Should the Maryland General Assembly legalize medical marijuana to be sold at state-run dispensaries?
No. I do support the use of medical marijuana. My mother died, as a result of breast cancer. As a 12 year old child, I observed my mother suffer in extreme pain, which may have been eased by the use of medical marijuana. However, as a former law enforcement officer, I do not support the proposed plan, which includes the privatization of growers and growing facilities. A drug dealer could contract with a person (“straw grower”) who was qualified to grow medical marijuana and then skim quantities of state-funded marijuana for illegal sale. There are not enough security measures to make sure that the grower and the community that he/she lives in would remain safe. Once marijuana abusers and/or dealers located these approved growing addresses, they could become the targets of theft and possibly home invasions. Also, there are not enough proposed quality control measures for the marijuana. Who will assume responsibility if someone got sick or died from the state provided medical marijuana?
