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Maryland Senate Finance Committee Vice-Chair Brian J. Feldman (D-Montgomery) has filed legislation to legalize adult-use cannabis and pump funding into communities that have been adversely impacted by its current criminalization.
罢丑别听has a powerful set of cosponsors, including Senate Majority Leader Nancy J. King (D-Montgomery), Budget and Taxation Chair Guy J. Guzzone (D-Howard), Judicial Proceedings Committee Chair William C. Smith Jr (D-Montgomery) and Vice-Chair Jeffrey D. Waldstreicher (D-Montgomery).
He also has Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City).
In a phone interview with聽Maryland Matters,聽Feldman described the bill plainly: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a cannabis legalization bill that would tax and regulate cannabis sales,鈥� he said.
But it does a lot more than decriminalize: several measures in the bill look to address socio-economic and criminal justice inequities experienced in Black and Brown communities.
Under Feldman鈥檚 legislation, businesses in the state鈥檚 existing medical cannabis industry would pay fees into a social equity fund to be used for low-interest loans for minority business owners to enter the industry.
Additionally, a portion of the tax revenue from the newly legalized field would be fed into a Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund, which would provide housing assistance, scholarship aid, re-entry programs and other services in communities that have been adversely impacted by mass incarceration and racism relating to the state鈥檚 current criminalization laws.
The Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund would also aid people formerly incarcerated for petty cannabis charges in applying for expungements.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no doubt that legalization of adult-use cannabis is a complex issue,鈥� said Ferguson. 鈥淲e need to make certain that economic benefits are equitably distributed and criminal justice reform is incorporated.鈥�
鈥淢aryland is ready to move forward with this and I look forward to its hearing.鈥�
Feldman said that cannabis is already legalized for adult-use in 15 states and Washington, D.C., and that four more states approved ballot initiatives to decriminalize it on Nov. 3.
He asserted that his bill, which he warned will have amendments, will put Maryland at the top of the list in terms of social equity provisions.
鈥淲e鈥檝e looked at best practices from the 15 other states that now are going this route so we have the benefit of looking at a variety of states 鈥� and try to come up with a bill that learns a little bit from some of the missteps in the other states,鈥� he said.
鈥榃hether it鈥檚 this year or next year鈥�
A good portion of what is in Feldman鈥檚 bill, 鈥�90-plus percent,鈥� he said, is accounted for in聽聽sponsored by Del. Jazz M. Lewis (D-Prince George鈥檚).
But the bills do have their differences.
Feldman鈥檚 bill would decriminalize the possession of under four ounces of cannabis by adults 21-years or older. Under Lewis鈥� bill, adults 21 and above could legally possess up to two ounces.
There are also some bigger contrasts.
In Lewis鈥� bill, the sale of cannabis would be subject to a 20% excise tax.
Feldman鈥檚 would impose a 10% excise tax initially, which would rise gradually to 20% by 2027.
鈥淧eople are willing to pay a premium for a legal product, but if there鈥檚 too big a gap between the illicit product and the legal product they鈥檙e going to stay at an illicit market,鈥� which would pull money away from the funds accounted for in the bill, Feldman said.
While both agree on funding for impacted communities and minority business owners trying to enter the market, Lewis said that Feldman has coalesced with 鈥渓arger [medical cannabis] industry operators,鈥� while he has focused on advocates and small minority business owners.
Lewis told聽Maryland Matters聽that it鈥檚 clear that larger medical cannabis companies doing business in the state will transition over to the legalized recreational industry and succeed.
鈥淏ut what we鈥檝e also learned is that, if we鈥檙e going to have an industry that is fair and equitable, then a lot of the independent dispensaries and others should be able to succeed,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd the challenge they鈥檙e currently having is that they can鈥檛 get product from a lot of the cultivators.鈥�
Under Lewis鈥� bill, anyone who has a license from a regulator can contract with dispensaries.
This means that smaller, minority and women-owned businesses would have a steady stream of product 鈥渟o they don鈥檛 get squeezed by the vertically aligned operators 鈥� who I don鈥檛 have anything against,鈥� Lewis explained, 鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 want to pass a legalization bill that has all these equity provisions just for three years down the line we find out that all the minority and women-owned operators no longer exist 鈥� they鈥檝e been squeezed out of the market.鈥�
Feldman said that the 鈥渂iggest challenge鈥� around morphing the two lawmakers鈥� bills into one is 鈥渢he nature of the [2021] session.鈥�
鈥淩ight now the ability to sit around a conference room personally and negotiate differences, you know, we have to get on the Zoom calls so there is some real practical challenges, in all candor,鈥� Feldman explained. 鈥淏ut I think that what we鈥檙e doing now is fleshing out all the issues and 鈥� I鈥檓 very confident that we will pass a bill like this this term, whether it鈥檚 this year or next year.鈥�
鈥淚 think Senator Feldman鈥檚 heart鈥檚 in the right place, and we鈥檙e still talking 鈥� and I鈥檓 hopeful that we will end up having a unity they鈥檒l very soon that everyone can get behind,鈥� Lewis said.
