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The two lawmakers who are cosponsoring the Cannabis Reform bill in the Maryland House of Delegates and are responsible for shepherding it through the legislative straits were both opponents of legalizing the recreational use of marijuana.
Nevertheless, Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles), chair of the Economic Matters Committee, and Del. Vanessa Atterbeary (D-Howard), chair of Ways and Means, have dutifully bent to the will of the voters, who overwhelmingly approved legalization at the polls in November.
Before a reporter could finish a question Friday about the irony that the legislature is dependent on two people who, Wilson interjected, 鈥淭hat don鈥檛 like weed?鈥�
He laughed.
鈥淲e believe in the concept of making it safer for Marylanders, of taking it out of the criminal stream of commerce,鈥� he said. 鈥淣either Delegate Atterbeary or I are consumers, but we do believe in that concept, and I believe overall it鈥檚 worth it. Plus, we listen to our citizens and they voted for it.鈥�
For his part, Wilson said he did not vote for the measure in November, but knew it was going to pass.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 support marijuana; I support the effort we鈥檙e trying to undertake here,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our job to make it the best bill we can and make it as equitable as we can.鈥�
Atterbeary, too, had her reservations about the legalization idea.
鈥淗aving spent seven years on Judiciary [Committee], I have to say I didn鈥檛 necessarily support recreational use,鈥� Atterbeary said at an impromptu briefing with reporters after the House session Friday.
鈥淏ut one of the things that was incredibly important to me was the equity piece,鈥� she said, underscoring the importance of one of the key provisions of the bill.
The 88-page聽, introduced Friday in both the House and Senate, will establish the state鈥檚 regulatory and taxation framework for the burgeoning adult-use marijuana industry, once the sale and recreational use of cannabis become legal July 1, as per the measure approved by voters. The House bill will be heard in Economic Matters, before Wilson.
On the Senate side, the bill was sponsored by Sen. Brian J. Feldman (D-Montgomery), chair of the Education, Energy and the Environment Committee, and Sen. Antonio L. Hayes (D-Baltimore City), a member of the Finance Committee. It was sent to Finance and the Budget and Taxation Committee for consideration.
鈥淚 feel very good about the bill. I think it has a chance to be a national model,鈥� said Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City).
鈥淚t鈥檚 a complex topic; there are a lot of different pieces,鈥� Ferguson said. 鈥淣o state has gotten it right, and so what I do believe we鈥檝e done effectively here is put us on the path to, one, protect public health and having a regulated marketplace, where we have a real regulatory framework to ensure that the product that is being sold on the street is safe, and, two, open up and expand the marketplace in an equitable way.鈥�
Wilson also said he did not view the legislation as the big moneymaker for the state that many people believed it would be, as a result of the taxes that could be placed on the sale of the cannabis.
鈥淣ot everything we do needs to make money,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we do it right, we might lose a little money the first time, but we鈥檒l save a lot of lives, we鈥檒l keep a lot of people out of jail. That鈥檚 worth way more than any taxes we could collect.鈥�
Wilson said he understands that the cost of cannabis should not be more than what is available on the street, or it defeats the purpose of the state鈥檚 offering a safer alternative.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not here to get Marylanders high, we鈥檙e not here to make money,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e here to make it safer in the streets so people aren鈥檛 dying and getting arrested.鈥�
A criminal defense attorney, Wilson said four of the five homicide cases he is now handling 鈥渁re weed related.鈥�
鈥淧eople get shot and murdered for this all the time,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou know why? Because marijuana moves quicker. Fentanyl, crack, these are niche drugs; you gotta go find your people.鈥�
For cannabis, not so much.
鈥淭here so many people who smoke weed casually 鈥斅爏o it鈥檚 valuable. You gotta take that incentive out. I want those casual smokers to go, Number One, where it鈥檚 going to be safe 鈥斅爐hey鈥檙e not going to get robbed 鈥斅燼nd the prices are affordable,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how you diminish the market.鈥�
The legislation provides for the state to tax the sale of cannabis at a rate of 6% initially 鈥斅爐he same as Maryland鈥檚 sales tax 鈥斅爑p to 10% in 2028. The sales would be taxed at the consumer level only.
The bill would establish a new regulation and enforcement division within the state鈥檚 current Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, which would be renamed the Alcohol, Tobacco and Cannabis Commission.
Legislators appear to have attempted to steer clear of the pitfalls of the process of legalizing medical marijuana, which was roundly criticized my some, particularly in the Black community.
A new Office of Social Equity in the cannabis division would be created to promote participation by 鈥減eople from communities that have previously been disproportionately harmed by the war on drugs in order to positively impact those communities,鈥� the bill reads.
That effort would include creation of both a Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund, to allocate money to the traditionally affected communities, and Cannabis Business Assistance Fund, to increase minority participation in the program.
鈥淲e cannot get this wrong, and I am certain we are going to continue to have conversations with the Senate as we move forward with this,鈥� said Atterbeary, the chair of Ways and Means. 鈥淲hat we don鈥檛 want to do is what happened in medical [marijuana legalization], and what we don鈥檛 want to do is put minorities behind in this billion-dollar industry for years and years to come, because there will be no opportunity to catch up.鈥�
The legislation provides for the issuance of a maximum number of standard licenses: 75 grower licenses, 100 processor licenses and 300 dispensary licenses.
It also includes a new category for so-called 鈥渕icro licenses鈥� that provides for issuance of a maximum of 100 grower licenses, 100 processor licenses and 200 dispensary licenses.
Under the provisions of the bill, micro growers would be restricted to 10,000 square feet; processors would be restricted to no more than 1,000 pounds of cannabis a year; and dispensaries could operate a delivery service that sells cannabis without a storefront and employs fewer than 10 workers.
The state also could issue up to 10 鈥渋ncubator space鈥� licenses for micro licensees and 15 on-site consumption licenses for individuals to smoke, vape or consume cannabis, the bill states.
Josh Kurtz contributed to this report.
