After Maryland House committee members approved an amended bill that would legalize the production and sales of recreational cannabis, the full chamber followed suit and approved a measure from Delegate C.T. The bill will regulate and license the budding cannabis industry after voters approved adult-use cannabis in November's midterms.
HB 556, passed on Wednesday in the House of Delegates, is pending its third and final reading before it can be passed to the Senate. Prior to that, the House Economic Matters Committee, which Wilson chairs, incorporated a number of changes including revised provisions that dealt with delivery, social equity and the incorporation of existing medical marijuana businesses into the new market.
In February, both chambers of the General Assembly introduced a bill that laid out the plan to launch a recreational cannabis market this coming July, which allows adults over 21 to possess up to 1.5 oz of cannabis and 10 grams of cannabis concentrate.
The new industry will be set up as quickly as possible to avoid the issues facing New York and California, according to the lawmakers.
New York is suffering from the fact that they didn't give out any licenses, but they legalized it, Wilson said. My aim is to make sure that we are not only competitive with the black market, but that we are cheaper than the black market. On the Senate side, legislation came from Sens. Brian Feldman D and Antonio Hayes D are expected to get a hearing this week.
How Will Maryland Handle Driving And Cannabis?
Some are concerned about driving under the influence of cannabis in anticipation of the full legalization of recreational cannabis this summer, even though it would still be considered illegal under the new law.
The state lawmakers have come up with a new piece of legislation under which police would be allowed to test drivers who are believed to be impaired by marijuana, according to The Baltimore Sun.
Senate Bill 676 proposes a pilot program under which police would be certified to ask a driver to complete the test -- defined only as a device capable of assessing cognitive and physical impairment of motorists. The FDA approved the device in 2015 to test patients for Alzheimer's disease and dementia, and was manufactured by Cognivue.
The police would have to ask for consent from a driver to take a 5 minute self-test on a plastic device that administers cognitive exercises. The Director of Strategic Accounts at Cognivue, Kristin Weber, explained that the device measures the brain's processing speed and executive function.
The bill, sponsored by Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Vice Chair Jeff Waldstreicher, represents a great step toward modernizing our state s drugged driving policy. With adult-use recreational cannabis on the horizon, we need to act now to ensure safety on Maryland s roads, according to Waldstreicher at the Senate committee meeting on Wednesday.
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