Sometimes in this movement, it’s feast or famine. Right now in Maryland, we’re feasting. Yesterday, the media was busy covering a hearing on legislation to tax and regulate marijuana and the Maryland Senate passing legislation to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Today, they will be writing about committee votes all but certain to lead to medical marijuana legislation passing in Maryland. [caption id="attachment_6107" align="alignleft" width="270"] Maryland State House (Photo…

Earlier today, the Maryland Senate passed SB 297 by a vote of 30-16. The bill will now move to the House of Delegates where it will need to be approved by the House Judiciary Committee and the full House of Delegates before being sent to Gov. O’Malley. [caption id="attachment_6076" align="alignright" width="180"] Dan Riffle, MPP Deputy Director of Gov't Relations[/caption] If S.B. 297 is passed in the House and signed by Gov. Martin O’Malley, it would no longer be a criminal offense to possess up…

[caption id="attachment_5911" align="alignleft" width="180"] Del. Curt Anderson[/caption] The Maryland House of Delegates will debate whether or not the state should permit the establishment of a legal market for businesses to sell marijuana to adults 21 and older. Delegate Curt Anderson (D-Baltimore City) introduced H.B. 1453 on Thursday. If passed, the bill would make marijuana legal for adults 21 and older and establish a system in which marijuana is regulated and taxed like alcohol. The proceeds…

The clock ran out on Maryland legislators last night. A bill to give medical marijuana caregivers an affirmative defense against charges of possession was collateral damage as legislators spent the evening trying and failing to reach a budget compromise. It wasn’t a total loss though — two good bills did pass. Here’s MPP’s summary of marijuana policy reform developments in the 2012 session of Maryland’s General Assembly. The two bills that passed are SB 422 and SB 350. The former requires charging…

Last week, a number of medical marijuana patients and supporters, including MPP’s Dan Riffle, were at the Maryland statehouse to testify on the need to protect medical marijuana patients from arrest. Here is some TV coverage of the hearing: The bill, sponsored by Sen. David Brinkley, is based on one of two draft bills proposed by members of Maryland’s medical marijuana workgroup. Only one version, the one suggested by Del. Dan Morhaim and MPP’s director of state policies Karen O’Keefe, would provide…

Great news! Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has signed SB 308! As of June 1, patients in Maryland charged with possession of up to one ounce of marijuana who can show they’ve been diagnosed with a debilitating condition that is resistant to other treatments will be found “not guilty” if they demonstrate they’re likely to benefit from medical marijuana. Congratulations to everyone who helped make this day possible. Del. Dan Morhaim, Sen. Jamie Raskin, and Sen. David Brinkley worked tirelessly to…

The Maryland Legislature passed a bill this week that will help protect some patients from conviction if they can prove that their marijuana use was medical. The bill allows patients charged with possession to have their cases dismissed if they can show that they have a diagnosis of a debilitating medical condition from a doctor with whom they have an ongoing relationship. Lesser protections are also included that reduce the penalty in the case of non-debilitating conditions if patients can prove…

Has it really come to this? According to today’s Baltimore Sun, a new business in Maryland is offering parents the services of trained, drug-sniffing dogs. Parents who are concerned about their children hiding drugs at home – and apparently unable to have simple, honest and well, healthy conversations with their kids about drugs – can, for “about $200 an hour,” rent specially trained canines to come into their homes and “within seconds, detect even the tiniest whiff of narcotics.” Gimme a frickin’…

Yesterday, a team of bipartisan Maryland legislators announced the details of two bills that would make medical marijuana legal and accessible for qualified patients in the state. The bill’s main sponsor in the House is Del. Dan Morhaim (D-Baltimore County), who, as an internist and emergency medical physician, has been very effective at explaining why patients and doctors need access to a range of treatment options, including marijuana. As proposed, the bill would allow patients with a “debilitating…

In news coverage of last week’s Department of Justice memo, there was a lot of confusion over exactly how many states have medical marijuana laws. Some outlets reported that 14 states have such laws. Others said 13 states. So which is it? And why the confusion? The answer is 13. They are Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. But many media—as well as some government sources—incorrectly counted Maryland as…