DOZENS OF MARYLAND LAWS TO TAKE EFFECT WEDNESDAY

ANNAPOLIS -- Beginning Wednesday, children under age 6 will be required to
use booster seats when traveling on Maryland highways once they have
outgrown child safety seats.

The law mandating use of booster seats is one of dozens of new laws that
take effect Oct. 1.

"It will save lives by closing a gap in Maryland's child-passenger-safety
laws," said state Delegate William A. Bronrott, Montgomery County Democrat
and one of the sponsors of the law.

"Because highway crashes are the major cause of death and disabling
injuries of children, there is nothing more important that we can do than
ensure that children of this age group are properly protected," he said.

Under current law, children who are at least 4 or weigh more than 40 pounds
can sit on regular seats so long as they wear a seat belt. But the minimum
age for using a regular seat belt will increase to 6 as a result of a law
passed by the legislature last year that takes effect Wednesday.

Child-safety advocates say seat belts are not safe for smaller children
because the shoulder harness often crosses a child's throat while the lap
belt crosses the soft tissue of the stomach instead of the hip bones.

Mr. Bronrott said booster seats are light, portable, easy to use and less
costly than safety seats, with some models selling for less than $30.

Another new law will sharply reduce penalties for people charged with
violating marijuana laws who can convince judges that they were using
marijuana for legitimate medical purposes.

The maximum punishment under the law is a fine of $100 with no jail time.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. signed the bill in May despite White House
pressure to veto it.

"Certainly, we received a lot of pressure from the [Bush] administration,"
Mr. Ehrlich said the day he approved the bill. But he added that he had a
long record of supporting the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Advocates of medical marijuana say it relieves nausea for many people
undergoing treatment for cancer and can help alleviate symptoms of other
illnesses such as Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis and AIDS.

Bruce Mirken, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project in
Washington, said Maryland's approach of eliminating all criminal penalties
except a small fine is unique. Eight states have laws legalizing medical
marijuana.

"It's certainly not the ideal answer," Mr. Mirken said. But, he said, the
law "at least keeps the threat of prison away from people who can document
they have a legitimate medical need."

Advocates of stronger drunken driving laws hope some lives will be saved by
a new law that makes it illegal for people to get behind the wheel of a car
within 12 hours of being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Called John's Law, it was named for John Elliott, a Naval Academy graduate
killed three years ago by a driver who had been arrested three hours
earlier for drunken driving.

Two other laws are intended to help prevent stalking and identify theft.

Advocates for victims of domestic violence hope a new stalking law will
make it easier to get convictions and protect potential victims.

The new law allows prosecutors to file charges in cases in which people who
are harassed have a reasonable fear of being harmed. The current law
requires proof of intent to harm someone before a conviction can be obtained.

The new law dealing with identify theft will increase the maximum fine from
$5,000 to $25,000 for using someone else's name or credit to buy goods or
property.