Title:
URGENT: Maryland Senate passes comprehensive medical marijuana legislation
Message:
Please e-mail your delegates to urge them to follow suit
For the first time in seven years, medical marijuana legislation has been approved by a full chamber of the Maryland General Assembly. In a 35-12 vote with no discussion, the Maryland Senate today passed SB 627, which would not only protect patients who use marijuana with their doctor’s approval from arrest but also allow pharmacies or dispensing centers to distribute marijuana to patients with ID cards. The bill will now move over to the House of Delegates, which has until Monday night — the end of this year’s legislative session — to pass the bill on the floor.
Please contact your delegate(s) now and urge them to pass the bill this year!
So here’s where we’re at: The Senate hearing occurred late in the session, and votes were delayed a few times to allow more time for the drafting and review of favorable amendments. As a result, this vote happened after the deadline by which bills must move from one chamber to the other. That means we’ll first need an approving vote in the House Rules Committee (whose chair is a co-sponsor). Then the bill will go to the same two committees that have already heard the House companion legislation — Health and Government Operations, chaired by Del. Pete Hammen, and Judiciary, chaired by Del. Joe Vallario. The chairmen of the two committees are the only ones with authority to call committee votes, and we’re hopeful they will do so right away. If you have an extra minute, please click their names for contact info and give their offices a call.
At this point we’re up against a very tight timeline, so please don’t wait — contact your delegates now. It takes less than a minute to use our automated system. When you’re done, forward this message to a friend and ask them to do the same. Lastly, please forward any responses you get from your delegates to me at driffle@mpp.org.
Thanks so much!
