This week, the Maryland Senate voted on a measure to decriminalize the possession of small quantities of marijuana. The proposed legislation would allow individuals caught with less than ten grams of pot to slide by with no jail time and a fine capped at $100. Under the current law, possession of this amount carries a punishment of up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Though the bill passed the Senate with a bipartisan vote of 30-16, it is expected to meet with some resistance in the House of Delegates. Many on the right, especially those of the middle-aged parental variety, have opposed this measure based on their cliched fear of marijuana as a gateway drug, making this proposal a ‘gateway law’ of sorts that could lead to the legalization of harder drugs in the future. By essentially giving casual pot users the green light to tote their marijuana around, “[w]hat sort of message are we sending?” asked Senate Minority Leader E.J. Pipkin (R-Cecil), who did not vote for the legislation personally.

“We don’t want to wrap people up in the criminal jail system for this,” explained Sen. Bobby Zirkin (D-Baltimore County), who proposed the bill to the Senate. Dan Riffle, a lobbyist for the Marijuana Policy Project, echoed that sentiment: “Our broader message is that adults should not be punished for choosing a substance that is safer than alcohol.”

Washington and Colorado became the first states to completely legalize recreational marijuana in November ballot referendums. Stoner jokes aside, people have been talking about those laws ever since because many are interested in seeing the effects of lifting the ban on pot. Will the citizens of Washington and Colorado descend into a state of chaos and crime as the masses become hooked on every drug from weed to meth? Or could pro-pot laws actually benefit the economy?