Drug Decriminalization in Maryland Through an African Centered Research Paradigm- Analysis and Recommendations

Notably, the trial and appellate courts decided the case on Fourth Amendment and state
constitutional grounds. The Supreme Court of Washington, however, stressed that it need
not address the complexities of the constitutional issues because it had a statute at its
disposal delineating police authority during civilian detentions based on noncriminal
traffic offenses.283 Therefore, the court was able to prevent the pedestrian’s noncriminal
traffic violation from serving as a gateway into the criminal justice system in light of this
existing statute. As explained infra Part V.B, expanding conceptions of decriminalization
beyond sanctions to capture police authority might open possibilities for more of these
types of Restrictions.
Unfortunately, the decision of the Supreme Court of Washington had the opposite effect.
After the court’s decision, the Washington Legislature amended the statute to permit
officers to “check for outstanding warrants” during stops involving any traffic
infraction.284 After the amendment, courts upheld the authority of police officers to check
for outstanding warrants against the backdrop of both noncriminal traffic violations
involving vehicles285 as well as the noncriminal jaywalking violation.286 Thus, on one
hand, the amendment illustrates the unwillingness of some lawmaking bodies to restrict
opportunities for police to control civilians through access to personal information in ways
that have possible criminal ramifications, in spite of decriminalization efforts…
(Woods,2014)
Washington state’s efforts to decriminalize serves as a warning to researchers. Even when it seems
that successes have been achieved without addressing the social infrastructure around prohibition,
short term policy victories face the possibility of producing net-widening effects and even being
rolled back in its entirety. Colorado shows that a police force motivated by a desire to enforce laws
in a discriminatory manner can find justification even in the face of decriminalization. As net
widening effects will likely dull enthusiasm for decriminalization, the effects should be studied
and analyzed in-depth. If the presence of net widening in Prince George’s County in regards to
cannabis decriminalization were mirrored in Baltimore City or other Maryland jurisdictions,
researchers might do well to analyze what this could mean for the possibility of the
decriminalization of other drugs in Maryland. This may be a fruitful avenue for further research.
At a fundamental level, researchers should understand that, despite the seductive desire to
fall into the standard model of decriminalization research, an issue as comprehensive as the history
of the carceral state of violence requires comprehensive analysis. There is no one African-centered
research paradigm, nor is there a static set of findings that research using these methodologies
must produce. Researchers must use all the tools at their disposal to provide the most accurate
information available on the topics they set out to understand. More than anything, the Afrocentric
research paradigm argues that existing methodologies, despite their illusions of objectivity, are
woefully lacking in their attempt to provide comprehensive analysis of issues. Despite
mischaracterizations of African-centered research paradigms as being dangerously “non-
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