Maryland Gov. O’Malley will sign marijuana decriminalization bill

The Senate gave its final approval to the bill with a 34 to 8 votes on Monday afternoon. The bill would decriminalize minor offenders caught with less then 10 grams of marijuana that would instead of being jailed or branded for life receive a simple civil fines. We have not found additional details with regards the amount an individual would be charged for.  We should all assume that anyone carrying more then 10 grams would be then be subjected to the old rules and prosecuted as a trafficker.

I can name a few instances in which entrepreneurial dealers will seek to exploit this as a loop hole in order to lower the probable penalties they would suffer if they are caught dealing more then 10 grams. On the other side of the atlantic ocean in the  Netherlands this is a common practice. The Netherlands did not legalize pot but instead they decided to decriminalized it for small amounts, however, local authorities seem to be turning a blind eye to coffee shop operations.  Here is how local coffee shops in the Netherlands operate they utilize runners in order to avoid keeping too much on premise and breaking the law.When a customer buys x product then a call is put out and a runner comes in from wherever and delivers the product to the owner that hands it to the customer this enables the owner of the shop to stay within the narrow confines of the law.

Do not get too excited i doubt that the police in Maryland is going to turn a blind eye and allow coffee shops to pop up left right and centre. Given that Maryland is a right leaning state and was one of the first states to criminalize Salvia which is in our humble opinion a harmless spiritual herb. Of course it was a pleasant surprise to see the news this morning. Maryland while not going the full course the way Colorado has by fully legalizing pot has taken an important step in setting a precedence for other right leaning states to take a carrot approach rather then the hammer with regards to dealing with the problem rather then penalizing people for life for simple possession.

Maryland is now part of at least 24 other states that have now decriminalized the use of marijuana, and approved its use for medicinal purposes or legalized it outright.

Maryland would join several states and jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia, that have moved in recent years to legalize or decriminalize the drug.

Well happy monday everyone!