Marijuana legalization moves forward in Maryland with passage of 2 bills

MARYLAND (FOX 5 DC) - Marijuana legalization took a small step forward Friday in Maryland as the House passed two bills that could put the state on a path to a referendum vote this fall.

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The bills, passed by a veto-proof majority of the House of Delegates, would legalize marijuana in July of next year and create a commission to study the impact of legalization in the state.

However, this is something that will ultimately be up to Maryland voters to decide.

FOX 5 spoke with a member of Maryland Senate leadership who says they’re going to take up their own marijuana bill, one they feel addresses more of the legal questions of what recreational marijuana would look like in Maryland.

One of those legal questions, raised by Republican Delegate Haven Shoemaker on the house floor, focuses on the issue of marijuana still being illegal on the federal level.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Bill introduced to help implement legalization of marijuana in Maryland

"And yet Maryland, with its thousands of federal employees, is about to legalize it, and it seems to me that’s something else that should be studied before legalization," Del. Shoemaker said.

Prince George’s Delegate Darryl Barnes tells FOX 5's David Kaplan he knows the bill could change before an eventual passage, but believes this is a step towards legalization.

"I think Maryland has taken all the right steps to make sure that we’re moving the needle in a positive direction, and I’m very comfortable [with] the bill and its passage today," says Barnes.

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Whatever the legislature passes, it would go to Governor Larry Hogan’s office, and any vote on legalization would eventually require approval by voters, possibly making its way as a ballot referendum this November.