Medical marijuana commissioner is out

The state medical marijuana commissioner who cast the lone dissenting vote on a controversial move to deny grower licenses to two highly rated applicants and give them to lower-ranked rivals has been replaced. Gov. Larry Hogan’s office confirmed Thursday that he has not reappointed Deborah R. Miran, an appointee of former Gov. Martin O’Malley, on the state Medical Cannabis Commission. A commission spokeswoman said Miran’s term had expired. Hogan spokesman Doug Mayer said the decision to replace Miran, the president and founder of a consulting group, had nothing to do with her dissent. Saundra Washington, executive director of LifeStyles Foundation of Maryland Inc., was appointed to replace Miran. The panel voted in July to elevate two companies applying for grower licenses into the top 15 to achieve greater geographic diversity among preliminary winners. The decision displaced two companies that scored higher. Miran voted against the move. within a few blocks of the intersection had been a hotbed for violence, with three homicides, 10 nonfatal shootings and 19 street robberies since the beginning of 2014. In a second indictment unsealed Wednesday, 17 members of another BGF crew that allegedly operated near Baker Street and McKean Avenue in Sandtown-Winchester were also charged with drug distribution and conspiracy to distribute. The few blocks around that intersection had seen six homicides, 14 nonfatal shootings and 20 street robberies since the beginning of 2014, Davis said. Of the 34 people who were indicted in the two cases, 19 are still being sought by police. as reimbursement for help the county provided during the April 2015 unrest. The return payment is the latest and largest from surrounding jurisdictions that were summoned to the city in the days after the riot following the death of Freddie Gray from injuries suffered while in police custody. “The county executive determined that we were going to return the check, based on us being supportive of the city of Baltimore and trying to help it get back on its feet,” said Baker’s spokesman, Barry Hudson. Mark Magaw, the former Prince George’s County police chief, who is now director of public safety, said for three days in April the county had more than 55 officers working around the clock to help Baltimore. Overall, the county had a presence in the city for eight days, he said.

Teen shot in downtown Baltimore