Maryland’s legislative leaders are working to convene a work group to study the legalization of recreational marijuana use in the state.
House Majority Leader Kathleen M. Dumais (D-Montgomery) will be the House chair for the joint committee, which is expected to be comprised of more than a dozen members.
Sen. Robert A. Zirkin (D-Baltimore County) said he was also asked to co-chair the panel.
The topic has been long-simmering in Annapolis since medical cannabis was authorized in 2012. Two years later, the state decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana.
But while lawmakers consider bills to legalize marijuana each year, more needs to be done to drill down to the issues about how the state would roll out a legalization program if passed, Dumais and Zirkin said.
“Assuming we move in that direction, the other states that have moved in that direction have had really complicated issues,” said Zirkin, who personally supports legalization for adult consumption, but can rattle off dozens of unresolved legal issues that would need to be addressed before a change in state law.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Danielle E. Gaines over at Maryland Matters