Before lawmakers ever showed up in Annapolis for the 2022 legislative session, legalizing adult recreational use of marijuana was expected to be one of the most noteworthy actions they would take this term, and, at least in that respect, they did not disappoint. Fulfilling a promise Democratic leaders made months ago, the Maryland General Assembly approved a constitutional amendment giving average Marylanders a say in the matter. Should voters ratify the amendment by referendum this November (and polls suggest they will), the state will move forward with a new law that will make it legal for people age 21 and older to possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis, decriminalize possession of up to 2.5 ounces and create the means to allow people previously convicted of possession to have their records expunged.
But, as so often the case, the devil is in the details, and lawmakers left some of those spaces blank on the way to approval — and made a few questionable choices along the way. The good news is that there’s plenty of time to make fixes. The timetable for legal marijuana is July 1, 2023. That means there’s one more regular 90-day session in early 2023 (with a newly elected governor and state legislature at that) to potentially revisit the problem areas. One of the first matters at hand will be to fix a shortcoming in marijuana reforms that dates back to 2017 when the state legalized medical marijuana. And that is the shameful lack of Black ownership in dispensaries given how the criminalization of marijuana has disproportionately hurt African American communities.
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And while we are somewhat confident that matter can be addressed through a disparity study and a curative race-conscious approach to licensing, we are disappointed that the Senate chose to increase fines for public smoking to problematic levels. Get caught smoking pot in a location where it is not allowed and you could face a $250 fine (instead of a $50 one). While we don’t condone such behavior, we can’t help but foresee such a substantial penalty disproportionately harming (once more) low-income Black residents. Again, we presume this can be fixed in the future.
Granted, these can be complex issues, but Maryland is not exactly at the vanguard of the movement to decriminalized cannabis. So far, at least 18 states including Virginia (and the District of Columbia) have legalized it, while medical use is up to 37 states. In many ways, medical marijuana has been a way to allow recreational use for the affluent who can afford to get a doctor’s prescription for using cannabis to address self-reported symptoms such as anxiety or frequent nausea or chronic pain. The greatest absurdity today, however, is that the federal government continues to classify marijuana as an illegal drug. In reality, it ought to exist somewhere between tobacco and alcohol, which both require reasonable restrictions to protect public health and safety.
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Notably, the legalization movement has gotten bipartisan support. While the Northeast and West Coast states have been among the first to legalize cannabis, the list also includes Alaska, Nevada and Montana, which aren’t exactly liberal bastions. Even Florida, Mississippi and Alabama have gone the medical marijuana route. Polls show Americans overwhelmingly agree that marijuana should be legalized. In one poll conducted last year by the Pew Research Center, fewer than one in 10 Americans opposed all forms of legalization. Public attitudes have changed markedly over the last decade or so: Decriminalization is inevitable.
Still, there are specifics that will still need to be refined. Among the most worrisome is that increased use of marijuana will lead to more incidents of drugged driving. In Washington state, for example, the percentage of drivers involved in fatal crashes who tested positive for marijuana doubled after that state legalized recreational use 10 years ago (from 9% to 18%, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety). Whether stiffer penalties or enforcement, or perhaps better public education on the risks of marijuana-impaired driving, are required remains to be determined.
Perhaps the strongest statement made in support of legalized marijuana came from State House Republicans who objected to the ballot referendum as a partisan effort by Democrats to improve voter turnout. First, here’s to improved voter turnout under any circumstances and second, when even opponents of a dramatic policy change concede there’s overwhelming support for it, that’s a good thing. It’s time to decriminalize marijuana.
Baltimore Sun editorial writers offer opinions and analysis on news and issues relevant to readers. They operate separately from the newsroom.
