Baltimore voters to consider reparations fund for communities impacted by anti-cannabis prosecution

Baltimoreans will vote Nov. 5 on whether to create a city fund that would use state money to compensate communities whose residents were disproportionately targeted for arrest or prosecution under Maryland’s anti-cannabis laws. The charter amendment, known as Question G, would create a city fund to recompense communities that suffered disproportionately under anti-cannabis policies before the state legalized recreational use last year. The issue is likely to pass; voters have only rejected one ballot question in 20 years, and the council passed legislation creating the fund earlier this year with almost no opposition. Maryland levies a 9% tax on recreational marijuana sales, 35% of which are set aside for the Community Repair and Reinvestment Fund, from which Baltimore would pull the money. Baltimore is set to get the largest portion of the fund, which lasts until June 30, 2033. The state Office of Social Equity calculates funds based on the total number of cannabis possession charges in the jurisdiction compared to the total number of statewide cannabis possession charges between July 1, 2002, and Jan. 1, 2023. Baltimore made up 30% of all possession prosecutions in Maryland during that time, according to state data. After the state decriminalized marijuana in...