Maryland continues to inch forward on marijuana reforms
In 2011, the Maryland General Assembly improved the state’s affirmative defense for medical marijuana patients. Last year, plans were in place to expand on that law by providing for regulated access to marijuana, but a veto threat from Gov. O’Malley stalled the bill. Still, the legislature managed to pass two bills reducing the penalty for possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana and allowing those accused of possession to be charged by citation rather than arrest.
In 2013, advocates and their allies in the legislature are hoping to build on that momentum. Del. Cheryl Glenn has introduced HB 180, which extends the medical marijuana affirmative defense to caregivers, and HB 302, which creates a comprehensive medical marijuana program. Del. Dan Morhaim, who has previously sponsored medical marijuana legislation, is also expected to introduce a similar bill. Please email your legislators and urge them to support these important reforms.
On the non-medical front, State Sen. Bobby Zirkin has introduced two bills that would further reduce the penalty for possession of marijuana by making it a civil, rather than criminal, offense, punishable by a fine only. The stigma of a criminal marijuana conviction can follow arrestees for life, costing them employment, public benefits, or even custody of a child, and all for using a substance less harmful than alcohol. Ask your legislators to support Zirkin’s bills and eliminate this injustice.
You can read MPP’s summary of marijuana policy reform in Maryland in 2012 by clicking here, or on the link to your right.
Marijuana laws in Maryland
For medical purposes:
Patients whose doctors have diagnosed them with a debilitating medical condition (including a condition that is “severe and resistant to conventional medicine”) can assert the medical use of marijuana as an affirmative defense at trial if charged with possession of marijuana. In addition to having a debilitating condition, patients will need to show that the doctor who made the diagnosis was one with whom the patient has an ongoing, bona fide physician-patient relationship and that marijuana is likely to provide him or her with therapeutic or palliative relief. Finally, the defense is not available to anyone in possession of more than one ounce of marijuana or who uses marijuana in a public place.
For patients who don’t qualify for the full affirmative defense, there is also a sentencing mitigation whereby, upon conviction, the patient can present evidence of “medical necessity.” If the court agrees, the maximum penalty that can be imposed is a $100 fine. The law does not include caregivers, dispensaries, or home cultivation to provide patients with a safe source of their medicine. Watch this video and then call Gov. O’Malley to help us change that:
For non-medical purposes:
Possession of under 10 grams of marijuana is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $500. More than that and you can be jailed for up to a year, in addition to a fine of up to $1,000.
