Maryland just became the newest state to either completely decriminalize or increase the legal amount of marijuana possession. Yes, it’s a green day as Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley signs the bill passed by his state’s Congress that makes it legal for people to possess small amounts of marijuana. The bill also came with a provision that allows the state to sell and possess marijuana for medical purposes. The law officially goes into effect in October, which is perfect for those citizens who always feel bad about having to throw out all that extra Halloween candy in November.
This makes Maryland the 17th state to have such a law on their books along with Colorado and Oregon, the only states to pass laws that allow full possession with certain guidelines. That still means a majority of the states are still locking people up for almost miniscule amounts of marijuana possession but perhaps this could be the start of an encouraging trend. Maybe this means that the rest of the country will get on board and amend their laws to at least follow Maryland’s example. The bill passed the Maryland Legislature as a means of freeing up police resources to focus on more serious offenses rather than throwing people in jail for possessing a couple of joints or less than a half-ounce of marijuana. That means the cops on The Wire can stop piddling around with people who want to get high so they can eat a couple of Twinkies and focus on the big wigs who actually cause real crime.
Maryland Decriminalized Pot Possession
