GOP LAWMAKER BACKS POT AT RALLY

A Conservative Republican Delegate From Maryland Who Has Become An Unlikely
Ally To Medicinal Marijuana Advocates Took His Cause To The People Last
Night In A Rally In Silver Spring, Md.

Donald E. Murphy, who represents parts of Baltimore and Howard counties,
stood with about a dozen others during the afternoon rush hour waving to
cars as they passed the busy intersection of Colesville Road and Georgia
Avenue.

"Those who understand what we're doing seem to be pretty supportive," Mr.
Murphy said, as motorists honked their horns in solidarity.

The rally last night was the third in a series Mr. Murphy has been holding
across the state to draw attention to the issue. The first was held Tuesday
morning in Columbia, and a second was held yesterday in Frederick. The
series has been so well received, Mr. Murphy said, he is planning a fourth
for Harford County.

The lawmaker first became involved with the issue in October of 1999 after
meeting Darrell Putman, owner of a Howard County horse farm and a retired
lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. Mr. Putman suffered from
non-Hodgkins lymphoma and lost 40 pounds during chemotherapy before a
friend suggested he try marijuana.

"A guy like Darrell Putman didn't use marijuana soon enough," Mr. Murphy
said. "He didn't use it for fear of the legal process."

Mr. Putman died in December of 1999.

For the past two years, Mr. Murphy has introduced the "Darrell Putman
Compassionate Use Act." Under the measure, the state health department
would authorize patients to use marijuana medicinally and issue
identification cards that would protect them from arrest. Health department
certification also would allow a patient to cultivate up to seven plants
and prepare the marijuana for use.

Both bills died in committee.

"When I started this, people said, 'Man, you're history,'" Mr. Murphy said.
"I have a strong record of voting for anti-drug legislation, so it's ironic
that here I am."

Mr. Murphy said he has seen an increase in support. He cited polls showing
that 70 percent of people in Maryland support his initiative, compared with
only 30 percent who believe in decriminalization.

This year, the bill had 28 co-sponsors, 20 Democrats and eight other
Republicans.

Delegate Dana Dembrow was one of the sponsors, and he attended the rally
last night because it was "the right thing to do."

He said one reason Mr. Murphy has been able to survive politically while
advocating such a controversial position is because he is a Republican.

"I think, politically speaking, it's hard to tag a conservative Republican
with being soft on crime," said Mr. Dembrow, Montgomery Democrat.

Larry Silberman, a carpenter before he developed non-Hodgkins lymphoma,
also attended the rally. Mr. Silberman, 49, has been on chemotherapy for
three months and started taking marijuana three weeks ago to ease some of
the side effects, which include sleeplessness and nausea.

"What is wrong with people who are suffering from terminal cancer having
some dignity in the last days of their lives?" Mr. Murphy agrees. He
watched his father die of cancer five years ago.

"My dad was so messed up on morphine that we couldn't bring our kids to see
him and it was scary," he said. "Now if that's OK with the government, it's
not with me."

The Supreme Court ruled this week that "marijuana clubs" may not invoke a
patient's illness as a defense from federal prosecution, but disagreed over
whether sick patients themselves can avoid arrest by claiming they need
pot. Mr. Murphy said his rallies are not in response to the court's decision.

Mr. Murphy said he's spent his career fighting for less-intrusive
government, and that's what this issue is about. And the more the
legislators face their own illnesses and those of loved ones, the more
support he envisions getting.

"This is going to pass one way or another," he said. "If everybody who has
a story to tell tells it, that's going to be 141 votes."