The bill would allow a question about recreational marijuana to be placed on the ballot in November.

The Maryland legislature is working on a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana as early as the summer of 2023.

On Friday, the House passed a bill 96-34 that would put recreational marijuana on the ballot in November of 2022. If approved by Maryland voters, the bill would make it legal for adults 21 years and over to possess up to 1.5 ounces of marijuana. A separate bill was passed that would form a commission to set limits and regulations for sale.

Medical marijuana was legalized by a similar process in Maryland in 2014.

Recreational marijuana is already legal in Virginia and D.C. and advocates have been pushing the state of Maryland to do the same.

Nationwide, the average amount allowed by law is around two ounces, with some states having limits that are higher or lower. California and Washington both allow people to possess up to eight ounces at a time. In states where medical marijuana and recreational marijuana are both legal, patients still apply for medical cards through their doctor because medical marijuana is typically cheaper.

Right now in Maryland, a person found with more than 10 grams of marijuana could be sentenced to up six months in jail and fined up to $1,000.

HB0837 also includes language that would expunge the records of people who have been convicted of possessing Marijuana. The new law would also reduce penalties for the possession of larger quantities of marijuana from a misdemeanor to a civil offense.

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