Marijuana

Legislation that would allow those caught with small amounts of marijuana to avoid punishment altogether if they can convince a judge that they used the drug out of medical necessity would still leave state law on the matter an inconsistent jumble. But given the reasonable concerns state Health Secretary Joshua Sharfstein raised about Maryland's ability to enact a more comprehensive bill sponsored this year by Del. Dan Morhaim and others, the legislation, which passed the state Senate, represents a reasonable middle step and deserves to be enacted by the House of Delegates.

A retired police detective challenges us to name one advantage of marijuana prohibition ("Banning marijuana doesn't make us safer," Nov. 18). How about money? A huge percentage of arrests are related to marijuana. If prohibition were ended, the need for lawyers, judges, police, jailers etc. would be far less. The politicians/lawyers who write the laws are not going to easily legislate themselves out of jobs regardless of how much tax money could be generated. The drug cartels do not want to end prohibition either as they would lose tons of money and thousands of dealers.

As a retired police detective, I know that the prohibition on marijuana reduces public safety ("Stirring the pot," Nov. 12). My colleagues in Maryland spend tens of thousands of hours searching out and arresting people for possessing and smoking a green plant. Meanwhile, pedophiles are left freer to rape our children, drunk drivers sail past traffic stops where police are looking for pot under some kid's front seat, and teens are shot because selling marijuana is their only opportunity for employment.

Two Harford County residents were charged with marijuana possession in Cecil County earlier this week. The charges occurred as the result of a traffic stop near Elkton, according to a report in the Cecil Whig . Sarah Marie Keithley, 21, of the 800 block of Shawnee Brook Drive in Havre de Grace, was charged with possession of marijuana, according to Maryland online court records. Keithley also received a traffic citation for driving on the median strip. The violation occurred at 2:12 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 21, in the 3600 block of Pulaski Highway in Elkton, according to online court records.

The 21-year-old son of a Baltimore police sergeant was arrested Thursday night after officers raided the family's rowhouse in the 1000 block of N. Luzerne Ave. and found a half-pound of marijuana, the department's chief spokesman said. The sergeant, who was not identified but is assigned to the Northern District, has been placed on desk duty. Spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said an internal investigation is being conducted to determine whether the officer knew about the drugs and whether drugs were being dealt from the house.

Authorities in Harford County have arrested 13 people they say are part of a major drug ring that distributes marijuana throughout the county. The Harford County Task Force, working with federal agents, seized more than 250 pounds of marijuana and $400,000, according to the sheriff's office. The investigation began in the summer of 2008 and ended with the indictment Tuesday of Antonio Boston, 51, of Aberdeen, who authorities say was the ring leader. A spokesman for the sheriff's department said that large quantities of the drugs originated in Mexico and were smuggled across the Arizona border.

Penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana in Maryland — less than 10 grams — will drop in October, when a new law goes into effect reducing the maximum prison term to 90 days from one year and cutting the potential fine in half, to $500 from $1000. Baltimore State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein backed the bill, which was signed into law Wednesday, as a way to reduce the number of cases clogging the city's circuit courts. "To continue making Baltimore safer, we must focus our limited resources on the strategic investigation and aggressive prosecution of violent offenders," Bernstein said in a statement.

Maryland senators have advanced a bill that would legalize medical marijuana. Senators backed a procedural move on Friday that will allow a final vote on the measure. The proposal would allow pharmacies to distribute marijuana to patients who receive authorization from a physician with whom they have had ongoing medical relationships. It would also re-categorize marijuana as a highly regulated pain medication like morphine instead of keeping it in the same category of drugs like heroin.

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.

Police arrested a Cape St. Claire man Monday on drug charges after marijuana was found in his pocket, county police said.Donald Thomas Scott, 19, of the 900 block of St. Margaret Drive was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. His car, a 1991 Ford Mustang, was seized because it was used to carry drugs, police said.Officer Steven T. Burrell was parked on a lot in the 1300 block of Cape St. Claire Road about 3: 30 p.m. when a man approached the Mustang, which was parked nearby, gave the driver money and got something in return, police said.