LEGISLATIVE COURAGE

Legislators David Brinkley and Louise Snodgrass, both Republicans, and
Democrat Sue Hecht deserve praise and thanks for their show of political
courage in co-sponsoring Delegate Donald Murphy's "Darrell Putman
Compassionate Use Act," which would remove the criminal penalties
associated with marijuana use as medicine. This bill has been cross-filed
by Senator Ulysses Currie in the state Senate.

Senate bill 705 needs to go before the Judicial Proceedings committee, on
which both of our senators sit. I urge everyone to contact them and urge
them, not to act like our dearly departed ex-president and his ilk, to
support this measure to remove a government impediment to the treatment of
sick people.

People need to realize that this isn't a bill that will "send a message."
This a bill that will allow doctors and patients to decide the best
treatment for a variety of symptoms without fear of government reprisal.
After all, who should we trust more to make decisions about our health and
treatment, our family doctor or the government?

This is an open invitation to Senators Alex Mooney and Tim Ferguson, as
well as the other delegates in Frederick County (Paul Stull, Joe Bartlett,
Donald Elliott) to show their constituents that they believe in smaller
government, that they trust that people and their doctors can make better
decisions about their health than the government, and that doctors and
patients should be able to make such decision without fear of government
action.

Michael Barnes, Frederick