WASHINGTON — Maryland voters have spoken, just over 65% of them voted to legalize weed in 2023.
More than 850,000 people voted in favor of adding the constitutional amendment called Question 4 on the ballot.
It read, "Do you favor the legalization of the use of cannabis by an individual who is at least 21 years of age on or after July 1, 2023, in the State of Maryland? (Adding Article XX, Section 1 to the Maryland Constitution)"
Back in April, the General Assembly passed a companion bill that would legalize weed possession. But its fate rested on the ballot referendum passing in the November election.
Our VERIFY researchers looked at the referendum, spoke with Delegate Luke Clippinger, the state delegate who sponsored the bill to create a referendum and companion bill, and talked to Paul Armentano, the deputy director of NORML, a weed advocacy group, to find out what the change means.
According to our experts, starting January 1, 2023, possession of a small amount of weed will be decriminalized for those 21 and older: that means it's a civil violation, punishable by a fine.
Then on July 1, 2023, marijuana will become completely legal to use recreationally, just not in public. Possession will be limited to 1.5 ounces.
It also reduces some of the penalties for possession over that amount, and possession with intent to distribute. Lastly, it gives those who were previously convicted, a way to petition for expungement.
"If [the referendum] would have failed, the companion bill would have would not have taken effect," Clippinger said. ...We're still getting ballots in, but it appears very clearly that it's going to be over the..50-plus-one threshold."
Clippinger said they put legalization on the ballot, rather than simply through the legislative process, "so that people in Maryland would have the opportunity to have their voice heard."
As for next steps, now the General Assembly needs to decide how to regulate marijuana – and how sales will work.
"What is not addressed, is where on earth do people get marijuana?" Armentano said. "If it falls from the sky and into their lap at an ounce and a half? Then they don't face penalties. The question is, who is going to grow the marijuana? Who's going to have the licenses to produce marijuana? Who are going to be the retailers that sell marijuana? At what percentage tax rate is the state going to impose on those sales? Where are those taxes going to go? Where the retailer is going to be? Those are the questions that the... legislators are going to have to try to answer come 2023."
Clippinger says he and state lawmakers are analyzing how other states have licensed the sale of marijuana and seeing what can be applied in Maryland.
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