MEDICAL MARIJUANA, CHILD SEAT, BREASTFEEDING LAWS TAKE EFFECT ACROSS
MARYLAND THIS WEEK

ANNAPOLIS -- Medical marijuana smokers can breathe a little easier. Parents
have to put their children in booster seats at least until they turn 6. And
breastfeeding moms no longer have to skulk to a bathroom stall to feed
their babies.

Those were a few of the nearly 300 new Maryland laws that took effect
Wednesday.

Under the new medical marijuana law, smoking a joint is still a crime, but
if a defendant can prove to a judge that they had a medical necessity to
smoke the weed, the maximum penalty is a $100 fine. Critics of the law say
it will encourage illegal drug use. But backers say that marijuana can
relieve nausea and pain, and that it makes no sense to arrest cancer
patients or those with chronic illnesses who are trying to alleviate their
suffering.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) signed the law and long has backed
legalization of medical marijuana, setting him apart from the national
Republican Party and the Bush administration, which lobbied hard for a veto.