Controversial legislation almost never has an easy first year -- or first few years – in Annapolis.
It shouldn’t.
Even the least contentious 90-day sojourns in the Capital City are inevitably taxing. Making the right decision on important bills takes time and study and tinkering.
Sometimes difficult bills come bearing social change: marriage equality would be one. So it took some years to build support for legislation that many would say was an obvious matter of civil rights. Think how long it took for civil rights bills to gain the necessary support.
Thus, it is not surprising to see a bill approving the use of marijuana for medical purposes take a year or more of debate. Contrary to the views of knee-jerk critics of the assembly, there’s an institutional bias toward careful consideration of important bills. The process of making laws should be a deliberate one.
In addition to the medical marijuana bill, other measures would decriminalize possession of small amounts of the drug. The Senate passed such a bill one week ago. A third measure would legalize it entirely, regulate it and tax it like alcohol.
The medical uses bill passed the House and seems likely to pass in the Senate as well – and to be signed by Governor Martin O’Malley, who has dropped earlier opposition. Maryland would join 17 other states in allowing carefully controlled uses of the drug.
The bill’s sponsor, Del. Dan Morhaim observes that the bill passed by the House would one of the most restrictive of the measures passed.
It's called the legislative process.
It is often the case that controversial bills must pass through a gauntlet of questions. Though Morhaim is a physician, his bills were nevertheless looked at with skepticism at first. Who says marijuana has medicinal value? In time, the questions were addressed. The bill passed in the House with 108 votes, including some Republicans.
It’s called the legislative process.
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