HB 551

Criminal Law - Drug Paraphernalia and Controlled Paraphernalia Prohibitions - Repeal

Sponsor: Karen Simpson (District 3)Committee: JudiciarySubject: Criminal Law - Substantive CrimesStatus: Hearing 2/10 at 1:00 p.m. (as of Sep 4, 2026)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Repealing prohibitions relating to drug paraphernalia and controlled paraphernalia.

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Analysis reads the bill text, the fiscal note, and the witness list. It is generated by Claude and reviewed by nobody, so check the source documents before you rely on it.

Testimony (54)

MGA witness list

FAV 51FavorableUNF 3Unfavorable

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	Bradford, Tierralobbyist	ACLU Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	A., C.	BRIDGES Coalition (Baltimore Resources for Indoor Drug-use Grassroots Education & Safety)	Written (PDF)
FAV	Green, Charrica	Baltimore City Health Department	Oral
FAV	Williams, Jordan	Baltimore City Pulbic Schools	Written (PDF)
FAV	Rabbitt, Dan	Behavioral Health System Baltimore	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Carlock, Ruth	Brain Injury Association of Maryland	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Johnson, Ro	Charm City Care Connection	Written (PDF)
FAV	Julian, Whitney	Drug Policy Alliance	Written (PDF)
FAV	Frailey, Gregory	Good Trouble Church	Written (PDF)
FAV	Evans, Katharine	Grey Matters	Written (PDF)
FAV	Diamond, Joanna	Health Care for the Homeless	Written (PDF)
FAV	McHenry, Arielle	Impact MN	Written (PDF)
FAV	Hilliard, Michael	Law Enforcement Action Partnership	Written (PDF)
FAV	Browning, Jeremy	Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs	Written (PDF)
FAV	Themelis, Nina	Mayor's Office of Government Relations	Written (PDF)
FAV	Martin, Dan	Mental Health Association of Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Dunleavy, Jessie	NA	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Rosen-Cohen, Nancy	NCADD-Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Abrams, Michael	Network for Public Health Law	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Taylor, Lauren	Nursing Students for Harm Reduction	Written (PDF)
FAV	Bradford, Timothy	Office of the Public Defender	Oral
FAV	Stofa, Tamara	Office of the Public Defender	Oral
FAV	Livshin, Michelle	On Our Own of Maryland, Inc.	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	SWASC, UM	Social Work Advocates for Social Change	Written (PDF)
FAV	Emerson, Jessica	The Human Trafficking Prevention Project	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Hoffman, Charlotte	Trans Maryland	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Isler, Amy	Trans Rights Advocacy Coalition	Written (PDF)
FAV	Benavides, Gerardo	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Curwen-Garber, Darci	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Delegate Simpson, Delegate Simpsonlegislator	Individual	Oral
FAV	Dunn, Sam	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Frailey, Greg	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Heiman, Heather	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Heinlein, Emily	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Higdon, Thomas	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Latkin, Carl	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Love, Lukah	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Luce, Rachel	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	McMahon, Mollie	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	McManus, Dillon	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Phillips, Ronald	Individual	Oral
FAV	Renfro, Zoe	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Rybak, Margaret	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Shurtleff, Melinda	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Simpson, Karen	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Steinberg, Deborahlobbyist	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Towne, Ezra	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Traver, Edward	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Vetter, Drew	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Weintraub, Jasonlobbyist	Individual	Position only
FAV	Winiker, Abigail	Individual	Written (PDF)
UNF	Jackson, Samiralobbyist	MD Police Chiefs Assoc. and MD Sheriffs Assoc.	Written (PDF)
UNF	Williamson, Marot	Maryland State's Attorney Association/MSBA	Oral + Written (PDF)
UNF	Tibbals, Trudy	Individual	Position only

Organizations on record

ACLU MarylandFAV 1

Baltimore City Health DepartmentFAV 1

Baltimore City Pulbic SchoolsFAV 1

Behavioral Health System BaltimoreFAV 1

Brain Injury Association of MarylandFAV 1

BRIDGES Coalition (Baltimore Resources for Indoor Drug-use Grassroots Education & Safety)FAV 1

Charm City Care ConnectionFAV 1

Drug Policy AllianceFAV 1

Good Trouble ChurchFAV 1

Grey MattersFAV 1

Health Care for the HomelessFAV 1

Impact MNFAV 1

Law Enforcement Action PartnershipFAV 1

Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ AffairsFAV 1

Maryland State's Attorney Association/MSBAUNF 1

Mayor's Office of Government RelationsFAV 1

MD Police Chiefs Assoc. and MD Sheriffs Assoc.UNF 1

Mental Health Association of MarylandFAV 1

NAFAV 1

NCADD-MarylandFAV 1

Network for Public Health LawFAV 1

Nursing Students for Harm ReductionFAV 1

Office of the Public DefenderFAV 2

On Our Own of Maryland, Inc.FAV 1

Social Work Advocates for Social ChangeFAV 1

The Human Trafficking Prevention ProjectFAV 1

Trans MarylandFAV 1

Trans Rights Advocacy CoalitionFAV 1

Registered lobbyists who testified

FAVBradford, TierraACLU MarylandRegistered for: ACLU of Maryland

FAVSteinberg, DeborahRegistered for: Legal Action Center

FAVWeintraub, JasonRegistered for: AFSCME Council 3; Albertsons Companies, Inc.; American Property Casualty Insurance Association; COPT Defense Properties; CVS Health; CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield…

UNFJackson, SamiraMD Police Chiefs Assoc. and MD Sheriffs Assoc.Registered for: Critical Response Group; Dell Technologies Inc.; Empower; Forward Financing; HDR Engineering, Inc.; Maryland Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs…