FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Contact: Violet Cavendish
vcavendish@mpp.org

Statement below from the Marijuana Policy Project

BALTIMORE — Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced Tuesday her office will no longer prosecute marijuana possession cases, regardless of the amount or the individual’s criminal history.

Statement from Olivia Naugle, legislative coordinator for the Marijuana Policy Project:

“We applaud State’s Attorney Mosby for making the fair and just decision to no longer prosecute marijuana possession cases. Decades of arresting and prosecuting people for marijuana possession did not make Baltimore any safer, and it had a dramatically disproportionate impact on communities of color. Countless individuals have been branded with convictions and subjected to life-altering collateral consequences that cause them more harm than marijuana ever could. Unfortunately, this has continued to be the case in Baltimore City even after decriminalization in 2014.

“We hope the rest of the state will follow the lead of State’s Attorney Mosby and strongly consider a more sensible and evenhanded approach to marijuana. The General Assembly can and should put a stop to marijuana possession arrests and their harmful fallout by ending marijuana prohibition once and for all. It is time for Maryland to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana for adults 21 and older and expunge criminal records for past possession convictions. The sooner lawmakers act, the sooner these needless possession arrests will come to an end, not just in Baltimore City but across the state.”

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Founded in 1995, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is the nation’s leading cannabis policy reform organization. MPP has played a central role in passing dozens of cannabis policy reforms in states across the country, including 14 successful cannabis legalization campaigns, and also works to advance federal reforms.

Visit www.mpp.org for more information.