Maryland Bill HB 606 Decriminalizing Marijuana Advances to House for a Vote After Bill Hearing WSJ Team

EDIT: HB606 did not receive any votes and did not pass. Unfortunately, we will not be Decriminalizing marijuana in 2011.

On February 22nd, 2011, the Maryland General Assembly held a hearing regarding proposed Bill 606. House Bill 606 would reduce the punishment for the small possession of marijuana to a civil citation. The sponsor of the bill, Delegate Curt Anderson, presented his arguments regarding the bill to the other members of the House Judiciary Committee.

Delegate Anderson reported that the bill was patterned after the Massachusetts Decriminalization Bill, and wants to remove the burden that small possession marijuana users put on state courts.

The first speaker in support of the bill was Jill Harris, a managing director from the Drug Policy Alliance. She stated that marijuana is safer than alcohol, less physically addictive than alcohol, and has been smoked by one third of the American population. She also stated that marijuana users are less violent than alcohol users and that it is impossible to overdose on the substance. Hill went on to say that she does not promote the use of marijuana, but she wants to stop criminalizing people for using cannabis and thus save the state money.

A police officer, a member of LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition), explained how prohibition has affected our society. He brought up an alarming statistic that 9 out of 10 murders were solved before 1960. Now 6 out of 10 murders are solved and he believes that this is because resources have been diverted to enforcing the prohibition of drugs. The officer went on to say that 22,000 cannabis users in Maryland have been arrested and much more time could be allocated to catching rapists, pedophiles, and murderers rather than catching non-violent cannabis users. It has been calculated that there is a loss of 2 million dollars in police services resources yearly due to arresting individuals for the small possession or use of marijuana in Maryland. The current law also inadvertently targets people of color. In 2002, 28% of the population was black, yet 74% of those arrested in Prince George’s County for marijuana use were black. The officer concluded that our priorities need to be refocused in order to properly allocate time, resources, and money toward law enforcement.

Sabrina Kendrick, a member of NORML, stated that 18-24 year olds have made mistakes, like smoking marijuana. Their juvenile mistake will limit their job opportunities and create obstacles throughout their lifetime. She concluded her testimony by addressing that decriminalization does not increase marijuana usage, and that decriminalized states in the U.S have not gone back to recriminalize the substance.

Harry Wooldrich stated that citations would allow police officers to respond to 911 calls after 20 minutes of issuing a ticket. Arrests for small possession take at least 1 hour. An officer or deputy will be out of position to arrest a drunk driver or address any other public safety threat due to their usage of time incarcerating a marijuana user.

Melissa Gomen with the ACLU mentioned that alcohol and tobacco are more linked as gateways to harder drugs than marijuana.

Betsy Tolentino stated that if you are arrested it creates a lifetime of barriers. This includes limiting your opportunities for you career, and increasing the chance of heading down a road jam-packed with crime.

A University of Maryland Law Student stated that in his clinical research he noticed the amount of arrests from 1990 to 2007 for marijuana possession has tripled, but it does not act as a deterrent to consuming the drug. The government needs to approach this in another way. By decriminalizing marijuana it would give more money to the justice system, and let police go after rapists and murderers, rather than pot smokers.

After all of the people who supported the bill spoke, the opposition took center stage and spoke against the proposed bill.

Williams Katz Assistant to the State Attorney stated that it would become increasingly difficult to charge people with a felony under this proposed bill. Scale baggies, ledgers, and other contraband will not be taken into account if there is less than 28.5 grams of marijuana evident. A drug dealer could more easily get away with selling the drug under this proposed bill.

Steven Crohn Rep. Office of the States Attorney stated that users of marijuana, currently, do not have major punishments for small possession. 1st time possession punishment makes the user undergo a drug diversion program. 2nd time possession will result in probation before judgement and have no additional consequences. He stated that the current marijuana punishments do not need to be reduced.

Rick Bergen from the State Legislative Committee brought out a gram of simulated marijuana as well as an ounce to show what the amount looks like. He stated 28 baggies is a lot of marijuana and is worth about 300 hundred to 500 dollars. Most people who use the drug carry far less than an ounce. In addition, Bergen mention this bill could impede officers from searching a person or car for more drugs, and would result in less arrests of drug dealers and traffickers.

John Martin McDonald Deputy to the State’s Attorney stated that in this bill treatment is not available and drug diversion is not a priority with this proposed bill.

Major Conaway Chief of Police for Drug Enforcement made the same argument that less than 28.5 grams of marijuana would lead to no search and that allowing searches leads to bigger drug arrests.

The Judiciary Committee gave HB Bill 606 a favorable report, today on February 24th, which means that the bill would be proposed to the entire Maryland House for a vote by the delegates of the General Assembly.

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