Cannabis, drones, taxes: New laws take effect July 1 in the DMV

Eight months after Maryland voters overwhelmingly approved legalized recreational cannabis in a referendum, a new law kicks in on Saturday that allows adults 21 and up to purchase the federally banned drug, possess small amounts of it and even grow it.

The legal sale of recreational cannabis is one of a slew of new laws taking effect this weekend in Maryland, including a 5-cent hike in the state’s gas tax and tax breaks for military veterans.

Meanwhile, in the District, the minimum wage will increase from $16.10 per hour to $17.00 per hour for all workers beginning July 1. The minimum wage for tipped workers will also increase, jumping from $6 per hour to $8 per hour, thanks to Initiative 82, a city ballot measure approved in November. In Virginia, solitary confinement will be all but eliminated in state prisons, new restrictions will limit drone activity, dentists will receive new powers to fight wrinkles and police will have more authority to combat civil unrest, among other laws that take effect Saturday.

Maryland joins the District and Virginia to become the 20th state in the country to legalize recreational cannabis for adult use. But unlike elsewhere in the region, Maryland has set up a market that allows people 21 and older to purchase cannabis from medical cannabis businesses that have paid a conversion fee to participate in the new recreational market.

Under the rules, adults can possess up to 1.5 ounces and grow up to two marijuana plants out of public view. Penalties for smoking marijuana in public are increased to a maximum fine of $50 for the first offense and $150 for the second, but under a measure designed to ensure that marijuana use does not continue to be criminalized among Black and Brown people, police officers cannot initiate a search based solely on the smell of cannabis. The new law passed at voters’ behest also allows for the state to collect a 9 percent tax on cannabis sales, which is the amount levied for alcohol.

Also in Maryland, starting this weekend, drivers will pay 47 cents on a gallon of gas — up from 42.7 cents — as part of a 2013 bill that tied the gas tax to inflation. This year’s increase amounts to a 10 percent jump.

While Marylanders will pay more at the gas pump, military veterans will pony up a little less in taxes, and some members of the U.S. National Guard will get small reimbursements for health care costs under a handful of bills proposed by Gov. Wes Moore (D) in his first legislative session.

Military retirees who are 55 or older can exempt the first $20,000 of military income, up from $15,000, and some National Guard members can be repaid up to $60 for monthly health-care premiums.

Moore’s other bills that take effect Saturday provide incentives to address the teacher shortage, and target banking deserts in low- and moderate-income communities where residents do not have access to banks and credit unions.

Maryland’s next budget, as a result of several new laws, will allocate $12 million for the state’s suicide helpline; $5 million to help beef up security at nonprofit organizations, including faith-based facilities, to protect against hate crimes; and increase the pot for film tax credits to $15 million — up from $12 million — in an attempt to lure more television and film productions to the state.

In the District, an emergency measure passed by the D.C. Council that caps new rent increases in rent-stabilized apartments also takes effect Saturday. Rather than a nearly 9 percent increase, the council moved to limit property owners from raising rents by more than 6 percent starting July 1 and 12 percent cumulatively over the next two years. Those caps would be lower for seniors and for those with disabilities, at 4 percent this year and 8 percent total over the next two years.

And starting July 1, Good Hope Road SE, between Anacostia Drive SE, and Alabama Avenue SE, will be named Marion Barry Avenue SE after the four-term former mayor, as a result of legislation the D.C. Council passed in April. D.C. will reissue business licenses, driver’s licenses and professional licenses free to residents and businesses impacted by the change, starting Saturday.

In Virginia, the Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-led House put a host of new, relatively modest laws on the books but failed to advance far-reaching goals on issues such as abortion and gun rights.

One new law that began drawing attention even before going into effect: Virginia will join the handful of states that require adult-content websites to use age verification technology to ensure anyone seeking access is over age 18. The popular site Pornhub said last week that it would block all access in Virginia, arguing that the state did not establish a reliable and secure method for age verification and that controlling access on individual devices is more effective than trying to police age and identity online.

The measure passed the state Senate by a vote of 37-3 and cleared the House unanimously.

Lawmakers also approved measures that expand what costs can be counted toward child-support obligations, nudge gun owners to store their firearms in safes and ban foreign adversaries from buying farmland that, at least in the past decade, they haven’t actually been buying.

The new law that will prohibit the use of solitary confinement in Virginia prisons comes with exceptions. The Corrections Department had already banned solitary confinement, but it still uses “restorative” confinement in cases when inmates need to be kept apart from the general population, at times for the safety of the inmate or others. The new law requires that every inmate be offered at least four hours a day outside the cell. It also sets out requirements for checking on the health of such inmates and transferring them back to a regular cell.

Another new law allows local police chiefs or other top law-enforcement officials to enact a curfew during a civil disturbance. The curfew cannot be extended or renewed after 24 hours unless by order of the local governing body or a judge.

While there was no appetite in the House or governor’s mansion to enact gun control, Republicans went along with a Democrat’s bill to encourage gun owners to purchase safes for their firearms. The law provides a tax credit for up to $300 for the buyer. Democrats, meanwhile, agreed to a measure to allow the owners of switchblades to carry them in a concealed fashion. But at the same time, stiletto knives were added to the list of prohibited concealed weapons.

Another new law will prohibit foreign adversaries from buying agricultural land. The legislature passed the measure at the behest of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), a potential 2024 presidential candidate who claimed early this year that China was trying to buy farmland near the state’s military bases.

Similar warnings have been made by leading GOP White House candidates, including former president Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The only major purchase in Virginia was a decade ago, when the Hong Kong-based conglomerate WH Group, which is not owned by the Chinese government, bought Smithfield Foods. Youngkin accepted a $30,000 Smithfield donation in January 2022 for his inaugural committee.

The governor had less success with another measure popular with the GOP base: abortion. Even in the Republican-led House, Youngkin’s bill seeking to ban the procedure after 15 weeks, with exceptions, never got a hearing in an election year that will put all 100 seats in the House and all 40 in the Senate on the ballot this fall. But both parties got behind a measure meant to provide new mothers with better financial support. The new law allows a parent seeking child support to seek help with expenses related to and delivery, not just costs incurred after birth.

Another addition to the code raises the amount jurors are paid from $30 a day to $50. A pair of new laws is intended to rein in the use of drones around homes and prisons. One prohibits the use of drones to spy through the windows or doors of homes. Another prohibits drones from flying over state and local correctional facilities without consent. Officials say the drones have been used to drop contraband.

Virginia dentists will be allowed to treat wrinkles as well as teeth under a new law that lets them administer botulinum toxin injections, commonly known as Botox, for cosmetic purposes. Already permitted to administer the injections for pain relief, dentists will need to complete special training. While the law takes effect July 1, dentists cannot offer cosmetic procedures until the state Board of Dentistry creates related regulations, a process that will take a minimum of 18 months.