In 2010, Baltimore Metropolis police made sixty four,525 arrests, and greater than 7,000 of them — eleven % of the full — have been for easy possession of marijuana. That represents hundreds of man-hours by Baltimore Metropolis police, Central Reserving officers, prosecutors, public defenders, judges and others, all of whom had higher issues to do. That yr Baltimore recorded 224 homicides, rating it among the many 5 deadliest cities within the nation. And the enforcement of legal guidelines towards possession of marijuana is not simply a problem in Baltimore; general, the state logged greater than 22,000 marijuana possession arrests in 2010, the third most per capita of any state within the nation.
Right now, Gov. Martin O’Malley signed laws that may make possession of a small quantity of marijuana (10 grams, or a few third of an oz) a civil offense, not a felony one. Successfully, will probably be handled like a visitors violation, with a high quality of $one hundred for a primary or second offense and the likelihood after the third or subsequent offenses that the violator shall be ordered to bear drug abuse remedy. Underneath the earlier regulation, the offense was a misdemeanor, punishable by as much as ninety days in jail — although earlier than 2012, the penalty was as much as a yr in jail.
It is troublesome to find out precisely how typically prosecutors took the time to attempt these arrested for easy possession of such a small quantity of pot or how typically they have been truly convicted and sentenced to jail. However this can be a clear case of the method turning into the punishment. The document of the arrest itself could make it troublesome for offenders to get a job, and that may create a devastating set of social penalties, notably due to one different pertinent reality about Maryland’s marijuana legal guidelines: they’re enforced at massively disproportionate charges towards African People. Blacks are 3 times extra more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites statewide and greater than 5 occasions as more likely to be arrested for that offense in Baltimore. Among the many most vital parts of the brand new regulation, which matches into impact Oct. 1, is that civil citations for marijuana possession won’t present up within the Maryland Judiciary’s on-line database.
Critics of the nationwide motion to liberalize marijuana legal guidelines query whether or not these steps will result in unintended penalties, akin to a rise in marijuana use, notably by minors. Whereas that’s definitely a legitimate concern, it falls brief for 2 causes. First, we might by no means got down to scale back marijuana use by making a system that’s, in its impact if not intention, racially discriminatory. And second, there isn’t a clear proof that the step Maryland is taking will result in greater charges of use.
A lot stays to be discovered concerning the full legalization of marijuana that has taken place in Colorado and Washington. However decriminalizing marijuana is definitely an previous coverage concept that has been tried in a handful of states for the final 30 years. The Marijuana Coverage Undertaking lists eleven states which have had decriminalization insurance policies in place because the Nineteen Seventies. A few of them are locations you may anticipate, like California, Oregon and Alaska, and a few are locations you won’t, like Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio and Nebraska. After a era of expertise beneath these legal guidelines, there isn’t a apparent correlation between them and charges of marijuana use. The federal authorities’s Substance Abuse and Psychological Well being Providers Administration makes use of surveys to trace state-degree statistics on using marijuana, and some of the decriminalization states are the highest tier to be used, one (Mississippi) is within the backside tier, and most are someplace within the center.
Finally, it appears inevitable that this won’t be the final step in altering Maryland’s marijuana legal guidelines. (For starters, lawmakers ought to handle the truth that possessing small quantities of marijuana just isn’t a criminal offense however possessing a bong is.) Decriminalization might clear up some issues brought on by the struggle on medicine, however it nonetheless leaves in place an enormous underground and felony financial system that feeds big income to violent road gangs and drug cartels. It additionally places those that use marijuana in touch with criminals who ceaselessly additionally promote extra addictive and extra harmful medicine.
However Maryland doesn’t have to be within the vanguard amongst states looking for to deal with these points. For now, we might be content material with a coverage that eliminates a manifest racial injustice in our regulation enforcement system, removes obstacles to gainful employment and permits police and prosecutors to focus their efforts the place they’re most wanted.
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Maryland decriminalizes marijuana – baltimoresun.com | Weed Blog - We Love The Herb
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