Maryland on the verge of decriminalizing marijuana

[link to www.wbaltv.com]


There aren't enough votes to get bills to legalize recreational use of marijuana out of a Senate or House committee this session, so advocates are now pinning their hopes on legislation that would turn pot possession into a civil offense.



Scores of people from all over the state attended a marijuana rally Thursday supporting everything from making it legal, decriminalizing it to expanding medical marijuana.

"Despite comparable rates of use, African-Americans are overwhelmingly arrested for marijuana possession. That is not fair, that is not right, and it needs to end," said Sara Love, policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union.

But it's the decriminalization bill that's making progress. The Senate on Thursday passed a bill to decriminalize marijuana by a vote of 36-8. It's an amended version designed to make it more acceptable to the delegates in the House, where it will now head.

"Drug dealers have children peddle marijuana on the street corners and in our schools. That needs to stop. The only way to make that stop is to end the prohibition of marijuana. Regulate it," said retired Major Neil Franklin, who is with the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.