Ten grams is about what you can fit in the palm of hand. Photograph via Shutterstock.
Maryland will be the next state to decriminalize marijuana with Governor Martin O’Malley saying he will sign a bill passed Monday that makes possession of ten grams or less punishable with a ticket and fine instead of an arrest. O’Malley, who was previously cagey on whether he supports marijuana reform, said he would sign the bill after the Maryland Senate approved it.
“The General Assembly has decided after much consideration—and with clear majorities in both chambers—to send to my desk a bill that would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana, and I plan to sign it,” O’Malley says in a press release.
Under the Maryland bill, possession of 10 grams or less would be punishable with a $100 fine on the first offense, $250 for the second offense, and $500 for any incidents thereafter. Maryland had the fourth-highest arrest rate for marijuana-related offenses in 2010, with 409 per 100,000 residents, according to a report issued last year by the American Civil Liberties Union. The report also found that blacks are nearly three times as likely as whites to be arrested for marijuana possession or use, although O’Malley says Maryland does not incarcerate many people for weed.
“As a matter of judicial economy and prosecutorial discretion, few if any defendants go to prison for a first or even a second offense of marijuana possession in Maryland,” he says. “Desuetude is often a precursor of reform.”
O’Malley’s office refused as recently as January to say whether he supported decriminalization, although he’s been more open about the topic with his expected presidential campaign approaching. Still, there are some in Maryland who would like to go further, such as State Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, who endorsed legalization in January. O’Malley does not say when he intends to sign the decriminalization bill.
The District also joined the ranks of jursidictions to relax its marijuana laws last week when Mayor Vince Gray signed a bill decriminalizing possession of up to one ounce, although with Congress’s involvement in DC’s affairs, that law will not go into effect until the end of a 60-day review period.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Maryland to Decriminalize Marijuana
No more criminal penalties for possession of ten grams or less.
Maryland will be the next state to decriminalize marijuana with Governor Martin O’Malley saying he will sign a bill passed Monday that makes possession of ten grams or less punishable with a ticket and fine instead of an arrest. O’Malley, who was previously cagey on whether he supports marijuana reform, said he would sign the bill after the Maryland Senate approved it.
“The General Assembly has decided after much consideration—and with clear majorities in both chambers—to send to my desk a bill that would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana, and I plan to sign it,” O’Malley says in a press release.
Under the Maryland bill, possession of 10 grams or less would be punishable with a $100 fine on the first offense, $250 for the second offense, and $500 for any incidents thereafter. Maryland had the fourth-highest arrest rate for marijuana-related offenses in 2010, with 409 per 100,000 residents, according to a report issued last year by the American Civil Liberties Union. The report also found that blacks are nearly three times as likely as whites to be arrested for marijuana possession or use, although O’Malley says Maryland does not incarcerate many people for weed.
“As a matter of judicial economy and prosecutorial discretion, few if any defendants go to prison for a first or even a second offense of marijuana possession in Maryland,” he says. “Desuetude is often a precursor of reform.”
O’Malley’s office refused as recently as January to say whether he supported decriminalization, although he’s been more open about the topic with his expected presidential campaign approaching. Still, there are some in Maryland who would like to go further, such as State Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, who endorsed legalization in January. O’Malley does not say when he intends to sign the decriminalization bill.
The District also joined the ranks of jursidictions to relax its marijuana laws last week when Mayor Vince Gray signed a bill decriminalizing possession of up to one ounce, although with Congress’s involvement in DC’s affairs, that law will not go into effect until the end of a 60-day review period.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Most Popular in News & Politics
The Missing Men of Mount Pleasant
Another Mysterious Anti-Trump Statue Has Appeared on the National Mall
Muriel Bowser Defends Her BLM Plaza Decision and Looks Back on a Decade as Mayor
Yet Another Anti-Trump Statue Has Shown Up on the National Mall
Want to Search Donald Trump’s Truth Social Posts? A New Site Is Here to Help.
Washingtonian Magazine
July Issue: The "Best Of" Issue
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
How Would a New DC Stadium Compare to the Last One?
The Culture of Lacrosse Is More Complex Than People Think
Did Television Begin in Dupont Circle?
Kings Dominion’s Wild New Coaster Takes Flight in Virginia
More from News & Politics
I Tried to Train for American Ninja Warrior
Trump Wants to Rename Soccer, the Nationals Chose a Shortstop, and Virginians Are the US French-Fry-Eating Champions
Guest List: 5 People We’d Love to Hang Out With This July
The Washington Nationals Just Fired the Manager and GM Who Led Them to a Championship. Why Has the Team Been so Bad Since?
FBI Building Now on Track to Leave DC After All, Whistleblower Leaks Texts Suggesting Justice Department Planned to Blow Off Federal Court Orders, and NPS Cuts Leave Assateague Island Without Lifeguards
Families of DC Air Disaster Victims Criticize Army’s Response, Trump Settles His Scores Via Tariff, and Police Dog Kicked at Dulles Returns to Work
This DC-Area Lawyer Wants More Americans Betting on Elections
Trump Threatens DC Takeover, Says He’d Run the City “So Good”; Supreme Court OKs Mass Federal Worker Layoffs; and You Should Go Pick Some Sunflowers