Marijuana

A cabal of corrupt corrections officers and members of the Black Guerrilla Family gang enjoyed nearly free rein inside the Baltimore City Detention Center, federal authorities allege, smuggling drugs and cellphones into the jail and having sexual relationships that left four guards pregnant. An indictment unsealed Tuesday names 25 people - including 13 women working as corrections officers - who face racketeering and drug charges. Twenty of the accused also face money-laundering charges.

Aberdeen Tyrone D. Davis, 31, of the 400 block of Washington Street, was charged Friday with possessing marijuana. Robin D. Sloane, 54, of the 100 block of Hanover Street, was charged Friday with possessing a drug other than marijuana. Julie Tomar Paradis, 30, of the 600 block of West Bel Air Avenue, was charged Friday with failing to appear for court in a case in which she was charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol, driving while impaired by alcohol and drugs, changing lanes unsafely and failing to display a registration card upon demand.

Caught with a couple of joints he didn't get the chance to light up, Eric Staton was ordered to appear before a Baltimore judge. Two weeks later, in a basement courtroom on North Avenue, prosecutors said they would drop the possession charge if Staton agreed to pick up trash for five hours. Staton, 42, hesitated before taking the deal. "Ten grams is nothing," he told a spectator during the hearing. "They should legalize that marijuana. " In recent years, Maryland has taken small steps to scale back laws against possession of marijuana.

Synthetic marijuana ranked in the top three substances abused by the nation's high school students in 2012, according to a new report compiled by the Center for Substance Abuse Research at the University of Maryland, College Park . The drug -- herbs treated with chemicals designed to mimic the effects of marijuana -- ranked third next to alcohol and marijuana, which 57 percent and 39 percent of students in grades nine through 12...

Federal agents found 500 pounds of marijuana and more than 10 kilograms of cocaine, along with an AK-47 and body armor, during raids on homes in Baltimore County and northeastern Baltimore as part of a cross-country drug investigation.  At least two men have been charged through a federal complaint in connection with the raids - Harold and Joseph Ibreham Byrd. Both men have had initial appearances in federal judge before a magistrate judge and are being detained; attorneys are not listed in court records.

I do not understand why The Sun is not featuring any of the experts (many available right here in Baltimore) who have worked in the field of addictions and have valuable experience and information about the negative consequences of legalizing marijuana, which is a well-known "gateway" drug and ripe for black market enterprise despite suggested constraints ("Md. fights through haze over medical marijuana," Jan. 31). There are many serious drawbacks to legalization. I feel the following questions are valid and need to be explored before the legislature approves such a bill.

A strong odor of marijuana in a Joppa home where Harford County sheriff's deputies had responded to settle a domestic dispute on Sunday has led to the arrests of a young couple and the seizure of about eight pounds of marijuana, the Harford County Sheriff's Office said Thursday. Deputies responded to the home in the 800 block of Chatfield Road about 12:15 p.m. for a report of a verbal altercation between Michael Allen Brandt, 26, and Julia Michele Leonard, 24, the sheriff's office said.

Your recent editorial on medical marijuana was yet another attempt to frame the legalization debate in terms of public safety, which is nothing more than a convenient smoke screen ("Go slow on marijuana," Jan. 3). If our leaders cared one wit about public safety as it concerns drugs, most of the prescription medicines advertised directly to consumers would be taken off the shelves. Marijuana has been studied to death already, not for its medical benefits but for its potential harm.

Baltimore City State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein was among the prosecutors urging lawmakers to allow prosecutors to seek shorter sentences in some marijuana possession cases , WBAL Radio reported this week. Bernstein was in Annapolis Tuesday to testify before the House Judiciary Committee which was considering a bill to allow prosecutors to pursue a maximum 90-day jail term for those convicted of possessing less than 14-grams of marijuana.  Current law calls for a maximum one-year jail term.

The House Judiciary Committee approved legislation Wednesday that would cut the penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana in a way that curtails the right to an initial jury trial on the charges. By a 16-4 vote, members said, the panel gave its OK to Del. Luke Clippingers's bill setting the maximum penalty for possesssion of 7 grams or less of marijuana at 90 days and a $500 fine. Previously those convicted of the charge could have been given up to a year in jail. With a potential penalty of more than 90 days, defendants were entitled to a jury trial in Circuit Court  -- an option may have taken.  Under the legislation, defendants would initially be  tried before a District Court judge but would retain the right to appeal to the Circuit Court.

The Grammy-nominated rapper 2 Chainz, who received a drug citation during a traffic stop in Talbot County in February, was found not guilty. The rapper, whose legal name is Tauheed Epps, was found not guilty of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia charges, online court records show. His attorney did not respond Thursday for a call for comment. Epps tweeted on Wednesday, “Boxing gloves I beat the trial.” After the February stop, he Tweeted a photo of himself with two officers, prompting state police to review the incident.

Federal agents found 500 pounds of marijuana and more than 10 kilograms of cocaine, along with an AK-47 and body armor, during raids on homes in Baltimore County and northeastern Baltimore as part of a cross-country drug investigation.  At least two men have been charged through a federal complaint in connection with the raids - Harold and Joseph Ibreham Byrd. Both men have had initial appearances in federal judge before a magistrate judge and are being detained; attorneys are not listed in court records.

Lawmakers in Annapolis rejected a bill this year that would have decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana, but prosecutors in Baltimore City are already ahead of the curve in treating the offense as a public health issue rather than as a crime. This is the beginning of a sane policy on marijuana that one can only hope city officials will seek to expand in coming years. When the idea of treating drug abuse as a medical problem rather than as a criminal justice issue was proposed in the late 1980s by former Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, critics dismissed the suggestion as not only dangerously naive and impractical but as morally and ethically wrong.

Caught with a couple of joints he didn't get the chance to light up, Eric Staton was ordered to appear before a Baltimore judge. Two weeks later, in a basement courtroom on North Avenue, prosecutors said they would drop the possession charge if Staton agreed to pick up trash for five hours. Staton, 42, hesitated before taking the deal. "Ten grams is nothing," he told a spectator during the hearing. "They should legalize that marijuana. " In recent years, Maryland has taken small steps to scale back laws against possession of marijuana.

Anne Arundel County police on Monday evening arrested two Pasadena men on drug charges after seizing more than three pounds of marijuana and other marijuana items from their residence, said police officials on Tuesday morning in a prepared statement. Officials said that at approximately 5:10 p.m., members of the Eastern District's tactical patrol unit and tactical narcotics team executed a controlled dangerous substance (CDS) warrant at the 1200 block of Hillside Road in Pasadena.

I cannot understand why in a country like the United States politicians should have any authority over marriage or other personal preferences. Be it gay marriage, polygamy or a puff on a marijuana cigarette, these are private matters. If no one in society is negatively affected by a personal behavior, what is the concern? If a gay couple marry and have kids, and the kids are healthy and happy, what is the problem? If a man or woman want to cohabitate with multiple spouses, and their "collective family" is happy and content, why should the government be concerned?

Should juries vote "not guilty" on low-level marijuana charges to send a message about our country's insane marijuana arrest policy? Jury nullification is a constitutional doctrine that allows juries to acquit defendants who are technically guilty but who don't deserve punishment. As Paul Butler wrote recently in The New York Times, juries have the right and power to use jury nullification to protest unjust laws. Mr. Butler points out that nullification was credited with ending our country's disastrous alcohol Prohibition as more and more jurors refused to send their neighbors to jail for a law they didn't believe in. He says we need to do the same with today's marijuana arrests.

An argument over an unpaid pool maintenance bill led to the arrest of a Pasadena woman on drug charges Tuesday. Joan Della Lott, 52, was arrested at her Luke Drive home for cultivating marijuana, not for arguing about an unpaid bill. The pool man called police to the home about noon. While mediating the dispute, officers spotted marijuana plants growing in wooden planters on the property, which is near Mountain Road. Police said they seized four plants, nearly 20 feet in length, with an estimated street value of $3,300.

Police could pull you over for talking on a hand-held phone while driving. Some patients could legally use marijuana. And veterans would get a new assist in getting jobs under legislation approved by the Maryland General Assembly on its final day. As they worked toward a midnight deadline, lawmakers considered - and shelved - hundreds of bills Monday on issues as small as designating a state sandwich and as dramatic as halting new fees designed to...

Maryland is on its way to becoming the 19th state to have a medical marijuana program after the Maryland Senate passed the measure 42-4 today. The bill heads to Gov. Martin O'Malley, who is expected to sign it. The drug would be administered by doctors and nurses through academic centers that are also charged with studying the effects of the program. The O'Malley administration has called this a "yellow light" approach toward medical marijuana in contrast to states that have allowed private dispensaries to open.