Dan Riffle wants to keep the tie-dye wearing, unkempt “stoners” from lobbying for marijuana law reform in the state General Assembly.

He would much rather handle the job himself.

Riffle, the deputy director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project, joined NORML Terps and Students for Sensible Drug Policy on Monday night for a talk centered on several marijuana laws that have been kicked around the state legislature this year. Nearly every seat was filled in the Benjamin Banneker Room at Stamp Student Union as Riffle described MPP’s goals and his role in the organization.

“Our mission is to put a professional face on drug policy,” Riffle said. “For the longest time, the people who have been advocating for drug policy reform have been counterculture … and I think that’s one of the reasons why people don’t take those of us who favor marijuana legalization or broader drug policy reform seriously.”

Riffle is a legislative analyst for MPP and works for the organization’s state policies department, which lobbies in the state legislatures of “target” states with new or developing marijuana laws. Maryland has been an MPP target state for the past four years, and Riffle said a medical marijuana bill would have passed the state legislature a long time ago if it were not for Del. Joe Vallario Jr. (D-Calvert and Prince George’s), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

“Joe is an old DUI defense attorney, traditionally very opposed to medical marijuana, traditionally opposed to anything marijuana, and also opposed to anything that runs counter to federal law,” Riffle said.

HB 297 — which would make possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana a civil, rather than criminal, offense — is the only bill Riffle believes could positively change marijuana policy in Maryland. However, the projected outcome of the bill does not look good, as the House Judiciary Committee is currently split on it, he said.

“What [Vallario] typically does with any bills having to do with marijuana is open up the desk drawer, put it in, close it, and not open it again until the end of session, which basically kills the bill,” Riffle said.

One of two medical bills currently on the table, HB 302, would have allowed patients to grow marijuana at home. Del. Cheryl Glenn (D-Baltimore City) withdrew the bill so that it could be resubmitted rather than die.

The other medical bill, HB 1101, is favored by Joshua Sharfstein, secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The bill is an outgrowth of a governor-appointed work group that is part of the affirmative defense law passed in 2011.

According to Riffle, the work group — which included Riffle’s boss Karen O’Keefe — splintered due to Sharfstein’s opposition to medical marijuana.

“The only version he would support was one that involved oversight from academic medical centers, not distribution through dispensaries like you have in Colorado,” he said. “It wouldn’t be a situation where patients would apply to the state department of health and get a card to be protected from arrest. You would have to go into this academic medical center and be admitted into a program. Your distribution of medical marijuana would be overseen by researchers.”

Gov. Martin O’Malley said he would support this bill if it passed, which Riffle believes will be the case, but he does not agree it is an effective approach. Administrators at the University of Maryland Medical Center and Johns Hopkins Hospital already said they would not participate in the research at the risk of jeopardizing federal funding for committing federal felonies, according to Riffle.

“My bet is absolutely nothing will happen with [the bill],” he said.

Members of the audience ranged from students to other advocates of marijuana law reform. Members of both NORML Terps and SSDP were pleased with the turnout.

“I think we’re getting better at advertising,” SSDP President Mikayla Hellwich said. “One of the hardest things that we struggle with is getting the word out there because the university is huge and we know that there are people out there who agree with us, but reaching out to all those people is difficult.”

“My approach has always been to become a kind of public character around campus. I’m a noticeable figure, I’m pretty much the guy in the scooter,” NORML Terps President Tyler Kutner said. “When I park myself outside of the South Campus Dining Hall or in front of McKeldin and start talking at the top of my lungs about weed, I’m naturally going to get some people coming over.”

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