With a stroke of his pen Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley (D) made his state the latest to adopt medical marijuana. One of the several bills O’Malley signed into law this morning was HB 1101, Medical Marijuana – Academic Medical Centers – Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Marijuana Commission. The law takes effect October 1st.

This makes Maryland the 19th state to technically adopt a medical marijuana law.

During the last day of the legislative session the Maryland Senate overwhelmingly approved a medical marijuana bill. It passed in a vote of 42 yes to 4 no. The bill, HB 1101, had previously cleared the House of Delegates last month. It now goes to the desk of Gov. Martin O’Malley (D).

The Maryland Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill that would reduce the penalties for marijuana possession. In a 30-16 vote, the Senate adopted SB 297, which would reduce the penalties for use or possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana.

Satirist Stephen Colbert called the death penalty “as American as killing someone with an apple pie,” but jokes like that might not work much longer.

America’s death penalty appears to be crumbling.

What’s the world’s biggest war profiteer to do if it already owns the federal government but is having trouble kicking around the local government of Montgomery County, Maryland, where it’s headquartered? Why, hire the state of Maryland to step in, of course.

And, as we’ve seen time and again when marriage equality blooms, the world survives, heterosexual marriages continue (and don’t fall apart any faster than they would have otherwise), procreation and family-building continues.

Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Maryland next week, and oh it’s going to take some getting used to. How about the horror of having to photograph two men or two women for a wedding ceremony. Apparently one anonymous photog has a professional problem with the aesthetics of it:

Marriage equality history was made yesterday in Maine and Maryland. For the first time ever the electorate in a state has voted to grant same-sex couples the right to get married instead of voting to take it away. A truly remarkable political and social transformation has occurred.

The Calvert Cliffs nuclear reactor is again in the line of fire, as are numerous other plants. Hurricane Sandy will likely bring high winds, heavy rain and the threat of flooding to nuclear facilities in Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

The State of Maryland may soon legalize same-sex marriage. Earlier this year the state legislature passed a new law allowing same-sex marriage but it won’t go into effect unless the voters of the state reject a veto referendum put on the ballot by opponents.