WINNERS BEAT THE ODDS IN AN ODD ASSEMBLY SESSION

The 2003 session of the General Assembly was one of the strangest in
memory, as a new Republican governor battled the House over a bill to
legalize slot machines and the House, in turn, battled the Senate over bond
bills and a host of other issues.

The slots debate produced plenty of clear-cut winners and losers but so
dominated the session that standouts on other issues tended to get lost.
Herewith, an effort to correct that.

Winners

(snip)

Former delegate Don Murphy. For years, Murphy pushed a bill to legalize
marijuana use by the desperately ill. This year, a weaker version of the
bill finally passed, and Ehrlich has indicated that he will sign it despite
pressure from the White House drug policy chief. Although the Baltimore
County Republican lost his reelection bid last fall, he deserves credit for
the state's recognition of the value of medical marijuana.

(snip)