Local leaders reflect on how marijuana decriminalization could affect Maryland | Elections

Many facets of society could be affected if the measure passes, from public safety to equity and state finances.

The Maryland General Assembly passed a bill during its 2022 session authorizing the referendum.

Currently, possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana is a civil offense. Offenders have to pay a $100 fine that increases for repeat offenders.

Possession of between 10 grams and 50 pounds of marijuana is a misdemeanor in Maryland. Offenders could be imprisoned up to six months and fined up to $1,000.

Frederick County’s NAACP chapter president, Willie Mahone, said marijuana decriminalization will let people access programs and opportunities they otherwise couldn’t with a criminal conviction, even for something relatively minor like marijuana possession.

“Having criminal convictions [prevents] people from having access to programs, from having access to housing, from having access to postsecondary education, and from having access to a plethora of social programs that become crippling to people in terms of allowing them to integrate themselves into a functional, meaningful existence,” Mahone said.

This month, President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of people who were convicted on federal marijuana possession charges, The Associated Press reported. Biden urged governors to follow suit.

Data show that those who identify as Black are disproportionately convicted of marijuana crimes, he said. There are many other factors, such as socioeconomic status, education level, and ZIP codes, all intertwined with race, he said.

A racial equity impact note attached to the referendum bill said that in 2020, 12% of the state population identified as Black, but the same demographic accounted for 59% of marijuana possession arrests.

In the same study, 47% of people identified as white, but accounted for 39% of marijuana arrests.

“While evidence shows that racial and ethnic groups use marijuana at similar rates, arrest data indicates that African Americans, or persons identified as Black, are disproportionately and disparately impacted by arrests or incarceration for marijuana possession,” the report reads.

In an email, Frederick Police Department Chief Jason Lando wrote that all voices need to be heard in the conversation of marijuana decriminalization. There are a lot of pros and cons with decriminalization when it comes to public safety, he wrote.

On one hand, like Mahone, Lando acknowledged that minor marijuana cases disproportionately affect communities of color. The cases can burden the criminal court system, he wrote.

Conversely, seemingly minor marijuana cases can lead to police uncovering more serious crimes, Lando wrote.

“Law enforcement, residents, and marijuana advocacy groups should work together to implement laws that are reasonable, fair, and equitable, but also do not compromise public safety,” Lando wrote.

However, Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said he opposes the proposed change.

He said he’s concerned about public safety. He said he’s spoken with sheriffs in places where marijuana is already legal recreationally, like Colorado, and sees decriminalization taking Maryland down a “bad road.”

More specifically, he’s anticipating that with legal recreational marijuana, the county will see a lot more impaired driving.

“It’s gonna be so easy now for people to get behind the wheel. They smoke a joint, a couple of joints, and they’re gonna get behind the wheel, they’re gonna be high, they’re going to be impaired,” he said. “It’s going to create a lot of problems, and probably crashes and losses of life.”

According to a study published on the National Institutes of Health’s website, the legalization of recreational marijuana “may be associated with a small yet significant increase in fatal motor vehicle collisions and fatalities.”

Research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety in 2020 found the number of drivers in Washington state testing positive for marijuana after fatal crashes doubled from 9% to 18% after the state legalized the substance in 2012.

However, the study pointed out there was only a correlation between marijuana legalization and an increase in fatal crashes, not a causation.

The General Assembly’s fiscal and policy note for the referendum bill discusses how legal recreational marijuana and taxation would affect state revenue and expenditures.

According to the Urban Institute — a nonprofit data and evidence organization — states where marijuana is legal and taxed collected between $28.9 million and $774.4 million in FY 2022.

The fiscal impact on Maryland would be “significant,” the note reads.

In 2021, the note said, there was $564.8 million in retail sales at cannabis dispensaries in Maryland.

Maryland started allowing marijuana for medical uses in 2013.

If the referendum passes, it will also enact House Bill 837, which is contingent on the decriminalization measure’s enactment. House Bill 837 asks for various research on cannabis to happen; alters provisions relating to penalties, procedures and sentencing for certain cannabis offenses; and implements programs.

To help address those changes, House Bill 837 would direct the state to spend roughly $52.3 million to fund changes within the Maryland judiciary and state agencies to establish cannabis programs.