Marijuana

Sen. Robert Zirkin's bill decriminalizing possession of small amounts of cannabis is a small step in the right direction for justice, but it will do little good for reducing gun crime in Maryland ("Advocates for legal marijuana take first steps," March 20). Only legalization can do that. The United States' nearly $150 billion-a-year black market drug economy creates such a huge demand for illegal guns that it is a subsidy for the cheap proliferation of firearms to all would-be criminals seeking to escalate their criminality with cop killing deadly force.

Legislation to allow academic centers to dispense medical marijuana is headed to the House of Delegates after two committees endorsed the proposal Wednesday. The bill would allow doctors and nurses to give the drug to cancer patients, those with intractable pain and others.  Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration has backed what it called a "yellow-light approach" to medical  marijuana. A House committee earlier this month killed a broader proposal to create "compassionate care" centers to distribute medical marijuana.  Del. Dan Morhaim, a doctor, introduced the measure that passed the Health and Government Operations and Judiciary committees Wednesday.

An 18-year old Annapolis resident who last week was arrested and charged with marijuana possession on a school bus at Annapolis High School was arrested on Tuesday night at an apartment and charged with marijuana possession, according to Annapolis police. According to a Wednesday morning police report, Luis Ruiz of Annapolis was arrested after officers received a report around 9:05 p.m. on Tuesday that he was selling drugs on the 1100 block on Madison Street. Officers subsequently approached Ruiz when he left the area and ran into an apartment on the 1000 block of President Street, police said.

As the Maryland Senate voted Tuesday to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, advocates for legalizing the drug saw an opening move in a multiyear effort to make it completely legal. "I think the taboo has been lifted on talking about marijuana in Maryland," said Del. Curt Anderson, a Baltimore Democrat who introduced a separate bill that would legalize marijuana, regulate it, and tax it like alcohol. He said he doesn't expect it to pass this year. "All we want to do is start the conversation," Anderson said.

A bill that would make possession of small amounts of marijuana a civil offense passed the Maryland Senate Tuesday on a 30-16 vote.   The measure now goes to the House.   The legislation, crafted to avoid handing out jail terms for possession of small amounts of marijuana, would remove any criminal component to the prohibition of marijuana possession when a person is caught with 10 grams or less -- about one-third of an ounce.

Regarding your editorial on the proposed legalization of medical marijuana in Maryland, it's true that anyone in California who wants a medical marijuana recommendation can get one ("Due caution," March 12). The recommendation allows consumers to purchase locally grown marijuana of known quality and safety from dispensaries that generate tax revenue. That's a good thing. So-called medical marijuana abuses are not to be feared. It's the status quo that's scary. As long as there is a demand for marijuana, there will be a supply.

Laurel Police arrested four people, two from Laurel, after finding146 grams of marijuana in a vehicle during a traffic stop around 1:18 a.m. Monday in the 900 block of Washington Boulevard. Laurel residents Lawratu Bah, 20, and Joyce Williams, 20; and Bria Archie, 20, of Bowie, and Matthew Bizzell, 24, of Louisville, Ky., all occupants of the vehicle, were arrested. Police also found drug paraphernalia on those in the vehicle. Police said the marijuana recovered had a street value of $1,500.

It's the nice governor is dropping his opposition to the medical marijuana law now being considered by the legislature. It would have been an important first step if this were 2003 ("O'Malley administration backs medical marijuana bill," March 8). However, it's 2013, and Maryland is once again behind the curve. The front lines in the battle between big government and individual rights are being waged in Colorado and Washington state, where state governments have the courage to listen to a majority of the electorate rather than to the big pharmaceutical companies and their million-dollar bribes.

For years, patients in Maryland with intractable pain, chronic diseases or terminal diseases have lobbied lawmakers to legalize the medical use of marijuana to ease their symptoms. And for years the state has been torn between compassion and caution about whether the purported benefits of medical marijuana outweigh the potential dangers of a drug that has not been subjected to rigorous scientific testing to determine its safety and effectiveness. As a result, Maryland law on the issue has remained an inconsistent jumble.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration withdrew its opposition to legislation allowing doctors and nurses to dispense medical marijuana to patients through academic medical centers, raising prospects for passage this year. Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, the state secretary of health and mental hygiene, said Friday that the administration could support the bill but only if it gave the governor the "flexibility" to suspend the program if the federal government threatened legal action over what it still classifies as an illegal drug.