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  • Maryland House Judiciary Committee Kills Decriminalization Bills

Maryland House Judiciary Committee Kills Decriminalization Bills

Apr 03, 2014

Bobby Zirkin, decriminalization, District of Columbia, HB 880, Judiciary Committee, Maryland, Pew Research Center, SB 364, Vincent Gray

Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee neutered two marijuana policy reform bills. Instead of considering the proposed policies on their merits, the committee completely amended the content of the bills to create a task force to study the issues. The two bills, SB 364 and HB 880, formerly would have respectively decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana and regulated marijuana similarly to alcohol.

[caption id="attachment_7447" align="alignright" width="144"]zirkin Rep. Bobby Zirkin[/caption]

The decriminalization bill, sponsored by Sen. Bobby Zirkin, has passed the Senate two years in a row with overwhelming bipartisan support — most recently, last month, in a 36-8 vote.

The Committee acted two days after D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray signed into law the most lenient decriminalization law in the country, and the same day as a national survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 76% of Americans don't think people should be jailed for simple possession.