The "kingpin" of drug trafficking organization was sentenced to 25 years in prison, prosecutors say. The "kingpin" of a drug trafficking organization that operated throughout the Baltimore region was sentenced to more than two decades in prison on drug-related charges in Baltimore County, authorities said. Baltimore County Circuit Judge Robert Cahill, Jr. on Thursday sentenced Charles Davenport, 29, to 40 years, with all but 25 years suspended, for conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine, possession with the intent to distribute heroin, and possession of large amounts of heroin, the Attorney General's office said. [continues 134 words]
AltPharm, a Laurel-based medical marijuana dispensary, has received its state pre-approval license to operate in the National Harbor area of Prince George's County, opening as early as summer 2017. AltPharm spokeswoman Martha Heil said the license will allow the company to sell medical marijuana in state legislative District 26, which includes Fort Washington, Oxon Hill and Accokeek. The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission approved preliminary licenses for 102 dispensaries statewide in November and revealed their selections on Dec. 9. Ten of the dispensary licenses went to companies that already had preliminary licenses to grow the drug. [continues 591 words]
Pharmaceutical distributor settles claims it failed to report suspicious orders from Maryland, elsewhere One of the nation's largest pharmaceutical distributors has agreed to pay $44 million to resolve federal claims that it did not report suspicious orders of the prescription painkiller oxycodone from pharmacies in Maryland, Florida and New York. Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health Inc.'s civil settlement is one of the largest ever in a drug diversion case, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The settlement comes as federal law enforcement works to curb a stubborn opioid epidemic that was linked to almost 1,100 overdose deaths in Maryland last year. More than 350 were linked directly to prescription painkillers. [continues 637 words]
Medical marijuana could finally become a reality next year in Maryland, one of the states slowest to make the drug available for purchase after legalizing sales. In 2016, regulators awarded long-awaited licenses to grow, process and sell cannabis while grappling with fallout from those shut out of the potentially lucrative industry. Now selected businesses are racing to set up facilities and pass final inspections so the first seeds can be planted and flowers can hit the shelves by the end of 2017, four years after lawmakers legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. [continues 1079 words]
Maryland patients are several months away from being able to legally obtain medical cannabis to treat chronic conditions. But scammers are already trying to make a buck off of patients desperate for the relief they seek from the drug, according to regulators and industry officials. There are reports that companies are selling "marijuana cards" or offering exams to "preapprove" patients for medical cannabis. Neither is a legitimate practice, officials say. "They are telling patients that they have the ability to preapprove them for the medical cannabis program, and that is a lie," said Darrell Carrington, executive director of the Maryland Cannabis Industry Association. "There is no such thing as preapproval." [continues 512 words]
Medical marijuana could finally become a reality next year in Maryland, one of the states slowest to make the drug available for purchase after legalizing sales. In 2016, regulators awarded long-awaited licenses to grow, process and sell cannabis while grappling with fallout from those shut out of the potentially lucrative industry. Now selected businesses are racing to set up facilities and pass final inspections so the first seeds can be planted and flowers can hit the shelves by the end of 2017, four years after lawmakers legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. [continues 1023 words]
[photo] County police have tracked the location of opiod overdoses and fatalities in 2016. (Anne Arundel County Police Department) Heroin overdoses reach new high in Annapolis, Anne Arundel. With less than one month left in 2016, the number of people killed by heroin and opioid overdoses in Annapolis and Anne Arundel has surpassed that of the past two years combined. County police Chief Timothy Altomare provided the latest overdose numbers during a phone interview Friday morning. While Altomare touted County Executive Steve Schuh's multifaceted approach to combating heroin by using public health and educational resources in addition to law enforcement, the police chief conceded that the drug continues to pose a significant challenge in the county. [continues 1070 words]
Our view: Legislators should investigate apparent inconsistency in medical marijuana commission's criteria for who gets grower licenses When the General Assembly legalized medical marijuana in Maryland, it required the commission running the program to "actively seek to achieve racial, ethnic, and geographic diversity when licensing medical marijuana growers." But the attorney general's office advised the commission that, absent a study documenting racial disparities in the medical cannabis industry, creating racial and ethnic preferences was unconstitutional. As a result, the regulations the commission adopted make no mention of racial diversity. [continues 919 words]
Medical Marijuana Panel Leaders Set Meeting With AG on Minority Dispensers Leaders of the state's medical marijuana commission are meeting with Attorney General Brian E. Frosh next week to figure out how to achieve more racial diversity when the panel awards licenses to companies to dispense the drug. The Medical Cannabis Commission has come under scrutiny because most of the 30 companies to which it has awarded preliminary licenses to grow or process marijuana are led by white men. None of the companies that won lucrative licenses in the state's fledgling industry are led by African-Americans. About a third of the state's population is African-American. [continues 488 words]
Its frustrating to see our County Commissioners' behavior toward Maryland's Medical Cannabis Program. They seem to be operating with a Reefer Madness mentality, allowing their policymaking to be guided by distress and superstition rather than established facts and evidence. As a regulatory professional, I was fortunate enough to attend a Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission meeting at Johns Hopkins last year. One of the biggest takeaways for me was the seriousness and professionalism with which the individuals involved in designing this policy (almost all MDs and lawyers) treated the subject. This isn't about Jeff Spicoli, 420, some gateway drug or the Grateful Dead. This is about medicine, plain and simple. A much-needed, effective therapy for helping our most vulnerable patients - folks with chronic illnesses and terminal diseases including all forms of cancer, Parkinson's, MS, epilepsy, etc. Who in our community hasn't felt the impact of one of these devastating conditions? [continues 166 words]
No Black Businesses Received Licenses to Grow Medical Marijuana Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) have joined black state lawmakers in expressing dismay about the lack of diversity in Maryland's burgeoning medical-marijuana industry. At the same time, the head of the legislative black caucus is calling for legislation to ban elected officials from taking jobs in the industry. Del. Cheryl D. Glenn (D-Baltimore), who was instrumental in passing the bill that legalized medical marijuana, said she's angry that another leader in that effort later joined a company seeking a license to grow, process and sell the drug, without publicly making clear his dual roles. [continues 752 words]
Black Lawmakers Say Cannabis Licensees Lack Racial Diversity The head of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland is asking the governor to intervene in the awarding of medical cannabis licenses because the selected companies lack diversity, denying minorities the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of an emerging industry. "I am completely disappointed with the medical marijuana commission and the decision that they have made in terms of awarding licenses," said Del. Cheryl D. Glenn, chairwoman of the black caucus. "Clearly, there was no effort at all to factor in minority participation and make sure that it's inclusive of everybody in the state of Maryland." [continues 1240 words]
Critics Say MD. Diversity Isn't Reflected; Decisions May Be Challenged Maryland set up its legal medical marijuana industry with hopes of racial diversity and equity in the division of profits, but not one of the 15 companies that were cleared this week for potentially lucrative growing licenses is led by African Americans. Some lawmakers and prospective minority-owned businesses say this is unacceptable in a state where nearly a third of the population is black, the most of any state with a comprehensive legal pot industry. They say the lack of diversity is emblematic of how, across the country, African Americans are disproportionately locked up when marijuana use is criminalized but are shut out of the profits when drug sales are legalized. [continues 1046 words]
Most scientists don't include personal stories in their research reports, but for John Lilly, personal experiences and science experiments were the same thing. His ears, eyes, mouth, and nose were calibrated probes. His mind was the unbiased observer, the ideal model for dispassionate inquiry. Knowledge and experience led him to new sets of questions, not firmly held beliefs. But as anyone who has traveled into the psychedelic spaces knows, soon after arrival, one quickly finds out that the scientist's tool kit-language-is much too small and inadequate for the job. The scientist's reaction to the psychedelic experience is a set of questions that sound more like a seeker's. This is the crux of the enigma of John Lilly. [continues 5334 words]
Town of Hancock Joins With Grower of Medical Cannabis The small Western Maryland town of Hancock - population 1,545 - is poised to be a part owner of a medical marijuana company after winning a license to grow cannabis plants this week. The town is in a unique partnership with an Arizona company that plans to grow cannabis in a town-owned warehouse and share profits with the Washington County town. After Hancock suffered an exodus of about 1,000 jobs over the past two decades, the cannabis industry could spark an economic turnaround for the town and surrounding communities, said Mayor Daniel Murphy. [continues 1009 words]
More Than 20 Companies Given Preliminary OK for Medical Pot The state has awarded preliminary licenses to more than 20 companies to grow and process marijuana in Maryland, a major step forward in the effort to make medical cannabis available to patients in Maryland. Licenses were awarded Monday to companies across the state, from Washington County in Western Maryland to Worcester County on the Eastern Shore. They plan to grow marijuana plants and turn them into pills, oils, extracts and other products for patients suffering from a range of illnesses. [continues 1073 words]
Of the 15 companies cleared for cultivation, at least eight have ties to marijuana industries in other states. From page A1 Thirty businesses have won approval to grow and process medical marijuana in Maryland, regulators announced Monday, putting life into the industry more than three years after lawmakers legalized the drug for medical use. Several of the winning applicants have political ties - with major donors or high-ranking officials on their teams - including a company that hired the Maryland lawmaker who was the driving force behind the tightly regulated program. [continues 1024 words]
Former Sheriff Janney Has Stake in Application BALTIMORE - Today marks the day when Cecil County will find out whether its future will be green, benefitting economically from the development of potential medical marijuana growing and processing facilities. The Natalie M. LaPrade Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, under the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which was formed by 2014 legislation to develop policies, procedures and regulations to implement the state's medical marijuana program, voted on its stage one license pre-approvals for 15 growers and the first 15 processors on Aug. 5. [continues 972 words]
When Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced her decision to drop the remaining cases against the police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray, she spoke of fighting for reform and equality in our justice system. As a city public defender, I'd like to offer a few suggestions. Continuing to pursue police misconduct is a given, particularly now that a Justice Department inquiry has found that the Baltimore Police Department "engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the United States Constitution and laws" and in "conduct that raises serious concerns." But there are two other examples of injustice occurring in courts on a regular basis: the inequities of the cash bail system and the continuation of the war on drugs. [continues 644 words]
Parents of a young man who died of substance abuse urge others to talk about addiction before they, too, face tragedy Thank you to Amy Waldron for her letter ("Bringing addiction out of the shadows," July 28) regarding the death of our son, Alex Hoehn, from substance abuse. Amy's comments were both accurate and poignant, "Addiction is killing our young people at unprecedented rates. ... By bringing addiction out of the shadows and showing the faces of the people we are losing to this disease, we can continue to move forward toward breaking the stigma of addiction." Her response touched our hearts and we felt compelled to further share our story and the brutal effects of this horrific drug epidemic. [continues 497 words]
Inside Maryland
