MEDICAL POT BILL INTRODUCED

Three Frederick County state lawmakers are co-sponsoring a bill to legalize
marijuana for medical uses.

Delegate David Brinkley, R-Frederick, Delegate Louise Snodgrass,
R-Frederick/Washington, and Delegate Sue Hecht, D-Frederick/Washington, are
backing the bill to allow people suffering from certain medical conditions
to use marijuana.

"Frederick County wasn't the first place I thought I'd get this much
support," said Delegate Donald Murphy, R-Baltimore County, who originally
introduced the legislation. He filed the bill Thursday.

The bill allows marijuana use by patients who have been diagnosed with
cancer or glaucoma, are HIV positive or have AIDS. It also allows marijuana
to be used by those who are being treated for a debilitating disease which
is causing wasting syndrome, severe pain or nausea or seizures. This also
includes diseases that are characterized by epilepsy and severe and
persistent muscle spasms, such as multiple sclerosis.

Medical research has shown that marijuana can help patients deal with the
side effects of some debilitating diseases.

Patients must have written documentation from their physicians stating that
the use of marijuana will be helpful in their treatment.

The bill protects the patient, caregiver and physician from prosecution and
harassment by the state when marijuana is used in accordance with medical
recommendations. It would allow a patient to grow marijuana for personal
medical use at home or allow that patient to buy marijuana.

"There's precedent for protecting the purchaser and not the supplier, such
as the case of selling cigarettes to minors," Mr. Murphy said.

Mr. Brinkley was the first to co-sponsor the legislation.

"He didn't want to hide. It proved I wasn't a kook," Mr. Murphy said.

Mr. Brinkley is out of town on vacation and was unavailable for comment
Thursday.

Ms. Hecht said she sponsored the bill because she believes marijuana should
be treated like any other drug when it is used for medical purposes.

"Somehow we've categorized this drug differently," Ms. Hecht said. "I want
it categorized as a medical relief. I'm not willing to legalize the use of
it on the street, but purely just as a medical drug."

Ms. Snodgrass said as a cancer survivor she wants to provide all the tools
possible to patients fighting debilitating diseases.

"Everyone has the right to be as comfortable as they can be when they are
diseased," she said.

Delegate Joseph Bartlett, R-Frederick/Washington, is against the proposal.
He said he believes it is premature.

"It has not been approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration)," he
said, adding that synthetic drugs with THC, the active ingredient in
marijuana, are already available.

And, he pointed out, marijuana use is still not lawful under federal
regulations.

"I think this gives people the misconception that growing marijuana in your
backyard in Maryland is legal," he said.

Mr. Murphy decided to introduce the legislation at the request of the late
Darrell Putman, a Frederick County native. Mr. Putman used marijuana to
combat the nausea and loss of appetite associated with non-Hodgkins
lymphoma. Mr. Putman died in December.