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I am excited to tell you about the reform work we are doing in Maryland this year, and to let you know how you can get involved. Our goal is to pass legislation that promotes effective, evidence-based public health and public safety strategies. We're working on bills in three main areas in 2007: medical marijuana, sentencing reform, and harm reduction. Medical Marijuana
As you may know, Maryland technically already has a law on the books permitting seriously ill people to use cannabis for relief. What you may not know is that this law is not strong enough to be of any practical use. In fact, a patient who is successful in court at proving that he or she uses marijuana for medical reasons is still slapped with a criminal conviction and a fine! This means that even a successful medical necessity defense results in a permanent criminal record, which poses barriers to financial aid, housing, employment, and more.
DPA is working to change that in 2007 with support from Americans for Safe Access (ASA) and the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). Senator Lisa Gladden and Delegate Nathaniel Oaks recently introduced SB 757 and HB 1040 to replace the current law with one that not only takes care of the medical necessity defense problem, but also addresses the issues of cultivation, transportation, possession, identification cards, privacy and confidentiality issues, and registration fees.
Your support will be key to advancing this bill in the legislature. But, first we have to get these bills out of committee. I will let you know as soon as we have hearings scheduled so that you can urge the committee members to give the Compassionate Use Act a favorable report.
Sentencing Reform
DPA is working with a coalition, the Partnership for Treatment Not Incarceration, to repeal mandatory minimums for nonviolent drug offenders by supporting HB 992 and SB 624, introduced by Delegate Curt Anderson and Senator Lisa Gladden. These bills would restore some decision-making power to judges during sentencing, giving them the discretion to suspend a portion or all of a mandatory minimum sentence on a case-by-case basis. The legislation would also make people serving a mandatory minimum sentence eligible to apply for parole and drug treatment.
Sentencing reform is important because mandatory minimums take discretion away from judges and place it solely in the hands of prosecutors who lack the experience and neutrality of judges. Maryland's prison population has tripled in the past 20 years and per capita state spending on corrections has grown by over 100%. Clearly, the current practice of using prisons as a catch-all solution for social problems cannot continue.
Hearings are coming up in the next month, so keep an eye on your inbox for information about how you can take action to support these bills.
Harm Reduction
DPA is working at the local level with allies in Prince George's and Montgomery counties to increase support for and implement syringe exchange programs similar to the extremely successful one that has been implemented in Baltimore.
Increasing access to sterile syringes is an important public health measure. Syringe exchange plays a key role in reducing the spread of blood borne disease such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C, which can be transmitted by people who inject drugs and share contaminated needles.
If you'd like to get involved in this effort, please email me: mailto:nlong@drugpolicy.org . Watch your inbox for opportunities to take action on our bills as they move through the legislature. I am excited about the prospects for reform in Maryland this year, and I'll keep you posted as our efforts progress!
Sincerely,
Naomi Long
Director, Maryland and D.C. Metro Area
Drug Policy Alliance
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