The chief prosecutor in the city of Baltimore has announced that people will no longer be prosecuted for possessing marijuana. This announcement comes as a wave legalization is sweeping across the nation, and marijuana is no longer seen as the evil substance that it once was thought to be.
Marilyn Mosby, state attorney for Baltimore, revealed that her office will immediately stop prosecuting cases of marijuana possession. This decision will apply regardless of how much marijuana someone has been found with, or what the criminal history of that person is.
Mosby added that no serious person can ever claim that devoting the city’s scarce law enforcement resources to prosecuting marijuana possession cases is a good way to use taxpayers’ money.
Baltimore has the unenviable record of being the major city across the country with the highest homicide rates, with most of those homicides going unsolved. Mosby wants to focus a lot more on solving those violent crimes instead of being bogged down by marijuana possession cases.
The chief prosecutor admitted that the city’s law enforcement agencies take a huge hit in terms of their public image each time murders go unsolved and yet they are seen vigilantly going after people possessing marijuana.
She gave the example of what a mother whose son has just died because of gun violence. Such a mother cannot condone the allocation of resources to prosecuting marijuana possession cases instead of using those very resources to investigate and bring violent crime down.
However, there may be a showdown brewing between the city prosecutor and the men and women of the police department over this change in policy. Gary Tuggle, the Police Commissioner of Baltimore, insisted that his department will continue making marijuana possession arrests until the legislature changes the law about the matter.
This potential standoff is a tricky one to resolve because each side may have valid arguments to support it. For example, the prosecutor sees that it doesn’t make sense to keep fighting something that is hardly harmful to the public, while the police is doing its work of enforcing the laws as passed by the legislature.
The question is, what will happen once suspects are arrested by the police and the prosecutor refuses to sanction any charges against those individuals?
The best way out is for these two sister departments to find a middle ground on this issue so that ordinary people aren’t caught in the crosshairs as the elephants fight. Such a stalemate isn’t in the best interest of the marijuana industry, including the likes of The Green Organic Dutchman (TSX: TGOD) (OTCQX: TGODF).
About CannabisNewsWire
CannabisNewsWire (CNW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) CannabisNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, CNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. CNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, CNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. CNW is where news, content and information converge.
To receive instant SMS alerts, text CANNABIS to 21000 (U.S. Mobile Phones Only)
For more information please visit https://www.cannabisnewswire.com
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer
Do you have a questions or are you interested in working with CNW? Ask our Editor
CannabisNewsWire (CNW)
Denver, Colorado
www.cannabisnewswire.com
303.498.7722 Office
Editor@CannabisNewsWire.com
