The Maryland legislature is unlikely to seriously consider the legalization of marijuana next year.
Leaders of the General Assembly’s Marijuana Legalization Workgroup said Wednesday that they need more time to sort through an issue that is complex and still relatively new.
The delay — legislators were expected to consider legalizing marijuana in 2020 — will also give policymakers the opportunity to learn from the dozen or so states currently dealing with the ins and outs of legalization.
“In addition, we want to watch Maryland’s medical marijuana [program] work through the issues that it has on licensing,” said Del. Kathleen M. Dumais (D-Montgomery), co-chairwoman of the panel. “Before we jump in with something new, we want to make sure that that’s got all the kinks worked out.”
The panel that Dumais co-chairs with Sen. Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) has been meeting for months to consider the issues surrounding legalization.
At its session on Wednesday in Annapolis, the pair said there are several areas where the bipartisan panel had reached a general consensus:
— Policymakers need to foster an environment in which there is robust competition. States like Oregon and Colorado that have already legalized marijuana have struggled to find legal ways of preventing deep-pocketed firms from scooping up large numbers of growing, processing and retail licenses.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Bruce DePuyt over at Maryland Matters