Q: is there something I can read to find out if the sentencing for possession with intent not marijuana has/will change?

A: Judges in Maryland are like snowflakes: every judge is different in how they sentence, and take each defendant's particular circumstances into account (age, education, work and family history, past and pending criminal history, substance abuse history, how the defendant has acted or performed since the arrest, aggravating or mitigating factors in the offense or unique to the defendant or case, the defendant's acceptance of responsibility, efforts to rehabilitate, etc.). The statute sets forth the maximium sentence. Then there is the Maryland Sentencing Guidelines, a non-binding compendium which takes into account in part what judges across the state have imposed for the same offense on defendants with similar "scores" calculated based on their past criminal history and multiple other scored categories that attempt to take into account all the relevant factors. The probation department works up the guidelines score for the judge after meeting with the defendant pre-sentencing, or in some cases where a presentence investigation is not ordered, the state's attorney and defense attorney prepare their own or agree on the score (or do their own to rebut the probation department's or each other's score). Then there is the prosecutor's recommendation at sentencing as to what the State is asking for, which may or may not be part of the bargained plea agreement where the State binds itself to a cap on time served or to probation. Ultimately, the sentence is in the judge's discretion, after hearing and reviewing all the relevant information. The defendant is given the last opportunity to speak to the judge and say anything else that might influence the judge's decision. You will not find, in my opinion, a specific chnge or policy regarding intent to distribute cases. They are simply among the many crimes that are sentenced and evauated the ame as any other crime. Some jurisdictions have a "drug court" program where eligible defendants can get on track for a better potential outcome. Discuss that option with your attorney. If you are merely doing research on sentencing, then you should contact the Maryland State Commission of Criminal Sentencing Policy, link here:https://msccsp.org/