Maryland House Clears Way For Regulated Marijuana Sales, New DUI Laws Under Consideration

Just days after Maryland House committee members green-lighted an amended bill that would legalize the production and sales of recreational cannabis, the full chamber followed suit and approved a measure from Delegate C.T. Wilson (D), reported Marijuana Moment.

The bill will regulate and license the budding cannabis industry after voters overwhelmingly approved adult-use cannabis in November's midterms.

HB 556, which was passed on the second reading in the House of Delegates on Wednesday, is now pending its third and final reading before advancing to the Senate. Prior to that, the House Economic Matters Committee, which Wilson chairs, incorporated a few changes, including revised provisions that concerned delivery, social equity and the incorporation of existing medical marijuana businesses into the new market.

In February, both chambers of the General Assembly introduced a bill laying out the plan to launch a recreational cannabis market this coming July, allowing adults over 21 to possess up to 1.5 oz of cannabis and 10 grams of cannabis concentrate.

Lawmakers said earlier they are keen to set up the new industry as quickly as possible to avoid the issues facing New York and California.

“New York is suffering from the fact that they didn’t give out any licenses, but they legalized it,” Wilson said. “My goal is to make sure that we are not only competitive with the black market but that we are cheaper than the black market.”

On the Senate side, legislation from Sens. Brian Feldman (D) and Antonio Hayes (D) is expected to get a hearing this week.

How Will Maryland Handle Driving And Cannabis?

Meanwhile, in anticipation of the full legalization of recreational cannabis this summer, some are raising concerns about driving under the influence of cannabis, even though it would still be considered illegal under the new law.

To that end, the state lawmakers have come up with a separate piece of legislation under which police would be allowed to test drivers who they believe are impaired by marijuana, reported The Baltimore Sun.

Senate Bill 676 proposes a pilot program under which police would be certified to ask a driver to complete the test - defined only as “a device that is capable of assessing cognitive and physical impairment of motorists.”

Manufactured by Cognivue, the device got the green light from the FDA in 2015 to test patients for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Interestingly, the police would have to ask for consent from a driver to take a 5-minute self-test on a plastic device that administers cognitive exercises. Kristin Weber, the director of strategic accounts at Cognivue, explained that the device measures the brain’s processing speed and executive function.

The bill, sponsored by Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee vice chair Jeff Waldstreicher, represents “a huge step toward modernizing our state’s drugged driving policy.”

“With adult-use recreational cannabis on the horizon, we must act now to ensure safety on Maryland’s roads,” Waldstreicher said at the Senate committee meeting on Wednesday.

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