On Election Day 2022, Maryland voters approved Question 4, a legislatively-referred ballot question to legalize cannabis for adults 21 and over.
Beginning July 1, 2023, adults will be able to legally possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis and cultivate up to two plants in Maryland.
A summary of Question 4, and the companion bill to begin implementing it, is available here.
“With Marylanders’ overwhelming support of Question 4, the state will finally end the failed era of cannabis prohibition and take a more just and equitable approach towards cannabis policy,” says Olivia Naugle, senior policy analyst at the Marijuana Policy Project. “The passage of Question 4 is a huge victory for criminal justice reform and racial justice in Maryland. It will save thousands of Marylanders from arrests and further criminalization for cannabis possession, and it will begin to repair the decades of harm cannabis prohibition has caused, disproportionately in communities of color, by expunging records and reinvesting back into those communities. We look forward to working closely with Maryland lawmakers to ensure that the implementation of legalization is centered around equity.”
Heading into Election Day, 19 states had legalized cannabis for adults 21 and over, and 37 states had legalized medical cannabis.
