
can get the drug. That measure is also expected to receive final
approval before the Assembly adjourns at midnight Monday.

House Speaker Michael E. Busch, who came into the session a skeptic
about treating marijuana possession as a civil offense, cast his vote
for decriminalization.

"The fact of the matter is a lot of people utilize this, and it has
not been effective putting them in jail and throwing away the key," he
said.

The House vote came on a busy Saturday as both chambers scrambled to
resolve the remaining sticky issues facing the legislature before
Monday night. The tally split largely along party lines, with three
Republicans joining 75 Democrats in supporting the measure. Twenty
Democrats and 35 Republicans voted no.

O'Malley, like Busch, has long had reservations about more lenient
marijuana laws, but the governor has said he will keep an open mind in
reviewing the bill.

If O'Malley signs the measure, Maryland would become the18th state to
stop treating simple possession as a criminal offense, according to
the Marijuana Policy Project. Two of them, Colorado and Washington,
have legalized the regulated sale of the drug for recreational use.

The Maryland decriminalization legislation defines a small amount as
10 grams, a smaller amount than in most states.

The House acted on marijuana after the Judiciary Committee voted 13-8
earlier in the day to reverse its previous decision to approve only
setting up a task force to study changes to marijuana laws.

The committee's reconsideration was the result of negotiations between
Judiciary Committee Chairman Joseph F. Vallario Jr., a proponent of
the task force approach, and a group of his fellow Democrats who want
to stop treating marijuana possession as a crime. They include members
of the Legislative Black Caucus who point to racial disparities in the
way marijuana laws have been enforced.

The resulting bargain gave decriminalization proponents most of what
they wanted. Where marijuana possession is currently treated as a
misdemeanor that carries a maximum 90-day jail term, the legislation
would change it to a civil offense for adults, punishable by
escalating fines. Minors caught with the drug would continue to be
handled by the juvenile justice system.

The House kept the Senate's $100 fine for a first offense but
increased the penalties for subsequent violations to $250 for a second
and $500 for a third. For a first or second offense, a violator older
than 21 would be able to pay prepay the fine by mail, but a three-time
offender would have to go to court. If convicted, the judge would have
to order the defendant into an education or treatment program.

The House took a stricter approach for adults who aren't yet 21
because of concerns Del. Curt Anderson, left, shakes hands with Del.
Shawn Tarrant after the House voted in favor of a bill to
decriminalize possession of 10 grams or less of marijuana. After the
Senate approves changes made to the bill in the House, the measure
will go to the governor. about the impact of marijuana on developing
brains. The bill approved Saturday would require that people caught
with pot when they are 18 to 20 years old be summoned to court and
referred to drug treatment or education. In some cases that would
involve watching a video about the dangers of taking drugs.

The House and Senate agreed that people found guilty of marijuana
possession should not have criminal convictions on their record. Both
versions say citations for possession will not be part of the public
record and will not be posted on the Maryland Judicial website along
with other offenses.

The bill's approval came after an emotional debate in which opponents
accused decriminalization supporters of exposing young people to the
dangers of drug addiction.

Del. Michael A. McDermott, an Eastern Shore Republican, charged that
the bill represented "surrender."

"There's no turning back from the generation of young people you're
going to leave behind because you said it's OK," he said.

Some proponents said they considered the measure a civil rights issue
because of the impact of marijuana arrests on the future prospects of
young African-Americans.

"We are sending a message we aren't going to allow small amounts of
marijuana possession to ruin the lives of young people," said Del.
Keiffer J. Mitchell, a Baltimore Democrat who took a leading role in
the negotiations.

Four members of the black caucus broke with the group, however,
arguing that more lenient treatment was doing AfricanAmerican youth no
favors.

"The better solution is to obey the law," the retiring Del. Emmett C.
Burns Jr., a Baltimore County Democrat, thundered in what could be his
final floor speech.

While he didn't speak and did allow the bill out of his committee,
Vallario was a no on the final vote.

On medical marijuana, both chambers have approved bills to expand
access to the drug for patients, but disagreed about how to get a
medical marijuana industry off the ground.

Under a compromise reached between House sponsors and a Senate medical
marijuana work group, only 15 growers would get licenses in the first
year, but the state's medical marijuana commission could decide to
allow more. Growers would be allowed to distribute the drug through
dispensaries, but other properly licensed businesses could set up shop
as dispensaries as well.

Lawmakers first created a medical marijuana program last year, but it
relied on academic centers to distribute the drug - and none
volunteered to participate. This year's bill would allow patients to
get a prescription from specially licensed physicians and then fill it
at dispensaries across the state.

Del. Heather R. Mizeur, a candidate for governor who sponsored the
House version of a decriminalization bill, said it was "gratifying to
snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat."

"We turned the page today on Maryland's outdated marijuana prohibition
laws and sent a strong message that our war on drugs has been a
failure," she said.

Mizeur, one of the delegates who met with Vallario, helped make
marijuana an issue in the governor's race with her proposal to
legalize and regulate the sale of the drug. Neither of her Democratic
rivals, Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown and Attorney General Douglas F.
Gansler, would go that far, but both came out for decriminalization.

Miller said he was not surprised by Busch's change of heart. He said
pro-decriminalization voices had been "shut down" in the House last
year and would not be denied again.

"You can only be speaker or president of the Senate as long as the
troops support you. And he saw the troops going the other way, and he
told the chairman, 'We need to go the other way,' " Miller said.

The Senate president is a supporter of full legalization, a step the
House refused to back this year. Miller predicted continued progress
toward that goal.

"Eventually, I think the whole country is going to be where Colorado
is, but it's going to be a long time from now," he said. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D