MEDICAL MARIJUANA
(snip)

Another new law that has gotten a lot of attention will significantly
reduce penalties for seriously ill Marylanders who are caught smoking
marijuana if they can convince a court they have a medical need. They
would face a $100 fine and no jail time.

After much debate, the House and Senate passed the bill, and Gov.
Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. signed it into law despite lobbying from the
White House to veto it.

"The net effect is for people suffering from terminal diseases, if
they use marijuana, they have a lot less fear of going to jail," said
Del. Dan K. Morhaim, a Democrat from Baltimore County and a co-sponsor
of the bill.

The very ill have said that using the drug helps alleviate nausea and
allows them to keep food down.

Morhaim said he is troubled by how the sick will obtain the drug if
they decide they need it. "I don't like the fact that people are still
going to have to go out on the street to get it," he said. But the
legislature could not legalize marijuana, he said, because possessing
it violates federal law.

(snip)