Voters in more conservative Arkansas, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota are also voting on recreational legalization this year, signifying the increasing support for a once-liberal issue. And while success is not certain everywhere, a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll conducted in late September found that about 73 percent of registered Maryland voters, across every demographic group, supported legalization in the deeply Democratic state.
The referendum was what had Kristen White, 29, most excited to get out and vote Tuesday in Silver Spring. Legalization was overdue in Maryland, White said, and she hoped it would end some of the continued stigma around marijuana use.
“The amount of people who are comfortable using cannabis has increased,” said White, an event planner. “Less people are afraid of it.”
With such high apparent support, the campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Maryland was subdued in the months and weeks leading up to Election Day. The “Yes on 4” campaign, partly funded by medical cannabis giant Trulieve, released a couple video ads and hosted a few small rallies.
Instead, many advocates in the state looked ahead to how the state could be a leader in cannabis social equity, an increasing priority for advocates around the country who hope legalization can lessen the impacts of the War on Drugs on minority communities. An American Civil Liberties Union study found that between 2010 and 2018, Black people were arrested at 3.64 times the rate of White people nationally for having marijuana, even though Black and White people use marijuana at similar rates. In Maryland, the ACLU found, Black people were more than 2.1 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than White people.
“For us to take a stand and say that we no longer want the criminalization of cannabis, it’s also an opportunity for us to create an economy around cannabis that has more jobs and is more equitable than any other state in this country,” state Del. Stephanie M. Smith (D-Baltimore City) said at a rally in Baltimore in late October.
In the decade since Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana, few states have implemented a successful model for social equity. The Maryland House of Delegates’ Cannabis Referendum and Legalization work group reviewed a report earlier this month that estimated 81 percent of cannabis business owners nationally are White.
For Shayne Richmond, a senior at the University of Maryland, issues of social equity were top of mind when he voted in favor of legalization. Standing outside the Ritchie Coliseum in College Park handing out fliers, Richmond, who is Black, said he was excited at the prospect of Black entrepreneurs to open in the space.
Criminalization “is another reason for disproportionate incarceration rates of African American males, and that’s something I definitely want to not see anymore,” Richmond, 22, said. “I think that there’s a lot of business opportunities and entrepreneurial opportunities for the Black community as well.”
Maryland decriminalized possession of up to 10 grams of marijuana in 2014, with the punishment of a $100 civil fine. Then, the state opened its first medical dispensaries in 2017, under its medical marijuana program, which has generated more than $420 million in dispensary sales so far this year. But the state received criticism for the initial lack of diversity in licensing.
When lawmakers voted earlier this year to put Question 4 on the ballot, they authored a companion bill that includes resentencing and expungement provisions for those with past marijuana-possession convictions. The companion bill, which will go into effect if voters pass the referendum, requires the state to conduct a study on the public health impact as well as a disparities study to help prospective women- and minority-owned businesses enter the new industry.
Other provisions include creating a cannabis business assistance fund and a community reinvestment and repair fund, requiring at least 30 percent of the revenue from adult-use cannabis to be reinvested in the communities that historically have been most affected by marijuana prosecutions.
“My biggest hope is that this passes with an overwhelming majority and it’s not something that’s close,” said “Yes on 4” Chair Eugene Monroe, a former Baltimore Ravens player. “I hope that the voice of Maryland is heard and we are able to use that momentum to establish regulation and policies that will set Maryland apart from how it’s been done in other states.”
City council member Martin A. Mitchell toured precincts around the state Tuesday chatting with voters about issues, including Question 4. Mitchell, who has been nicknamed “the Cannabis Councilman” for his openness about marijuana use, reform and advocacy, said he’s looking forward to the economic opportunities that legalization could bring if it passes.
“Imagine if we use $2 million from legal cannabis to fix the Boys and Girls Club,” Mitchell said in Laurel, gesturing to the buildings behind him where voters were casting ballots.
But for some voters less familiar with the nuances of social equity, licensing and reinvestment, the decision to vote for legalization came down to shifting national perspectives on the once vilified drug, even if they themselves were not users.
That’s how Kathy Baer, a 64-year-old retired public school teacher, saw the issue when she cast her ballot in favor of legalization in College Park on Tuesday morning.
“There’s less of a stigma to it. So many people enjoy it. Why not let them?” Baer said. “In my mind, legalizing it and having dispensaries makes it a little safer.”
Yet public opinion on cannabis usage is far from unanimous. Groups against legalization cite concerns around regulation, environmental impacts, potency and increased use among young people. A report funded by the National Institutes of Health found that young people used marijuana and some hallucinogens at record levels last year.
Pete Ireland, a 51-year old project manager, cast his ballot in Frederick against legalization, calling the push “a numbing of the populace.”
Federico Rodriguez said he was “kind of torn” on Question 4 as he headed into the polling booth Tuesday in Silver Spring. He thought about his family members who benefited from medical marijuana. He worried about security and crime concerns.
“Even while I was casting my vote on that particular issue, I was still having doubts. So, I think I’m not the only one,” Rodriguez, 51, said. He didn’t disclose his decision.
But Raymond Abbott, 61, knew exactly what he was going to do. He went out to the polls on Tuesday for one reason, he said: to vote yes on Question 4.
For the other races, Abbott said, he filled in his own name.
Shwetha Surendran, Ian Duncan and Emily Seymour contributed to this report, which has been updated.
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