SGA President Samantha Zwerling
With only two days left in the General Assembly session, the SGA on Wednesday narrowly approved a bill supporting the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes, trying to exert a last bit of influence on the state discussion.
The bill, which passed in the Student Government Association 9-4 with seven abstentions, referred to three legislative bills being considered this session. The bills include the drug’s legalization for medical purposes, the decriminalization of its usage and legalization of recreational consumption.
The General Assembly passed a measure earlier this week allowing caregivers of medical marijuana patients to possess up to an ounce of the drug. But with the decriminalization bill stalled in the House and the others awaiting a final vote, Ellicott representative Brandon DePalo said it’s likely the SGA’s resolution will have no further effect.
However, the SGA bill’s main purpose was to initiate conversation on the campus and prepare the student body, said DePalo, who sponsored the bill.
“I think it is important to get our resources toward that issue,” DePalo said. “The current laws on the federal and state level are not working the way they were intended to. They have no effect on whether people smoke or not.”
On Wednesday, SGA members debated whether the timing was right for a vote on such a bill.
“It is better to wait until the next session,” journalism representative Noah Neiderhoffer said. He added that new bills were likely to gain consideration in a future legislative session, and until then the SGA should focus on learning students’ opinions on the marijuana debate.
Freshman representative Patrick Ronk argued members should concentrate on reaching a consensus on the issue, regardless of the General Assembly’s decisions.
“The political climate should not influence us,” Ronk said. “It is a perfectly acceptable time to talk about this.”
The second part of the discussion drew upon the actual question of whether marijuana should be legalized.
DePalo referred to the use of marijuana as a “victimless crime” where prosecution takes financial resources that could be better used elsewhere. “Smoking pot is also less addictive and causes less harm to people than tobacco and alcohol do.”
Others, such as neighboring commuter representative Kiese Hansen, argued while marijuana might be less harmful, it still could have negative effects.
“We need to take into account that although it might not be physically addictive, it can be psychologically addictive,” Hansen said.
North Hill representative Nina Marks added she would prefer to have more student input before voting to pass the bill.
“[The SGA is] the reflection of the students, but they don’t know if maybe a majority is against it,” said Calvin Lyons, a freshman computer science major who opposes legalization of marijuana. “It can be addictive, and I don’t want people to be exposed to that.
But DePalo said student groups such as the United Youth Movement and this university’s chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy expressed support for the bill, and no groups approached him with concerns.
Though she does not use marijuana, freshman business major Vy Do said she favors legalization.
“It doesn’t bother me, and people should not be punished for such a small crime,” she said. “And in the long term, the more you ban something, the more people will want it.”
