Gov. Rick Perry says he wants to move Texas toward decriminalizing marijuana. Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland, by contrast, is "not much in favor" of reducing criminal penalties.

Both governors have built tough-on-crime reputations, Mr. O'Malley as the onetime mayor of gritty Baltimore. But it is the Republican, Mr. Perry, who says he is open to liberalizing marijuana laws, while Mr. O'Malley, the Democrat, slow-walked his state's medical-marijuana law and has talked skeptically about legalized pot.

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