Maryland
Senate panel seeks independent state agency to oversee recreational cannabis – WTOP News
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The Maryland Senate Finance Committee permitted a closely amended invoice to control Maryland’s soon-to-be legalized hashish trade Monday night, organising a showdown with the Home of Delegates over a few of the language.
After almost three hours of overview and debate, the Senate Finance Committee permitted a closely amended invoice to control Maryland’s soon-to-be legalized hashish trade Monday night, organising a showdown with the Home of Delegates over a few of the language.
Finance voted to alter a proposed graduated gross sales tax — initially seen as starting from 6% to an final 10% in Fiscal 2028 — to a flat 9% tax, as soon as gross sales are legalized July 1 for adults, consistent with voters’ approval of the measure final November.
The committee additionally voted to create an unbiased Maryland Hashish Administration separate from the Alcohol and Tobacco Fee, as was known as for within the authentic laws and the Home invoice, each of which proposed it changing into a division inside a brand new Alcohol, Tobacco and Hashish Fee.
With the 7-2 approval, Finance despatched Senate Invoice 516 to the Finances and Taxation Committee for its consideration and proposals, earlier than the laws is handed out to the ground of the Senate later this week. The Home of Delegates’ laws, Home Invoice 556, was despatched to the Senate two weeks in the past.
The Finance Committee thought of 16 amendments whose 51 pages pushed the invoice reprint to greater than 100 pages, together with some adjustments proposed earlier by the Home. Moreover, Finance thought of a handful of amendments by committee members.
The merchandise that drew essentially the most consideration and was debated the longest was a Senate-only modification that will have exempted dispensaries from the state’s Clear Indoor Air Act, together with in eating places, first questioned by Sen. Benjamin F. Kramer (D-Montgomery).
“Right me if I’m taking place the unsuitable path right here,” Kramer stated to the committee counsel, who defined the amendments. “We’re going to permit meals facility licenses to be a part of a hashish license, and meaning then if we’ve acquired a restaurant the place they’ve acquired hashish, they’re going to be smoking hashish. Am I proper or unsuitable?”
That meant that hashish smoking can be permitted in eating places that offered it, although state regulation prohibits tobacco smoking in eating places, the counsel stated.
Sen. Clarence Okay. Lam (D-Howard) stated he was “slightly stunned by this modification, particularly the exemption of the Clear Indoor Air Act.”
“It provides me a big quantity of pause,” Lam stated.
“I share the identical hesitation,” stated Sen. Pamela G. Beidle (D-Anne Arundel).
Sen. Antonio L. Hayes (D-Baltimore Metropolis) stated he believed the exception initially was designed to deal with “an fairness situation” by permitting onsite consumption in rental models of multifamily dwellings.
After slightly extra dialogue of the restaurant-dispensary exemption, Sen. Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Higher Shore) stated, “I simply assume we have to scratch this.”
The committee in the end voted 9-2 in favor of amending the modification to drop the exemption.
After that vote, Beidle and Hayes left for a gathering of the Senate Government Nominations Committee, the place they’re the chair and vice-chair, respectively.
After the committee amendments have been voted, Kramer proposed language that will have protected the rights of staff to prepare by a so-called “labor peace settlement,” whereas the licensed growers are being given “mainly the power to print cash.”
The language within the invoice, he advised the committee, “is woefully brief with regard to defending the employees.”
Below his proposal, staff would be capable to talk about whether or not they wish to be a part of a “labor bargaining settlement” with out fearing retribution from administration.
That modification failed, nonetheless, on a 3-6 vote.
The panel amended the laws to create “bumper zones” designed to forestall “clumping” of dispensaries close to one another, as is usually discovered with liquor shops in impoverished city areas. Below the adjustments, dispensaries must be 1,000 ft away from one another, in addition to 500 ft away from faculties, playgrounds and day-care services.
The laws additionally was amended in an try to resolve considerations by the hemp trade, which has testified it could be run out of enterprise with new hashish laws by prohibiting the sale of non-cannabis merchandise with a small focus of Delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol and Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Hemp was explicitly outlined as not being hashish.
The committee permitted language coping with hemp by defining THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) to incorporate Delta-8, Delta-9 and another Deltas that come alongside, in addition to tincture, subjecting all of them to regulation by the proposed Maryland Hashish Administration.
With none actual dialogue, the committee deleted financial savings and loans from the invoice, leaving banks as the one monetary establishments allowed to take care of reputable cannabis-related companies with specific authorized impunity.
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Maryland
Partial victory in effort to preserve historic Black cemetery in Maryland
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Maryland
Maryland issues a new suicide prevention action plan for schools, families – WTOP News
![Maryland issues a new suicide prevention action plan for schools, families – WTOP News Maryland issues a new suicide prevention action plan for schools, families – WTOP News](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/SAD_GIRL.GettyImages-1033774340-e1705449585875.jpg)
Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in Maryland. That’s according to a new suicide prevention action plan produced through the state’s Department of Health.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in Maryland. That’s according to a new suicide prevention action plan produced through the state’s Department of Health.
Scott Poland, the director of the Office of Suicide and Violence Prevention at Nova Southeastern University College of Psychology, talked to WTOP about the action plan he authored with his wife, Donna, who is a career educator.
The “Maryland Action Plan to Prevent Suicide in K-12 Schools” serves as a reference guide to school administrators and the community, and was developed in cooperation with the state health department’s Office of Suicide Prevention.
Poland said one thing that surprises people is that children as young as 8 years old may consider taking their own lives.
“I hear from school personnel all around the country (asking if they) have to take it seriously (if a fourth or fifth grader is talking about suicide). And the answer is absolutely yes,” Poland said.
Among the data points in the action plan is a survey of students in the “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey of 2021/2022.” According to that survey, 21% of high school students “seriously considered suicide” in the past year, and 27% of middle schoolers considered suicide at some point in their lives.
Poland said it’s important to talk about suicide with young people, and that the idea that talking about it might encourage a young person to consider suicide is a “myth.”
“When we actually bring it up, it gives someone a chance to unburden themselves, to realize that they’re not alone, that there are alternatives and that there is help available,” Poland said.
But he said young people are most susceptible to imitating suicidal behavior: “It is important that we not glorify the suicide victim.”
Instead, Poland said, the emphasis after a suicide should be on healing those affected and helping them find appropriate ways to deal with their emotions and mental health.
The plan released this week includes providing intervention action plans for a young person who may be considering suicide.
“Part of that, of course, is removing lethal means and developing a written safety plan with them,” he said.
Poland said that can include helping people understand “the importance of calling 988, doing things that can calm themselves down,” and reaching out to the nearest trusted adult.
People can reach the national resource for crisis response services and suicide prevention by dialing 988.
Poland said social media is “wreaking havoc” on children’s emotional well-being, often making them feel “not smart enough, not rich enough, not good enough.” Poland said he’s currently working with the state of South Dakota on developing tools to help “young people be a little more mindful and make better decisions about their screen time.”
Poland said parents can help — when it comes to the hours and hours that many people spend online — by modeling healthy amounts of screen time themselves. And he said adults need to think about how they introduce technology to their kids.
“We’re in too (much of) a hurry to give kids smartphones and 24-hour internet access,” Poland said.
“I really have to compliment Maryland,” Poland said, on coming up with the new plan.
Poland said Maryland does not have an especially high rate of suicide, but “I think we all recognize that losing one young person to suicide is one too many.”
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Maryland
Getting to know Michigan State football’s Week 2 opponent: Maryland
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Game two is coming up for Michigan State football as the Spartans hit the road for an early season Big Ten matchup against Maryland. The Terps have had MSU’s number in recent years, but the Spartans’ new-look team is ready to change that narrative this weekend.
Jonathan Smith and his staff have a lot to work on this week after a lackluster 16-10 win over Florida Atlantic, but we’ve become more than used to slow starts for MSU in their first game so it’s not time to panic just yet.
While the team wraps up their preparations for Maryland, let’s take a quick look at the Terps and see what we can learn about them before the big game on Saturday.
Maryland is off and running in their 2024 campaign and had an absolutely dominant week one performance. The Terps took on UConn at home and came away with an impressive 50-7 win. Sure UConn is an awful football program, but we saw how poorly Michigan State just did against a similar opponent.
Not only was the final score lopsided, but ever major statistical category was as well. Maryland doubled UConn in first downs and rushing yards, threw for nearly 400 passing yards and even won the turnover battle 3-0. The Terps also only had five penalties for 45 yards which is significantly better than MSU’s 12 for 140 yards against FAU.
Sure all of this took place against UConn, but it appears that Maryland is in a very good spot heading into this big week two matchup.
One thing that I thought would be a positive for Michigan State in this game is that Maryland is breaking in a new quarterback as well. The Terps’ quarterback, Billy Edwards Jr., went off against UConn and completed 20-of-27 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns. He also is a capable runner and added 39 yards on the ground, so Michigan State will have its hands full on Saturday slowing him down.
The Terps don’t have one standout running back in the backfield, so that does benefit MSU. They do however have two solid backs in Roman Hemby and Nolan Ray who both ran for over 60 yards and one score each.
The one player however that Michigan State needs to pay the most attention to is wide receiver Tai Felton. He had one of the best Week 1 performances in the country as he recorded seven receptions for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Thankfully MSU’s defense and secondary looked much improved against FAU, so hopefully that carries over into this weekend’s matchup.
The opportunity in front of MSU on Saturday is massive. The Spartans are big underdogs in this matchup which they probably deserve, but a win would do wonders not just for the overall perception of the team but for their confidence moving forward.
I’ve got a strange feeling that we’re going to be very happy around 7 p.m. ET Saturday night.
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