BALTIMORE — Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced Tuesday that her office will no longer prosecute any marijuana possession cases, “because prosecuting these cases has no public safety value, disproportionately impacts communities of color and erodes public trust, and is a costly and counterproductive use of limited resources.”
“We need to get serious about prioritizing what actually makes us safe,” said Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, “and no one who is serious about public safety can honestly say that spending resources to jail people for marijuana use is a smart way to use our limited time and money.”
Mosby’s office will implement the following changes to their marijuana policy:
- Mosby will no longer prosecute marijuana possession cases, regardless of weight or a person’s prior criminal record.
- Mosby will prosecute distribution of marijuana as long as there is articulated evidence of intent to distribute beyond the mere fact of possession.
- Further, all people charged for the first time with felony possession with intent to distribute or with felony distribution will be referred to diversion.
- All Mosby is seeking to vacate nearly 5,000 prior marijuana convictions dating back to 2011.
- Mosby will also propose legislation that would give prosecutors the power to vacate convictions in the interest of justice.
