Maryland governor won’t block legalization if voters accept it |

Maryland voters will have the final say on whether or not the state should legalize adult recreational cannabis use.

Lawmakers there earlier this month passed “two bills calling for a November referendum on whether the state should legalize the possession, personal use and home-growing of small amounts of marijuana,” the website DCist reported.

The proposal facing Maryland voters is one that a growing number of states have been tackling over the past decade. It would allow adults 21 and older to “possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis, with anything between 1.5 and 2.5 ounces subject to a $250 civil fine and anything over 2.5 ounces a charge of marijuana.” possession is collected with the intention of distribution”. according to DCist.

And it would provide a social justice framework for those previously convicted of cannabis-related offenses “to request that their records be erased and to seek immediate release if they are incarcerated,” the website says.

However, the bill would not establish a regulatory regime for the retail sale of recreational cannabis.

Legislation cleared another major hurdle last week when Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, chose not to sign the bills.

That means if voters approve the referendum in November, the new law will go into effect without the governor’s signature.

Hogan has been particularly reluctant to legalize cannabis. As the Washington Post reported earlier this month, Hogan “never took a public position” on the issue of recreational cannabis, and he hasn’t “said how he would vote on the November referendum that would legalize cannabis.”

According to the Baltimore Sun, Hogan “has previously said he would prefer a referendum to a direct-acting legislature.”

While some lawmakers had concerns about the final proposal, which won lawmakers’ approval, advocacy groups celebrated the prospect of bringing legalization to Maryland.

“Marylanders have long awaited a new approach to cannabis policy, and the passing of these bills is an encouraging step forward. We applaud the Legislature for taking decisive action in this session to finally end the era of cannabis prohibition, a policy that is both long overdue and supported by a majority of voters. We look forward to continuing to work with Maryland lawmakers on this issue,” said Olivia Naugle, senior policy analyst at the Marijuana Policy Project, as quoted by DCist.

There is good reason for the same supporters to be optimistic about the chances of the November referendum.

A poll released last month found that 62% of Maryland voters support legalizing recreational cannabis use, while just 34% oppose ending prohibition.

Of note are Goucher College findings, which show that legalization in the solid blue state fares far better than the Democrat currently in the White House, President Joe Biden, who won Maryland by more than 30 points ahead of Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

According to the poll, just 48% of Maryland voters said they approve of the work Biden is doing as president, while 47% said they disapprove.

Those numbers could underscore the political benefits of legalization, especially for a contested Democratic Party entering this year’s midterm elections.

The party took power in early 2021 amid a surge of hope among legalization advocates that the federal ban might finally end.

Those hopes were boosted earlier this month when Democrats in the House of Representatives passed legislation suspending cannabis at the federal level.

Legislation now goes to the Democrat-controlled Senate, where leaders have said they hope to present their own version of a bill by the end of this month.