MCST 610 Cannabis Law and Policy

 

SUBMIT YOUR POPULATED TEMPLATE AS A FILE ENTITLED: 5.1_FIRSTINITIAL_LASTNAME (i.e., 5.1_P_Wexler) 

 

	BILL#	CROSS FILE#	TITLE	DESCRIPTION	SENATE HEARING AND VOTING	HOUSE HEARING AND VOTING	SENATE LEAD SPONSOR(S)	HOUSE LEAD SPONSOR(S)
	HB0001		Constitutional Amendment – Cannabis – Adult Use and Possession	The bill proposes that from 1st July 2023, any individual within the state of Maryland, 21 years and older may possess and use cannabis.		Last hearing on 2/14/22 at 10:00 a.m.		Delegate Clippinger
	HB0837		Cannabis Reform	The bill requires the Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Cannabis Commission, in collaboration with certain stakeholders to carry out certain baseline research on the medicinal use of cannabis in the State of Maryland. The bill also aims at altering certain penalties and sentencing associated with offenses associated with marijuana.		The last hearing was held on 2/14/22 at 10:00 a.m.		Delegate Clippinger
	HB0351	SB0333	Income Tax – Subtraction Modification – Expenses of Medical Cannabis Grower, Processor, Dispensary, or Independent Testing Laboratory	The bill aims at allowing a subtraction modification under Maryland income tax for additional expenses incurred during the taxable year among cannabis traders.	Last hearing on 2/09/22 at 1:00 p.m.	The last hearing held on 2/02/22 at 1:00 p.m	Senator Young	Delegate Wilkins
	HB0482	HB0073	Firearms – Right to Purchase, Own, Possess, and Carry – Medical Cannabis	The bill claims that people should not be denied their right to buy, own or carry a firearm just because they are authorized to use medicinal cannabis.		Hearing scheduled on 3/09/22 at 1:00 p.m.		Delegate Grammer
	HB0614	HB0683	Workers’ Compensation – Medical Cannabis – Compensation and Benefits	The bill aims at altering the circumstances under which employees who are covered or those who depend on a covered employee enjoy the benefits and compensations associated with the use of medicinal cannabis but under specific circumstances.		The last hearing was held on 2/15/22 at 1:00 p.m.		Delegates Valderrama and Charkoudian
	HB1342		Cannabis – Legalization, and Regulation (Cannabis Legalization and Equity Act)	The bill aims at legalizing the use and possession of some amounts of marijuana by persons who have attained a certain age. The bill also aims at modifying the penalties and charges associated with legal cases involving marijuana use and possession.		Hearing scheduled on 3/08/22 at 1:00 p.m.		Delegate Acevero
	HB0628		Employment – Workers’ Compensation and Workplace Discrimination – Use of Medical Cannabis	The bill aims at altering the circumstances under which employees who are covered or those who depend on a covered employee enjoy the benefits and compensations associated with the use of medicinal cannabis but under specific circumstances.		Hearing held on 2/15/22 at 1:00 p.m.		Delegate Young
	SB0286		Firearms – Use of Medical Cannabis	The bill claims that people should not be denied their right to buy, own or carry a firearm just because they are authorized to use medicinal cannabis.	Last hearing on 2/08/22 at 1:00 pm		Senator Hough
	SB0628		Medical Cannabis – Grower License – Number and Licensed Processors	The bill aims at altering the maximum number of licensed medicinal cannabis growers by the Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Cannabis Commission, from 22 to 42.	Hearing scheduled on 3/03/22 at 1:00 pm		Senator Patterson
	SB0692		Cannabis – Legalization, and Regulation (Cannabis Legalization and Reparations for the War on Drugs Act)	The bill supports the use and possession of certain amounts of marijuana by adults above the age of 21 years, who have met all the set standards.	Hearing scheduled on 3/03/22 at 1:00 p.m.		Senator Carter
	SB0722		Medical Cannabis – Licensees – Ownership Limitation Exemption	The bill aims at excepting certain publicly traded securities ownership of medicinal cannabis producers, processors, suppliers, and distributors from prohibiting an individual with an ownership interest in several medicinal cannabis producers, processors, suppliers, and distributors.	Hearing scheduled on 3/03/22 at 1:00 p.m.		Senator Wald Streicher
	SB0788	HB1078	Cannabis – Regulation – Revisions	The bill aims at prohibiting individuals from producing plants or parts of a plant that exceed a given concentration of THC knowingly. The bill also aims at redefining marijuana for rescheduling purposes under the Maryland Controlled Dangerous Substances act.	Hearing scheduled on 3/03/22 at 1:00 p.m.	Hearing scheduled on 3/09/22 at 1:30 p.m.	Senator Feldman	Delegate Pena-Melnyk
	SB0833		Cannabis – Legalization and Regulation	The bill proposes that individuals above the age of 21 years be allowed to possess and use cannabis. The bill also aims at altering certain penalties, charges, and sentencing associated with certain cannabis offenses. The bill also tries to help modify the regulations and taxation of cannabis products in the market.	Hearing scheduled on 3/03/22 at 1:00 p.m.		Senator Feldman
	SB0844		Medical Cannabis – Dispensaries – Operation at Multiple Locations	Under this bill, an individual applying to receive a license for operating a medicinal cannabis dispensary is required to provide the number of different locations that the applicant is going to operate the business with that license, in addition to their physical address. The license can only allow the applicant to operate the business in only four different locations.	Hearing scheduled on 3/03/22 at 1:00 p.m.		Senator Carter

 

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

 

MCST 610 Cannabis Law and Policy Spring 2022

Legislative Tracker Project (80 Points)

Installment #1 Assignment 5.1       DUE SUN 02/20/2022** (30)

Installment #2       Assignment 8.1 (50) TENTATIVELY DUE FRI 03/11/2022; TBD

The landscape of Cannabis regulation is constantly evolving, especially at the state level. To effectively monitor and understand this developing field, an individual must be able to navigate the legislative process. Tracking legislation is an important policy tool that keeps interested parties informed of potential regulatory changes and identifies opportunities to advocate for or against potential changes.

 

To help develop the requisite skills, you will be required track and summarize Cannabis bills introduced in Maryland’s 2022 legislative session. While we will be working with the Maryland General Assembly’s (MGA) website and focusing on the legislative situation in Maryland, the skills developed in this project can be utilized to engage with any state’s legislative process.

 

Using the MGA website, students will identify proposed legislation and key elements of the legislative process including, but not limited to, bill numbers, cross filings, lead bill sponsors, committee hearings, and bill amendments. At the end of this assignment, students will have created a tracking document that provides a clear overview of Maryland’s proposed cannabis legislation for 2022.

 

 

Use the provided tracking template (based on the template utilized by the Public Health Law Clinic at the University of Maryland School of Law); review the sample tracker populated with information about Bills introduced in previous sessions for a sense of what is expected.

 

Students should regularly monitor for the introduction of new bills and developments with existing bills. These developments can include a committee hearing, a committee vote, an amendment to a bill, or a governor’s veto. Do not wait until the last minute to try to gather all information.

 

Instructions on how to submit your completed template may be found on the tracker template itself and in Blackboard.

 

NB ** TRACKING CUTOFF DATE vs DUE DATE **

Responsibility for populating your template ends on Friday 02/18/2022 at 5 pm (AKA close of business); the Assignment is not due until Sunday 02/20/2022 1159pE.

 

GRADING

Installment #1 of the tracker is worth 30 points and will be evaluated on two variables: 15 points for completeness (did the student identify all the cannabis bills introduced and did they provide all the required information), and 15 points for accuracy of the information provided.

 

MORE ON COMPLETENESS AND ACCURACY

But what about the Description? What is required? How many words? Is there a minimum? a maximum? What do I do about abbreviations? Do I use first initials of sponsors or not?

 

My advice is to approach this Assignment as you have all the others: put yourself in a role and think about the purpose of someone who is tracking legislative developments. Of course you must also be realistic — would you even have 200 words to describe a just- introduced Bill that had not yet even been read? Conversely, could you adequately describe HB001 in a sentence?

 

Whether you are tracking legislation — for yourself, your boss, or a client — think about the information and the way it is presented: is it sufficient, and provided in a consistent way, such that it facilitates decisionmaking on whether to support or oppose, and/or whether the contents warrant further attention and/or involvement?