The Maryland legislature is moving toward placing a voter referendum on legalizing marijuana on ballots in 2022. Text of the proposed legislation was written by Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City), who is chairman of Maryland’s House Cannabis Referendum and Legalization Workgroup, formed last summer to study the issue. The House bill to place the question on next year’s ballot, House Bill 1, has been pre-filed and will be introduced when the Maryland General Assembly convenes on Jan. 12, 2022. If passed by the legislature, the bill will set up the following referendum question for voters: “Do you favor the legalization of adult-use cannabis in Maryland?” If the referendum is successful, Maryland’s legislature would add an amendment to the state constitution and advance a law allowing Maryland adults over the age of 21 to use and possess cannabis. As written, that law that would go into effect as early as July 2023. In order for the question to make it to the ballot, it will need to be approved by three-fifths of members in both the House and Senate. If the bill passes, Maryland’s legislature would still need to develop rules on the “use, distribution, possession, regulation, and taxation of cannabis within the state.”

Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news, 12/27/2021 10:10:00

Open article: https://www.cannabisbusinessexecutive.com/2021/12/maryland-legislature-to-consider-voter-referendum-on-legalizing-marijuana-for-2022-ballot/

A top Maryland lawmaker has pre-filed a bill to put marijuana legalization on the state’s 2022 ballot. The text of the legislation from Del. Luke Clippinger (D)—who serves as chairman of a cannabis workgroup that’s been studying the issue—was posted online on Wednesday. The bill, which seeks to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot, has been designated House Bill 1, signaling that it will be prioritized. It’s set to be formally introduced at the start of next year’s session on January 12 and has been referred to the Judiciary Committee, which Clippinger also chairs. House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D) has been working to get the legislature in a good position to advance the reform quickly, announcing the formation of a cannabis workgroup this summer and stating that lawmakers “will pass legislation early next year” to refer the question of legalization to voters. If passed in the legislature, the following question would go on the November ballot: “Do you favor the legalization of adult–use cannabis in the State of Maryland?”

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 12/23/2021 11:36:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/top-maryland-lawmaker-files-marijuana-legalization-referendum-for-2022-ballot/

Rhode Island’s House speaker says lawmakers are “very close” to introducing a bicameral negotiated marijuana legalization bill, and a top Senate leader saying he’s optimistic that it will pass “overwhelmingly” in both chambers when it comes up for a vote early in 2022. Legislators have been in talks for months to reconcile competing legalization proposals that have been brought forward by the House, Senate, and governor’s office. Negotiations have been productive, and draft legislation will be introduced within weeks, “in the month of January,” House Speaker Joseph Sherkarchi (D) told Providence Business News. The bill’s filing “will begin a robust public hearing and vetting process,” he said. But it appears the plan is to get those legislative proceedings done quickly, as Senate Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey (D) said the goal is to get the measure approved in the House and Senate by February. “Once it goes through the hearing process, I think that it will pass in both chambers overwhelmingly,” he said. While lawmakers have made progress in reaching agreements on various provisions that kept legalization from being enacted in 2021, the main sticking point concerns who should be in charge of regulating the cannabis program.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 12/22/2021 16:20:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/top-rhode-island-lawmaker-expects-marijuana-legalization-bill-to-pass-overwhelmingly-by-february/