Marijuana

was an unusually popular subject in the 2012 session of the Maryland General Assembly. At least three pieces of legislation proposing a relaxation of the penalties for possession of marijuana and how those penalties are applied received serious consideration in the legislature. Below is a summary of those bills, how they evolved over the course of the session, and their eventual fate in the legislature. HB 350: Reduces penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana Sponsored by Del. Luke Clippinger in the House and Sen. Jamie Raskin in the Senate, HB 350 proposed lowering the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Currently, the penalty for possession of any amount is imprisonment for up to one year and/or a $1,000 fine. As introduced, this bill would have reduced the penalty for possession of less than 14 grams (about one half of one ounce) to up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine. Amendments in the House Judiciary Committee would have limited that reduction to possession of less than seven grams (about one quarter of one ounce), but the Senate refused to accept those amendments. As a result, a conference committee was appointed. The conference committee decided to meet in the middle and apply the penalty reduction to possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana. The conference committee also addressed an issue with appeals of convictions, determining that any imprisonment or fine to which the defendant is sentenced shall be delayed until the deadline for the defendant to appeal the conviction has passed, unless s/he appeals, in which case the sentence is delayed until the appeal is resolved. The conference committee report was adopted, and the bill was passed 91-32 in the House and 40-5 in the Senate. It was signed by Gov. Martin OMalley on May 2, and will take effect October 1, 2012. SB 422: The offense of possession of marijuana to be charged by citation Earlier this year, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled in the case of DeWolfe v. Richmond that arrestees had a statutory right to appointed counsel at initial appearances. After an Office of the Public Defender analysis found that it would cost that agency $28 million to comply with the ruling, Sen. Brian Frosh introduced SB 422 to repeal the requirement as a cost cutting measure and to make certain offenses chargeable by citation in order to avoid having many people charged with minor crimes held in jail without access to an attorney. As originally introduced, the bill would have made possession of marijuana an offense for which offenders should be charged by citation, meaning that the officer could arrest them, but not hold them in jail pending bail. Several amendments were made in the House, including an amendment applying the charge by citation provision only to possession of under 14 grams in an effort to synchronize it with HB 350. The Senate refused to accept the House amendments, and a conference committee was appointed. As part of the compromise, the final bill included the original Senate framework for charging possession of marijuana by citation, meaning that it applies to any amount. Also, another provision was added requiring law enforcement agencies to track issuances of citations and the Maryland Office of Statistical Analysis to publish a report detailing the number of

Marijuana policy reform in the 2012 Maryland Legislature

citations issued, the type of offenses for which they were issued, and demographic information of the individuals receiving citations. The conference committee report was adopted, and the bill was passed 45-0 in the Senate and 81-58 in the House. It was signed into law by Gov. OMalley on May 22, and the provisions making possession of marijuana chargeable by citation will take effect January 2, 2013. SB 995/HB 15: Providing medical marijuana caregivers with an affirmative defense Last year, the General Assembly passed a measure giving medical marijuana patients an affirmative defense against conviction for possession of marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia, provided they were not using marijuana in a public place or in possession of more than one ounce. That bill also created a work group charged with recommending legislation to the legislature that would provide qualifying patients with access to medical marijuana. The work group split and offered two models. However, Gov. Martin OMalley threatened to veto either proposal after a medical marijuana law was passed in Delaware and a letter surfaced from Delawares U.S. attorney stating that marijuana remained illegal under federal law and state workers would not be immune from prosecution for any violations of the Controlled Substances Act. In response to the governors veto threat, the bill was amended to create a standardized form by which physicians could verify they have diagnosed a patient with a debilitating medical condition and to allow patients to appoint a caregiver. A separate provision of the bill applies the affirmative defense passed last year to caregivers as well. In other words, caregivers charged with possession of less than one ounce of marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia could have their charges dismissed if they can show they had been named a caregiver by a patient diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition and were in possession of an ounce or less of marijuana intended for that patients medical use. The Senate version, SB 995, passed the Senate unanimously (46-0), and the House version passed in the House by a vote of 86-41. Unfortunately, a bill must pass both chambers in order to become law, and since neither bill passed the other chamber before the midnight deadline on the final day of session, the defense will not become law.