The Maryland House of Delegates passed a bill today that would allow voters to decide whether or not to legalize cannabis in Maryland. House Bill 1 states that, “on or after July 1, 2023, an individual in the State who is at least 21 years old may use and possess cannabis.”
If the bill passes through the Maryland State Senate, voters will see the question on the ballot this November.
The house also passed House Bill 837, which will require a “baseline study of cannabis use in the State by March 1, 2023; altering certain provisions relating to penalties, charging procedures, expungement, shielding, and sentencing for certain offenses involving cannabis; legalizing the use and possession of a certain quantity of cannabis by an individual who is at least 21 years old; establishing the Cannabis Public Health Advisory Council and a Cannabis Public Health Fund; etc.”
Montgomery County Delegate Gabriel Acevero , who voted yes to Bill 1, was one of only two Democrats to vote against the Bill 837. Acevero tweeted the following earlier today:
Cannabis legalization without an equitable framework is not progressive policy.
Cannabis legalization without reparations for communities harmed by the intentional drug war is not progressive policy.
Center communities most impacted.
HB 837 falls short of that & I voted NO ❌— . (@GabrielAcevero) February 25, 2022