By Katharine Wilson, Ben Mause
Baltimore Sun
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Medical marijuana may be available to Maryland firefighters and rescue personnel in the future, after a bill allowing its usage advanced a step closer to passing the state Senate on Tuesday.
The bill would protect fire and rescue employees who are registered medical cannabis patients, allowing them to use medical cannabis when off-duty and protecting them from being penalized by their employers. Last legislative session, the measure passed the State Senate but not the House of Delegates. Bill sponsor Sen. Carl Jackson, a Baltimore County Democrat, said the bill stalled due to timing, not lack of support.
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Jackson told The Baltimore Sun on Tuesday that chronic pain has been common among firefighters due to the demands of their work. Some have turned to opioids for relief.
“With cannabis, it can help alleviate that pain without the dependency issue,” Jackson said. “It’s something that the firefighters have been asking for. It’s something that I think is needed for them to be able to perform their job without having to worry about getting addicted.”
Opponents of the bill said that it could lead to public safety issues.
“In practice, there is no scientifically reliable, universally accepted test to determine real-time cannabis impairment,” Sarah Sample, associate policy director for the Maryland Association of Counties, testified during a hearing on Feb. 19 . “This leaves employers in an untenable position, attempting to determine when use occurred and whether an employee was actually impaired while performing critical public safety duties.”
“For fire and rescue personnel, who operate emergency vehicles, respond to life-threatening situations, and make split-second decisions affecting public safety, any ambiguity surrounding impairment standards poses a substantial risk,” Sample added.
With no state law offering guidance, first responders’ use of medical cannabis has been the responsibility of local jurisdictions. Unions and activists have pushed for change at both levels. Last December, Howard County voted to allow fire and rescue personnel to use cannabis off-duty with a valid medical authorization. The change became effective on Jan. 31.
Former Rep. David Trone, who represented Western Maryland as a Democrat in Congress from 2019 to 2024, advocated for the bill during the hearing.
“When people do not have access to safe, regulated options to manage pain and mental health challenges, they may turn to illegal, unregulated drugs — with consequences that can be fatal,” Trone wrote in a letter to the Senate Finance Committee. “Our first responders understand trauma in a way most of us never will. They respond to overdoses, fatal accidents, violence, and unimaginable loss — and then are expected to return to work the next day carrying that weight. The invisible toll of that exposure is real, and too often it goes unaddressed.”
“They also carry a much higher risk of injury on the job — from fighting fires, to lifting patients — leading to chronic pain,” Trone added. “Medical cannabis continues to be an effective tool to treat those conditions long-term.”
A spokesperson described the medical cannabis issue as “personal” for Trone. While in Congress, Trone co-founded the Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force — a group of lawmakers aimed at combatting the nation’s opioid, substance use disorder, and mental health crises. He also passed a bill to ensure confidential counseling for law enforcement officers — designated the COPS Act. He introduced the bill after Officer T.J. Bomba died by suicide in Silver Spring in 2019.
Trone is challenging incumbent Rep. April McClain Delaney in Western Maryland’s Democratic primary.
The bill advanced out of the Finance Committee on a 6-4 vote on Feb. 26.
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