Maryland has made the use of marijuana legal only for medical purposes. A Medical Marijuana Program was established in 2003 in the state when Governor Martin O'Malley signed the Darrell Putnam Compassionate Act, or House Bill 702 into law. The law guaranteed indemnity to Maryland residents who might be found possessing 10 grams or less of marijuana. A fine of $100 was listed as the maximum applicable levy payable by a Maryland resident charged with marijuana possession. HB 702 allowed an individual under risk of prosecution for marijuana possession to claim 'medical necessity' as an extenuating factor. The law also provided, by extension, legal immunity to Maryland doctors who might recommend medical marijuana to their patients. HB 702 defined 'usable marijuana' as comprising the flowers and leaves of the marijuana plant, as well as any derivatives which might be considered medically appropriate.
By 2013, the medical marijuana program further expanded access to Maryland residents when the Natalie M. La Parade Medical Marijuana Commission was set up by an Act of the Maryland House, HB 1101. Despite the passage of HB 1101, Maryland's medical marijuana program only became fully operational in 2017, with the establishment of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission (now the Maryland Cannabis Administration). The Maryland Cannabis Administration is responsible for issuing licenses to growers and processors, issuing registration cards to patients and caregivers, inspecting laboratories involved in cannabis testing, and granting approval for academic research into medical marijuana.
In 2015, the Maryland State Senate passed SB 517. This law removed the threat of prosecution for Maryland residents possessing marijuana paraphernalia. It gave individuals the right to argue in their defense that they were in possession of marijuana paraphernalia for medical reasons, particularly in treating severe and 'debilitating' medical conditions previously untreatable with other therapies. SB 517 maintained that the smoking of marijuana in public was still an offense under Maryland law, punishable with a fine of $500.
Maryland's House Bill 490 of 2015 expanded the definition of a qualifying patient to include individuals voluntarily enrolled in academic cannabis research programs in the state. Such individuals would be entitled to medical marijuana doses as part of their therapy. HB 490 fixed the permissible quantity of medical marijuana available to a qualifying patient at any time at a “30-day supply”. However, allowances could be made for patients whose doctors believed they required more medical marijuana than the 30-day supply.
Register as a patient with the MCA using the OneStop Portal