SALISBURY, Md. – Ballot measure 4 asks Marylanders whether should be legal to use marijuana recreationally.
It would be legal only for those 21 years and older starting in July of 2023.
The General Assembly would determine use, distribution, regulation and taxation.
Kris Furnish, president of Maryland Marijuana Justice, says Maryland should be leading the way on this issue.
“This legalization will help right the wrongs of the drug war and help, you know, help those affected communities,” she said. “It’s been an attack on black and brown people since day one and it is still true today.”
Heidi Rochon leads the Parent Action Network at Smart Approaches to Marijuana.
The Caroline County mother is concerned about what legalization would mean for youth.
“We’re not talking about a flower, or a leaf or a plant. We’re really talking about highly concentrated products that we don’t need our kids to have,” she said.
Furnish says it is a personal decision whether to light up.
“People have a right to heal with this plant, and that’s all there is to it,” she said.
While Rochon says that decision impacts more than just the user.
“Legalized states are showing sometimes double the rate of fatalities, traffic fatalities after they legalize. And that is a concern. We are not ready to monitor that and test that out on the road the way that we should,” Rochon said.
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