Yes on 4 is powered by Maryland residents who are ready to bring the era of failed marijuana prohibition to an end.
Chaired by Former NFL Player & Cannabis Industry Leader Eugene Monroe, we’re here to ensure that cannabis wins on the ballot this November and that everyone—no matter what party they’re affiliated with—votes yes Question 4: yes to adult-use cannabis.
Marijuana legalization is projected to provide the state with over $135 million in tax revenue. That figure does not include city and county revenue or the savings from the millions of dollars Maryland spends each year enforcing marijuana possession laws. Passing Maryland Question 4 would empower local law enforcement to focus its limited resources on combating violent crimes. Of the ten counties in the United States with the highest rates of marijuana possession arrests, Maryland is home to three of them.
Passage of Maryland Question 4 will legalize the use of cannabis in the state by an individual who is at least 21 years of age on or after July 1, 2023. Polling indicates Maryland residents support marijuana legalization by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, with majority support among Democrats, Republicans, and independents. The ballot question requires a simple majority to become law.
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Demystify cannabis
Demonstrate Support for Legalization
Legalize cannabis
Legalizing cannabis would stimulate Maryland’s economy and create good-paying jobs.
- New Jobs. The creation of a well-regulated legal market for cannabis sales would generate tens of thousands of new jobs in Maryland, and may provide new opportunities for hundreds of local small business owners and entrepreneurs.
- An economy boost. In addition to creating new small businesses and career pathways within the cannabis industry, legalization would provide an economic boost to related industries that already provide good-paying jobs for many Marylanders, including construction, real estate, and transportation.
Legalizing cannabis would allow Maryland residents to benefit from new tax revenue.
- Increase state tax revenue. Residents of other East Coast states are already benefitting from significant investments in expanded access to high-quality health care, education, and housing. Maryland residents deserve the same. Cannabis legalization is estimated to provide the state with over $135 million in tax revenue annually. That figure doesn’t include city and county revenue or the savings from the millions of dollars Maryland spends each year enforcing marijuana possession laws.
- Benefit Maryland residents. Maryland’s outdated cannabis prohibition encourages some residents to cross state borders to purchase marijuana and pay sales taxes to jurisdictions they will never benefit from.
Law enforcement should focus their resources on combating violent crimes, not criminalizing people for possessing cannabis.
- Make Maryland safer. Police departments across Maryland are facing hiring shortages and rising homicide rates. Legalizing cannabis in Maryland will free up law enforcement time and resources to focus on serious violent crimes. Of the ten counties in the United States with the highest rates of marijuana possession arrests, Maryland is home to three of them. Over 1,000 people in Maryland were arrested last year for simple marijuana possession.
- Protect our communities. Criminalizing Marylanders for possessing small amounts of marijuana does not improve public safety. Police resources would be better spent preventing crimes that actually endanger Maryland communities.
Marijuana prohibition has inflicted lasting damage upon Black and Brown communities.
- While cannabis use is roughly equal across races, in Maryland Black people are twice more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white people.
- A cannabis conviction can make it more difficult to obtain employment, education, and housing. We shouldn’t make it even harder for people to earn a decent living and tear families apart because one person possessed small amounts of marijuana.
- The implementation of marijuana legalization in Maryland will be centered on racial equity and seek to reverse some of the worst consequences of the discriminately waged war on drugs. Upon passage, Question 4 will:
- Create a Cannabis Business Assistance Fund to help minority- and women-owned businesses seeking to enter the legal cannabis market. This will help level the playing field and ensure those in Maryland who are most often left behind get a fair shot at the economic opportunities created by marijuana legalization.
- Expunge records of those who have possession of cannabis as their only charge and end the incarceration of those currently held in prison on cannabis convictions. People shouldn’t be sitting in prison or blocked from realizing their full potential for possessing small amounts of marijuana.
- Create a Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund, which will provide financial support to organizations that serve communities historically affected by the war on drugs
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