Marijuana Legalization Bills Defeated in Maryland

Marijuana Legalization Proposals Die in Committee

Contact: Anisha Gianchandani

anisha@learnaboutsam.org

+1 (703) 828-8182

[Alexandria, VA, April 12, 2017] – Yesterday, an alliance of concerned citizens, public health experts, and safety officials soundly defeated two marijuana legalization bills in Maryland. The bills, which would have permitted commercial pot shops in communities throughout the state, died without a vote in the Maryland Senate last night. SAM Executive Vice President Jeff Zinsmeister and Maryland-based neuroscientist and SAM Science Advisor Dr. Christine Miller testified in Annapolis last month, urging the legislature to reject marijuana legalization and commercialization. AAA Mid-Atlantic also testified against the bills, citing traffic safety concerns due to drugged driving increases in states that have legalized marijuana.

“This is a major victory in the effort to put public health and common sense before special interests,” said SAM Executive Vice President Jeff Zinsmeister. “The costs of legalization, including more stoned drivers on the roads causing fatalities, more people being driven into treatment for addiction, and higher regulatory costs far outweighed any benefit Maryland would see. The Big Marijuana lobbyists came into Maryland touting the notion that marijuana legalization would fix our criminal justice system and rake in millions – but Maryland smartly concluded that legalization actually exacerbates these issues. All they had to do was look to Colorado, where more minority youth are being arrested for marijuana and the state deficit is growing.”

“We believe that science and research, not profit, should drive what marijuana laws look like in our state,” said Dr. Christine Miller, a Maryland neuroscientist and member of SAM’s Science Advisory Board. “The pro-marijuana lobby was looking to profit by selling a harmful, addictive substance that would harm our communities and endanger public safety. I’m proud that evidence-based policy putting health first prevailed in Maryland yesterday.”

Evidence demonstrates that marijuana – which has skyrocketed in average potency over the past decades – is addictive and harmful to the human brain, especially when used by adolescents. Moreover, in states that have already legalized the drug, there has been an increase in drugged driving crashes and youth marijuana use. States that have legalized marijuana have also failed to shore up state budget shortfalls with marijuana taxes, continue to see a thriving black market, and are experiencing a continued rise in alcohol sales.

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About SAM

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) is a nonpartisan, non-profit alliance of physicians, policy makers, prevention workers, treatment and recovery professionals, scientists, and other concerned citizens opposed to marijuana legalization who want health and scientific evidence to guide marijuana policies. SAM has affiliates in more than 30 states.