Legislation

The state's medical marijuana law was crafted to put a high priority on patient privacy, but that consideration has been placed on the back burner a number of times in recent years in the name of public safety.

The Department of Health legislation creates a multi-disciplinary team to review overdose deaths in conjunction with the state Medical Examiner, in order to identify emerging trends in drug overdoses and, hopefully, reduce deaths in the future.

A pair of bills to address the opioid overdose crisis would have caused considerable damage instead by allowing for the involuntary commitment of people with substance abuse disorders considered a danger to themselves or others.

In April, the ACLU testified before the House Judiciary committee in support of legislation to clarify the law protecting medical marijuana patients from discrimination by their employers.

Legislation passed by the General Assembly this year will impose additional onerous registration and community notification requirements on sex offenders which make it even more difficult to find housing and rehabilitate and reintegrate into society.

The ACLU strongly supported legislation to address problems with the entire concept of civil forfeiture. These bills would have ensured judicial oversight, and that law enforcement could not confiscate a person's belongings even when they know they cannot make a criminal case against them.

The General Assembly continued its spate this year of legislation to further penalize sex offenders without emphasizing public safety. This year, that included legislation would authorize innkeepers to kick out any Level III sex offender living in the establishment for more than 30 days.

This important legislation would make it unlawful for employers to refuse to hire, discharge or otherwise discriminate against an individual on account of their use of medical marijuana.

Among the most dangerous of legislation put forward by the Attorney General’s office in response to the opioid crisis was this measure to impose a life sentence on anyone who provides an unlawful controlled substance to a person, when consumption of that substance results in the person’s death.