Ask your senator to support cannabis legalization this year!

The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow on HB 1 and HB 837 — a pair of bills that would allow voters to decide whether to legalize cannabis for adults’ use in November 2022. The hearing will begin at 1 p.m. and will be available to view online here. 

HB 1, the bill to refer the question of cannabis legalization for adults’ use to Maryland voters on the November 2022 ballot, already passed the House in a vote of 96-34. HB 837, the companion bill that would be contingent on voter approval of HB 1, passed the House in a vote of 92-37.

Please email your senator ahead of tomorrow’s hearing and urge them to support legalizing cannabis this year!

HB 837 includes details for initial steps of cannabis legalization, such as possession limits, limited expungement, and funding for minority- and women-owned businesses. It does not set up a licensing or regulatory system, and simple possession and limited home cultivation would not become legal until July 2023. You can check out our summary of HB 837 here and suggestions to improve the legislation here.

If you are interested in providing written testimony for the bills at the hearing tomorrow, you can submit written testimony between 4 p.m. today and 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. Here you can find full instructions on how to submit written testimony. Oral testimony at the hearing will be sponsor-only and led by HB 1 and HB 837 sponsor and House Judiciary Chair Luke Clippinger.

We’re in the final stretch, as the legislative session is set to adjourn on April 11. Help ensure cannabis legalization crosses the finish line this year by reaching out to your senators today and raising your voice in written testimony at the hearing tomorrow.

Please share this message with Marylanders in your networks and encourage them to do the same!

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Ask your lawmakers to legalize cannabis this year without delay!

The Maryland House Judiciary Committee just approved HB 1, legislation that would refer the question of legalization to voters on the ballot in November, and its companion, HB 837! The bills will now head to the full House for consideration.

HB 837 includes details for initial steps of cannabis legalization — such as possession limits, limited expungement, and funding for minority- and women-owned businesses — that would be contingent on voter approval of HB 1. It does not set up a licensing or regulatory system. Simple possession would not become legal until July 2023.

The committee approved several amendments to improve HB 837, including:

• an amendment allowing adults to share personal-use amounts;
• an amendment to lower the maximum fine for public smoking from $500 to $50 for a first offense and $150 for a second offense;
• an amendment to allow possession of 12 grams of cannabis concentrates and infused products containing no more than 750 milligrams of THC, in addition to 1.5 ounces of flower; and
• an amendment allowing adults to securely and discreetly cultivate up to two plants.

You can check out our full summary of HB 837, as amended, here.

While these amendments are certainly improvements, there are still improvements we’d like to see. Notably, possession would still not become legal until eight months after voter approval of the referendum. To further reduce police interactions and citations for cannabis, possession should become legal immediately upon voter approval. In addition, we would like the implementing law to include equity-focused legalization of sales.

Please reach out to your lawmakers and ask them legalize cannabis this year without delay!

Thank you to everyone who testified at Monday’s hearing on HB 1 and HB 837 and to those who participated in our lobby days this week! Our advocacy efforts are proving successful.

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Good news! On June 30, 2021, Governor Wolf signed P.L. 210 into law, making several improvements to Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis program. P.L. 210 (otherwise known as HB 1024) was sponsored by Rep. Paul Schemel (R-Franklin) and acts on recommendations made by the Department of Health to revise the Medical Marijuana Act, which was signed into law in 2016.

The proposal most notably allows patients to purchase three times as much cannabis as they previously could, and it removes language that steered chronic pain patients to try more dangerous painkillers first. P.L. 210 also narrows the restriction on people with past drug convictions working in or owning medical cannabis businesses. It protects patient safety standards and product quality of Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program while empowering the Medical Marijuana Advisory Board to continue to consider new medical conditions for eligibility. It will also retain certain flexibilities enacted under the state’s COVID-19 disaster declaration that patients and dispensaries found improved safe access. You can check out a summary of P.L. 210 here and a full summary of Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana law here.

Although the updates to the medical marijuana program are welcomed, we know that many residents will still not be able to access cannabis for their medicine. That’s why we are continuing to push for legalization in Pennsylvania. Please take a few minutes to email your state lawmakers to add your voice to the growing number of Keystone residents that support marijuana legalization.  

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