Maryland
Senate OKs medical marijuana bill
Controversial legislation passes
on 29-17 vote
House
has approved similar measure
The Associated
Press
Published March 26, 2003, 3:20 PM EST
ANNAPOLIS -- The
state Senate approved legislation today to substantially reduce criminal
penalties for seriously ill people caught smoking marijuana as a way
of easing their symptoms.
The Senate bill
was approved 29-17 despite the objections of opponents who denounced
the measure as a stepping stone to legalizing marijuana altogether.
Twenty-four Democrats joined five Republicans in support of the bill,
which would set a maximum fine of $100 and no jail time for defendants
who can convince a judge they need to smoke marijuana for medical
reasons. Nine Republicans and eight Democrats voted against the measure.
The House has
already approved a similar bill, and supporters believe they have
an excellent chance of getting one or both bills to Gov. Robert Ehrlich
to sign or veto. When he served in Congress, Ehrlich supported medical
marijuana use and continues to say that he supports the concept, although
he has not taken a position on this particular bill.
Backers of the
legislation say smoking marijuana can alleviate the symptoms of serious
illnesses such as cancer, HIV or AIDS, multiple sclerosis and Crohn's
disease, and can help patients suffering from nausea hold down food
and medications.
In an hour of
debate on the chamber floor today, senators supporting the measure
gave emotional accounts of their own family struggles with cancer
and urged the passage of the bill as a way to show compassion to those
in their dying days.
Sen. Nathaniel
Exum, D-Prince George's, related how his 25-year-old daughter died
of cancer, wasting away with nausea and dehydration, "saying,
'Daddy, can you do something?' and there was nothing I could do to
help her."
Sen. Joan Carter
Conway, D-Baltimore, told how she had "closed about five family
members' eyes."
Sen. David Brinkley,
R-Frederick, recalled how he met a number of sick people who could
have benefited from marijuana when he underwent radiation treatment
for Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1989.
"These are
not the people we want to prosecute and go after," Brinkley said.
Opponents countered
that the Food and Drug Administration does not consider marijuana
an acceptable treatment for any diseases. MedChi, an organization
that represents Maryland's doctors, and U.S. drug czar John P. Walters
are against the measure.
Sen. Larry Haines,
R-Carroll, argued that passing the measure would send the wrong message
to children about a "gateway drug" that leads to harder
narcotics.
Under current
law, simple possession or use of marijuana can bring penalties of
up to a year in prison or a $1,000 fine. Sen. John Astle, D-Anne Arundel,
said passing the bill would set up a "bifurcated system"
where "we have something that is illegal, that isn't really illegal
under certain circumstances."
Haines said: "It's
not about compassion. I think it's a step toward legalizing a very
dangerous drug."
Sen. Paula Hollinger,
D-Baltimore County, a registered nurse and the chair of the Education,
Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, replied: "I'm not
one who's looking to legalize any drugs in this General Assembly,
but I will tell you I'm not willing to leave patients in pain and
not willing to eat."
Seven states with
medical marijuana laws enacted them by ballot initiatives, according
to the Marijuana Policy Project, a group working to reform marijuana
laws. In 2000, Hawaii became the first state to pass a law through
the state legislature.
Last year, a Maryland
bill matching the one that passed today was approved by the House
of Delegates but was killed in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee
under a more conservative chairman who lost his re-election bid. This
year, it passed that same committee by one vote.
Copyright © 2003
Medical
Marijuana Bill Passes
Ehrlich Voices Support For Reduced Penalties
By
Lori Montgomery and Craig Whitlock
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, March 27, 2003
The Maryland General
Assembly has voted to dramatically reduce penalties for cancer patients
and others who smoke marijuana to relieve suffering, and Gov. Robert
L. Ehrlich Jr. said yesterday that he is inclined to sign the measure.
The bill, which
passed the House of Delegates last week and won final approval in
the Senate yesterday, would set a fine of $100 for using marijuana
out of "medical necessity." Possession otherwise carries
a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
If the bill becomes
law, Maryland would become the first state to single out seriously
ill marijuana users for relaxed sanctions, although some other states
have done more to decriminalize medical marijuana. In recent years,
eight states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes. A medical
marijuana initiative also won approval from District voters but has
been blocked by Congress. In addition, 21 states, including Virginia,
have approved largely symbolic laws or resolutions recognizing marijuana's
medical value.
White House drug
policy chief John P. Walters lobbied against the Maryland measure
and yesterday called on Ehrlich (R) to veto it. Walters, who has launched
a campaign against efforts to relax state drug laws, said the General
Assembly had been "fooled" by "drug legalizers"
who are using the suffering of sick people to promote a pro-drug agenda
that includes legalizing marijuana entirely.
"Unfortunately,
they have snuck up on people in Maryland and used them to help the
wider effort," Walters said.
Walters said he
hopes "the governor will see through the con." The argument
that marijuana is "a proven, efficacious medicine" makes
no more sense than "an argument for medicinal crack," he
said.
Supporters of
the legislation say marijuana offers relief from pain and nausea to
people sickened by cancer, AIDS and other illnesses or by medical
treatments such as chemotherapy. The Maryland bill is named for Darrell
Putman, a former Army Green Beret and Howard County Farm Bureau director
who advocated legalizing marijuana for the seriously ill. Putman died
of cancer in 1999.
"The Maryland
legislature has shown the courage to defy the federal drug czar by
reducing penalties for medical marijuana right in the back yard of
a hostile White House," said Robert Kampia, executive director
of the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington nonprofit group that
promotes decriminalization. "Science, compassion and common sense
-- not to mention 80 percent of the American people -- are on our
side."
Ehrlich, who co-sponsored
a bill in Congress that would have freed states to make their own
decisions on the issue, said he would review the measure. "But,"
he added, "I've been generally supportive of medical marijuana."
The bill that
passed the Senate yesterday by a vote of 29 to 17 is far different
from the original legislation, which would have legalized marijuana
for victims of cancer, glaucoma, AIDS or chronic medical conditions
upon the advice of a physician. A House committee completely rewrote
the measure to make "medical necessity" a defense against
the prosecution of marijuana possession and to establish reduced penalties
if a judge is persuaded by the argument. The new bill, which does
not define "medical necessity," was passed by the House
in a 73 to 62 vote.
Emotions ran high
during the floor debate in the Senate. Opponents called marijuana
a "gateway drug" that leads to harder drugs and addiction.
Supporters told of watching helplessly as relatives and friends died
painful deaths and argued that marijuana could have eased their final
days.
Sen. Joan Carter
Conway (D-Baltimore) recalled how she had "closed the eyes"
of several family members after caring for them in their dying moments.
"There should be compassion and dignity when your life ends,"
she said.
Sen. David R.
Brinkley (R-Frederick), who was found to have cancer in 1989, told
how he had seen "a lot of sick people" who suffered from
intense pain and a lack of appetite, something he said marijuana could
alleviate. He acknowledged concerns that the state was endorsing use
of an illegal product.
"You're right,
it is a Catch-22," Brinkley said. "But it's a step in the
right direction. These aren't the people we want to prosecute."
Opponents questioned
the medical benefits of marijuana, but mostly they warned that reducing
the punishment for any drug would send the wrong message to Maryland
children. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the nation,
according to federal officials. Sen. J. Lowell Stoltzfus (R-Somerset)
said that regardless of why someone uses marijuana, the end result
is to enrich drug dealers.
"Why should
we funnel profits into a illegal industry?" he asked. "It's
a guise to begin legalizing marijuana. That's what it's all about."
Sen. John C. Astle
(D-Anne Arundel) asked whether the Senate was endorsing illegal behavior.
"Where would these people acquire this marijuana?" he asked.
Sen. Brian Frosh
(D-Montgomery) replied: "It's up to them. I can't think of a
legal source."
Sen. Nathaniel
Exum (D-Prince George's) said personal experience with someone who
is terminally ill might change opponents' minds. He said that his
daughter died a painful death from cancer, and that he wished marijuana
had been available for her. "Only 25 years old, on her way to
a very fruitful life, and we lost her," Exum said. "If we
could have gotten her marijuana, we would have done that for her."
© 2003 The
Washington Post Company
