Cannabis legalization referendum bill pre-filed for 2022 session

Last update: January 5, 2022

A bill — HB 1 —  that would refer the question of cannabis legalization to Maryland voters on the November 2022 ballot has been pre-filed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Luke Clippinger. The legislation is set to be formally introduced at the start of the 2022 legislative session, which begins on January 12. 

In July 2021, House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D) announced the House intends to pass a bill to refer legalization to voters on the 2022 ballot. The announcement also included the formation of a legalization workgroup — chaired by Delegate Clippinger — to study the issue. The group has been meeting throughout the interim and is expected to continue meeting during the 2022 legislative session.

As currently written, HB 1 would refer the following question to voters if approved by the legislature: “Do you favor the legalization of adult–use cannabis in the State of Maryland?” Unfortunately, the legislation sets an effective date to legalize simple cannabis possession in July 2023 — eight months after the election.

Meanwhile, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D) stated that the Senate intends to move forward with legalization next year, saying it is “beyond past due.” Ferguson also said, “What I’m hoping for this year is that we can put forward a real framework.”

According to a recent Goucher poll, 67 percent of Marylanders now support legalization. Please reach out to your lawmakers and ask them to support legalization in 2022!

Make sure you plug into the Maryland Cannabis Policy Coalition for updates. If you are a member of an organization that would like to join our coalition, we would love to hear from you.

General Assembly fails to take up legalization in 2021

The General Assembly ended its 2021 legislative session on Monday, April 12 without moving forward on legalization. A comprehensive legalization bill, HB 32 — The Cannabis Legalization and Regulation, Inclusion, Restoration, and Rehabilitation Act of 2021, was introduced and championed by Delegate Jazz Lewis during the 2021 session. You can check out our full summary of the legislation here. On the Senate side, Senator Brian Feldman introduced a separate bill, SB 708. The differences in the two bills are highlighted here.

Unfortunately, neither bill advanced in the 2021 session.

With the legislature unwilling to take up legalization this year, the focus now shifts to passing legalization in 2022. Please reach out to your lawmakers and ask them to make legalization a priority in 2022.

Legislature overrides governor's veto to shield past cannabis convictions

Just before the legislature adjourned its shortened 2020 session, lawmakers approved a bill — HB 83 — that would automatically shield past cannabis charges occurring before October 1, 2014 in which possession was the only charge in the case. Sadly, Gov. Larry Hogan vetoed the legislation.

However, the legislature overrode Gov. Hogan’s veto during the 2021 session, and the bill became law on February 12, 2021.

HB 83 will shield nearly 200,000 past cannabis possession charges from public view on the Judiciary’s “Case Search” website. Unfortunately, this is not a full record expungement. Full record expungement of marijuana possession is available by application after four years. You can find more information on expungement here.

Gov. Hogan allows improvements to medical cannabis program to become law without his signature

On May 7, 2020, Gov. Hogan allowed HB 617/ SB 604, “Connor and Raina’s Law,” to become law without his signature. The bill allows for the administration of medical cannabis to students who are qualifying patients during school hours and school-sponsored events.

In other news, a bill that allows physician assistants to be certifying providers also became law without the governor’s signature. The new law went into effect on October 1, 2020.

Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office will no longer prosecute marijuana possession

In late January 2019, Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced that her office would no longer prosecute marijuana possession, regardless of the amount or criminal history. In Baltimore City, arrests for marijuana possession — almost entirely and disproportionately African American Baltimoreans — have continued even post-decriminalization in 2014.

MPP’s Olivia Naugle (left) joins State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby as she announces the non-prosecution policy.
Photo credit: Image from video posted to The Baltimore Sun.

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Thank you for supporting MPP. To stay updated on the status of marijuana policy reform in Maryland, be sure to subscribe to MPP's email alerts. You can also plug into the Maryland Cannabis Policy Coalition on Facebook and Twitter to stay in the loop.