Maryland marijuana activists are making another push for legalization this legislative session, even as the state struggles to launch its medical marijuana program four years after it became law.
This year pot advocates have taken a different tack than in previous sessions: Instead of offering a single, comprehensive bill, they have filed two pieces of legislation — one to address the criminal justice aspects of legalization and the other to deal with taxing and regulating the drug.
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“This way brings the bills before more legislators and gets them comfortable with both bills,” said Kaitlyn Boecker of the Drug Policy Alliance, one of several groups that testified last week in support of legalization at a state Senate hearing.
The bills were introduced by Sens. Brian Feldman and Richard Madaleno Jr., both Montgomery Democrats.
