Lawmakers passed two big bills on the last day of the session that - TopicsExpress



          

Lawmakers passed two big bills on the last day of the session that would raise the minimum wage and decriminalize marijuana. Monday is sine die, the last day for the General Assembly to pass legislation during Session 2014, and lawmakers could still push through a flurry of bills that affect Marylanders. Late Monday afternoon, the Senate voted 34-8 to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Five senators did not vote. The legislation now goes to the governor for his signature. The Senate voted to accept several compromises the House added over the weekend. The bill would keep marijuana use illegal but make it akin to a traffic violation. The House opted to require all teen offenders to be evaluated for treatment. It also voted to raise the penalties to $250 for a second offense and $500 for a third, up from a maximum fine of $100. OMalley on Monday released the following statement in response to the bills passage: With more effective policing and more widely available drug treatment, together in Maryland, we have driven violent crime down to its lowest levels in 30 years. This progress has been hard-won and much remains to be done. Recent spikes in homicides and heroin overdose deaths underscore the life-saving urgency of the work before us. The General Assembly has decided after much consideration -- and with clear majorities in both Chambers -- to send to my desk a bill that would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana, and I plan to sign it. As a matter of judicial economy and prosecutorial discretion, few if any defendants go to prison for a first or even a second offense of marijuana possession in Maryland. Desuetude is often a precursor of reform. As a young prosecutor, I once thought that decriminalizing the possession of marijuana might undermine the Public Will necessary to combat drug violence and improve public safety. I now think that decriminalizing possession of marijuana is an acknowledgement of the low priority that our courts, our prosecutors, our police, and the vast majority of citizens already attach to this transgression of public order and public health. Such an acknowledgment in law might even lead to a greater focus on far more serious threats to public safety and the lives of our citizens.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Apr 2014 21:38:24 +0000

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