EHRLICH LOWERS FINE FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS

Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. today signed a bill to dramatically
reduce penalties for cancer patients and others who smoke marijuana to
relieve suffering, despite fierce lobbying from the White House and many of
his conservative supporters.

The measure would set a fine of $100 for using marijuana out of "medical
necessity." Possession otherwise carries a maximum penalty of a year in
jail and a $1,000 fine.

Supporters of the legislation say marijuana offers relief from pain and
nausea to people sickened by cancer, AIDS and other illnesses or by medical
treatments such as chemotherapy.

Under the new law, Maryland becomes the first state to single out seriously
ill marijuana users for relaxed sanctions, although other states have done
more to decriminalize medical marijuana. In recent years, eight states have
legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Most of those actions have come
through ballot referendums, and Ehrlich noted today that he is only the
second governor in the country -- and the first Republican -- to sign such
a bill. The other was a Democratic governor in Hawaii.

A medical marijuana initiative also won approval from District voters but
has been blocked by Congress.

In addition, 21 states, including Virginia, have approved largely symbolic
laws or resolutions recognizing marijuana's medical value.

Ehrlich, who as a Baltimore County congressman sponsored legislation that
would have freed states to make their own decisions on the issue, was urged
to veto the bill by the White House's drug policy chief John P. Walters.