Bill introduced to legalize marijuana in Maryland

[RetroGrow]

Maryland is the next state with a legalization bill:

"A Maryland lawmaker has introduced a bill to legalize marijuana.

Delegate Curt Anderson introduced the measure in the House of Delegates on Thursday.

It would make marijuana legal for adults 21 and over and create a system to regulate and tax it like alcohol.

The measure introduced by the Baltimore Democrat also would direct the Maryland comptroller to license marijuana retail stores, wholesale facilities and testing facilities.

The bill would create an excise tax of $50 per ounce on wholesale sales and direct proceeds to fund treatment programs to prevent alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse.

Last November, voters in Colorado and Washington state approved measures to make marijuana legal for adults 21 and older."

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/213011...-legalize-marijuana-in-maryland#axzz2LZVRYAUU

 

[DreamsofTesla]

That would make driving a lot easier in Maryland, just sayin'! Those people are all in a huge hurry. They will run you the hell over in Maryland.

<3 Tesla

 

[mean mr.mustard]

As long as that sin tax includes pharmaceuticals and Red Bull in their antidrug shite then I'm all for it!!

 

[blackosprey]

That would make driving a lot easier in Maryland, just sayin'! Those people are all in a huge hurry. They will run you the hell over in Maryland.

<3 Tesla

yeah, but just think what a field day the Delaware cops will have with people driving out of Md.

 

[Ranger]

50 bucks an ounce tax is highway robbery but i guess keeping things moving in the right direction is what's important.

 

[Hydrosun]

50 bucks an ounce tax is highway robbery but i guess keeping things moving in the right direction is what's important.

$800 an lb tax at the wholesale level and then a sales tax on the retail level is awesome!

Just think about it every lb we grow and trade on the FREE UNREGULATED market will benifit from more than $1,000 in tax savings.

Fuck them and all their scams. If beer were taxed $1,000 per keg, there would be a lot more homebrew. Well guess what there is only going to be more and more overgrowing, and independance. Hard to tax mom and pop nobody who REFUSE to play by their immoral rules

 

[RandyCalifornia]

they wanna be in everybodys pocket, Fuck- Tax and Regulate!
There will be even more police and more busts once it's Legal!

 

[puffinpass]

yeah, but just think what a field day the Delaware cops will have with people driving out of Md.

Delaware, lol, what about Virginia?!? VA cops are a*#holes to the max! get paranoid just chillin there

 

[clips]

md at one time was considering sourceing med mj from nida that crap thas seeds/stems/leaf n all chopped /bleached/sprays with zact dosages packs n labeld .. so be careful what ya wish for with legalizations may get some restrictions far worse then if was illegal... sadly qaulity n peoples personal ability to grow their own may be excluded from legalization when majority of their interest in the monetary aspect states are just now realizing they are loosing the war on drugs n like that drug money specially when funidn prisons n police jobs ...

 

[Wise]

The tide is changing and all those people who it benefits are complaining. :::Shakes head:::

 

[GP73LPC]

another step forward

 

[Southern Toker]

very nice, mite even have to north myself

 

[fungzyme]

Fuck them and all their scams. If beer were taxed $1,000 per keg, there would be a lot more homebrew.

Exactly. Pay the state $50/oz tax or grow more than I could possibly use myself for maybe $10 - $15 an oz TOTAL (maybe less). This is exactly how heavy-handed political money grabbing has the exact opposite result of what was intended. Let em try it - if the result is more personal grows for self and friends and less revenue for the state to waste, so be it. We'll all be better off.

 

[Sóley]

This stands a decent chance of passing, right ? As oppose to N.C

 

[DreamsofTesla]

Exactly. Pay the state $50/oz tax or grow more than I could possibly use myself for maybe $10 - $15 an oz TOTAL (maybe less). This is exactly how heavy-handed political money grabbing has the exact opposite result of what was intended. Let em try it - if the result is more personal grows for self and friends and less revenue for the state to waste, so be it. We'll all be better off.

Exactly. That seems very obvious to me, too.

 

[CosmicGiggle]

This stands a decent chance of passing, right ? As oppose to N.C

YES, it stands a very good chance of passing! :

Gov. O'Malley is now saying he will back the bill as long as the Feds don't threaten legal action!

From the Sun Paper, 3/8:
O'Malley administration backs medical marijuana bill

A year after opposition, health secretary endorses dispensing through academic medical centers
March 08, 2013|By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun
Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration withdrew its opposition to legislation allowing doctors and nurses to dispense medical marijuana to patients through academic medical centers, raising prospects for passage this year.

Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, the state secretary of health and mental hygiene, said Friday that the administration could support the bill but only if it gave the governor the "flexibility" to suspend the program if the federal government threatened legal action over what it still classifies as an illegal drug.

"If it's clear it's not something that's going to bring prosecution on state employees, we can go forward," Sharfstein told members of the House Government Operations and Judiciary committees, who held a joint hearing on the issue.

Under what Sharfstein called a "yellow-light approach" to medical marijuana, the bill would allow dispensing the drug to patients with cancer, intractable pain and other conditions.

O'Malley had threatened to veto medical marijuana legislation last year, saying that U.S. attorneys in Delaware and Washington had warned that those states' employees would not be immune from prosecution and that possession or distribution of marijuana remained illegal under federal law, regardless of what state laws say. Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler also expressed concerns.

But though federal prosecutors have gone after some dispensers of medical marijuana since then, Sharfstein said, they have not charged any state's employees. He added that he expected the Justice Department to give U.S. attorneys more guidance on the issue soon.

"I think we feel a little more comfortable moving forward," Sharfstein said in an interview before the hearing.

Del. Dan K. Morhaim, a Baltimore Democrat and physician, welcomed the administration's support for the medical marijuana bill, one of two he introduced this year. He expressed hope that after a decade of debate, Maryland would join 18 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing the medical use of marijuana.

If the bill passes, Morhaim said, it will be the "tightest and most controlled" medical marijuana program of any state's.

With the administration backing that bill, Morhaim said he was withdrawing a broader medical marijuana measure, which would have registered not just medical centers but physicians, marijuana growers and patients eligible to receive the drug.

Though some might favor that as a quicker, more direct approach, Morhaim said the administration's backing gave the more limited bill a better chance of passage.

But Del. Cheryl D. Glenn, a Baltimore City Democrat, urged lawmakers to adopt a more sweeping bill she's championing that would authorize state-regulated "compassion centers" to dispense marijuana to qualified patients or their designated caregivers.

Glenn has said she became an advocate for medical marijuana after seeing her mother and brother-in-law waste away, suffering from pain that prescribed medications did not ease.

Glenn said she was "extremely skeptical" that the research-based medical marijuana system envisioned by Morhaim would help many suffering patients, or as quickly, as her bill would. She said 11 other states have distribution networks similar to what she has proposed.

It might take a year or two for academic medical centers to set up medical marijuana programs and get them approved by the state, Morhaim said, but under the law the drug could be distributed by any provider with whom the medical center established an approved partnership.

Lawmakers heard from a parade of witnesses supporting medical marijuana in Maryland, including physicians, people who have self-medicated for cancer and other health problems and caregivers tearfully recalling the suffering of loved ones. Several appealed to the legislature to make marijuana available as quickly as possible.

"We are hurting, we are in pain," said Barry Considine, 59, of Halethorpe, who testified from a wheelchair.

Considine said he suffers from post-polio syndrome and other neurological conditions that leave him in constant discomfort. He said he's been traveling to Annapolis since 2007 to urge medical marijuana legislation, and he voiced frustration that legalization might have been delayed a year by the O'Malley administration's opposition.

State associations of police chiefs and sheriffs submitted written opposition to any medical marijuana legislation, saying it would be inconsistent with federal law and public education campaigns aimed at discouraging youths from trying the drug.

"For years, we have told our young people, with good reason, that marijuana is a harmful and dangerous drug," the law enforcement groups said. "Expecting our youth to understand the finer distinctions in this ongoing debate is unrealistic and conveys inconsistent and dangerous messages to them."

 

[bootea]

Weed Yes Synthetic Weed No Very interesting

Weed Yes Synthetic Weed No Very interesting

The Frederick News-Post, Md.


Maryland Marijuana Bills Would Legalize Medical Marijuana, Ban Synthetic Marijuana

The Frederick News-Post, Md. | By Bethany Rodgers Posted:

03/16/2013 9:03 am EDT | Updated: 03/16/2013 3:04 pm EDT Law makers look at crackdown on synthetic pot, but legalizing real stuff

ANNAPOLIS -- Real marijuana might prove more popular than its synthetic cousins in this year's state legislative session. Moved by a recent outcry from their constituents, Frederick County legislators brought to Annapolis an armload of bills cracking down on synthetic marijuana, commonly known by brand names such as Spice.
Other state lawmakers came with similar concerns. Although the local proposals got a hearing, they have taken a back seat to more comprehensive legislation. In early February, two statewide bills separated from the pack and passed the House of Delegates with overwhelming support. At the same time, there is new energy behind efforts to legalize medical marijuana, and some proponents are the very same legislators who carry the torch for bills targeting the use of synthetic marijuana.
Delegate Michael Hough, R-District 3B, is crying foul. "The hypocrisy of it is overwhelming," he said. "What kind of message are we as leaders of the state and lawmakers sending to the young people?"
A proposal sponsored by Delegate Dan Morhaim, D-Baltimore County, has gained particular attention for earning support from officials in Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration. Sen. David Brinkley has joined Morhaim in the past to sponsor a similar version of this year's bill, which would pave the way for academic centers to study marijuana as a medical treatment. But Brinkley, R-District 4, has been vocal in his support of a synthetic-marijuana ban and sponsored a Frederick County bill to curb the substance.
The hard-line stance on Spice is not inconsistent with his position on marijuana, he said. "The big distinction is that it (marijuana) is not causing psychosis," Brinkley said. With synthetic marijuana, new variations are constantly emerging, and buyers do not know what they are ingesting, Brinkley said. By contrast, naturally occurring marijuana has a more consistent chemical makeup. Delegate Galen Clagett, D-District 3A, agreed. "One is a weed, and the other is fabricated. ... The fabrication is not at all controlled. It just runs rampant. They just keep devising one thing after another. That, I think, is very dangerous," said Clagett, who both co-sponsored Morhaim's bill and introduced statewide legislation cracking down on synthetic drugs.
Hough countered that marijuana sold on the street can be every bit as unpredictable as its synthetic counterparts.
Joshua Sharfstein, Maryland's secretary of health and mental hygiene, also said he sees no incongruity in supporting both a medical-marijuana bill and synthetic-drug bans. There are concerns about both substances, and use of cannabis as a remedy should be explored slowly and carefully, he said. "I'm concerned about the risks of marijuana. That's one of the reasons I don't support a green-light approach," he said.

Under current law, possessing marijuana is a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The law provides a defense, however, for those who use marijuana to treat a debilitating medical condition. Frederick County State's Attorney Charlie Smith said he is not happy with the move to loosen restrictions on marijuana. If a medical-marijuana proposal passes, regulating the substance would create a huge expense that taxpayers will have to carry, he said. It would also legitimize a substance that serves as a gateway to more dangerous drugs, he said. "What happens is that the high becomes mundane to them after a while, and they move on to a better high," he said. "It's just a shame that there's a movement afoot to legalize it." Morhaim's proposal is still under consideration by the House Judiciary Committee. Two bills, sponsored by delegates Kevin Kelly, D-Allegany, and Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio, R-Caroline, that would combine to create a statewide ban on synthetic marijuana, have cleared the House and are now before the Senate. ___ (c)2013 The Frederick News-Post (Frederick, Md.) Visit The Frederick News-Post (Frederick, Md.) at www.fredericknewspost.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

 

[CosmicGiggle]

Washington, Colorado,........ Maryland????

Washington, Colorado,........ Maryland????

Well, not yet but getting there:

House hearing set on marijuana bill

Posted: 7:14 am Tue, March 19, 2013
By Associated Press

ANNAPOLIS — The Maryland House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on a measure to legalize limited amounts of marijuana for adults 21 and older.

The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in Annapolis.

The bill would remove all penalties for private possession of up to an ounce of marijuana and cultivation of up to three plants.

The measure also would direct the Maryland comptroller to license marijuana retail stores, wholesale facilities and testing facilities.

The bill was introduced by Del. Curt Anderson, D-Baltimore.

......1/2 way home, almost!

 

[bootea]

Maryland Marijuana Legalization Bill 1453

Maryland Marijuana Legalization Bill 1453

This bill 1453 repeals and reenacts the previous criminal code 5-601- 5-620 that "decriminalized" the possession of 1 oz. of marijuana from a felony to a misdemeanour punishable by one year in jail or a fine of $1000 or both. Capitalization distinguishes the new law from the old. I think they did this to keep the punishments in effect as a default if you violate the new law in anyway.




HOUSE BILL 1453

http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2013RS/bills/hb/hb1453F.pdf


5-1202


(A) EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN THIS SUBTITLE, A PERSON WHO IS 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER IS EXEMPT FROM ARREST, CIVIL OR CRIMINAL PENALTY, SEIZURE OR FORFEITURE OF ASSETS, DISCIPLINE BY A STATE OR LOCAL LICENSING BOARD, AND STATE PROSECUTION FOR THE FOLLOWING ACTS:


(1) ACTUALLY AND CONSTRUCTIVELY USING, OBTAINING,
PURCHASING, TRANSPORTING, OR POSSESSING:
(I) 1 OUNCE OR LESS OF MARIJUANA AND THREE OR FEWER MARIJUANA SEEDLINGS OR CUTTINGS; OR

(II) A MIXTURE OR PREPARATION OF MARIJUANA, INCLUDING 5 GRAMS OR LESS OF HASHISH, 16 OUNCES OF MARIJUANA–INFUSED PRODUCT IN SOLID FORM, OR 72 OUNCES OF MARIJUANA–INFUSED PRODUCT IN LIQUID FORM, AND THREE OR FEWER MARIJUANA SEEDLINGS OR CUTTINGS;

<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { }</style> (2) CONTROLLING THE PREMISES OR A VEHICLE WHERE UP TO 1 OUNCE OR LESS OF MARIJUANA AND THREE OR FEWER MARIJUANA SEEDLINGS OR CUTTINGS PER PERSON WHO IS 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER IS POSSESSED,PROCESSED, OR STORED; (3) USING, OBTAINING, PURCHASING, TRANSPORTING, OR
POSSESSING, ACTUALLY OR CONSTRUCTIVELY, MARIJUANA PARAPHERNALIA;
(4) SELLING MARIJUANA SEEDS TO A WHOLESALER;
(5) MANUFACTURING, POSSESSING, OR PRODUCING MARIJUANA PARAPHERNALIA;
(6) SELLING MARIJUANA PARAPHERNALIA TO RETAILERS,
WHOLESALERS, OR PERSONS WHO ARE 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER;

(7) TRANSFERRING 1 OUNCE OR LESS OF MARIJUANA AND THREE OR FEWER MARIJUANA SEEDLINGS OR CUTTINGS WITHOUT REMUNERATION TO A PERSON WHO IS 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER;
(8) AIDING AND ABETTING ANOTHER PERSON WHO IS 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER IN THE POSSESSION OR USE OF 1 OUNCE OR LESS OF MARIJUANA OR IN THE CULTIVATION OF THREE OR FEWER MARIJUANA PLANTS;
(9) AIDING AND ABETTING ANOTHER PERSON WHO IS 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER IN THE POSSESSION OR USE OF MARIJUANA PARAPHERNALIA;
(10) CULTIVATING THREE OR FEWER MARIJUANA PLANTS;

This will probably lead to secret cloning chambers; and your supply plants will also be your mothers.

 

[bootea]

Maryland Legalization Bill 1453

Maryland Legalization Bill 1453

This Bill 1453 was Introduced and read into the House for the first time: February 21, 2013

<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { }</style> 5-1202 ...... continued. Under article A you are exempt from arrest and prosecution if:


(11) CONTROLLING PREMISES WHERE NO MORE THAN FIVE OTHER ADULTS 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER CULTIVATE MARIJUANA PLANTS, WITH THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PLANTS NOT EXCEEDING 18 IN A DWELLING UNIT;

(12) ASSISTING WITH THE CULTIVATION OF MARIJUANA PLANTS THAT ARE CULTIVATED AT THE SAME LOCATION BY ADULTS 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER, WITH THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PLANTS NOT EXCEEDING 18 IN A DWELLING UNIT; OR

(13) A COMBINATION OF THE ACTS DESCRIBED IN THIS SUBSECTION


Maybe non-smoking roommates will become popular.

http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2013RS/bills/hb/hb1453F.pdf