ACTIVIST TARGETS MEDICAL POT BILL

An oversized American flag hangs outside the door of Joyce Nalepka's home,
next to a yellow ribbon wrapped around a tree. Inside, on her computer,
she is fighting a war against the decriminalization of medical marijuana in
Maryland.

For the last 25 years, the Silver Spring grandmother has led parents around
the state and country in opposition to the legalization of drugs.

Now, she is trying to get the message across to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.,
who has the final say in whether criminal penalties for using medical
marijuana will be reduced in Maryland. Mrs. Nalepka said her repeated
attempts to contact Mr. Ehrlich to schedule a meeting with him on the
dangers of marijuana have gone unanswered. She's placed numerous phone
calls and has written four letters since he took office in January.

"You cannot legalize marijuana and say you are working for drug
prevention," she said, referring to Mr. Ehrlich's campaign promise to fight
drugs. "We are hoping to pressure him to veto the bill."

During the General Assembly session that ended last week, Mrs. Nalepka, who
refuses to reveal her age, was a common sight in Annapolis as she rushed to
committee meetings to testify and quizzed proponents about their support
for the bill. Mr. Ehrlich, who has said he supports the concept of medical
marijuana, has not yet decided whether to sign the bill, which lawmakers
passed during the session.

The bill would reduce penalties for possession for medical reasons to a
$100 fine and no jail time. The current penalty is up to a year in prison
and a $1,000 fine. A spokesman said Mr. Ehrlich, a Republican, has
discussed the issue with everyone, including the Bush administration. "The
governor has met personally with both proponents and opponents of the bill
and will make a decision based on that," said Ehrlich spokesman Henry
Fawell. In an April 5 letter to the governor's adviser Martin Madden, Mrs.
Nalepka wrote about her refusal to give up on trying to talk to the
governor. "I still intend to pursue the avenue of a debate with the governor.

"If he has the facts, let's hear them from him," she wrote. A cheerful
woman with a gently lined face and a precise blond bob, Mrs. Nalepka was at
the forefront of a fight to keep Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts
Democrat, from legalizing marijuana in the late 1970s. Mr. Kennedy wanted
to legalize possession of 3 ounces of marijuana.

So, Mrs. Nalepka and her group, then called the Interstate Movement of Moms
and Dads against Decriminalization of Dangerous Drugs, filled 1-ounce jars
with parsley and handed them out to lawmakers on Capitol Hill so they could
see how much 3 ounces was. The measure failed. Her motivation to fight
drugs came after she found out that her children's baby sitter was using
them. She said she kept the lines of communication open with her two
children and created such disdain for drugs in her household that her
children never thought about using them. Not all in her group, now called
Drug Free Kids, are that lucky.

Some group members, who jokingly call themselves GWACS or, Grandparents
With A Computer, have lost their children to drugs. The numbers roll off
Mrs. Nalepka's tongue as she stresses the dangers of drugs: Last year, a
University of Maryland study found that nearly 47 percent of 12th-graders
said they had smoked marijuana. Two years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that
medical marijuana distributors cannot offer a "medical necessity" defense
in federal court. But proponents of medical marijuana argue the bill is a
blessing, saying it can greatly reduce the suffering of HIV/AIDS and cancer
patients. "It is a meaningful step forward because it keeps seriously ill
people out of jail," said Bruce Mirken of the District-based Marijuana
Policy Project. He said the Maryland bill did not, however, compare well
with laws passed in eight other states legalizing marijuana. Erin
Hildebrandt, a mother of five from Washington County, said she has suffered
from debilitating pains from Crohn's disease for years and has days when
she cannot get out of bed. She said she used marijuana and found that she
could lead a life free of pain. But she gave up after a while because of
the repercussions of the law. "We need to protect the weak and the
vulnerable," she said. "Putting someone like me in jail is just ridiculous."