RESIDENTS SPEAK OUT FOR MEDICINAL MARIJUANA

Erin Hildebrandt's Crohn's disease and chronic migraines were so
debilitating that the 32-year-old mother of five once worried that she would
never be able to properly care for her children. She tried various powerful
narcotics to deal with the pain, but found no relief. Now she worries that
she could be arrested and her children taken away because she found a drug
that works: pot.

With Maryland lawmakers considering legalizing the use of medical marijuana,
the Washington County woman was among witnesses to testify yesterday before
the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Cancer sufferers told lawmakers
how the drug had helped them withstand chemotherapy. Del. Dan K. Morhaim
(D-Baltimore County), a doctor, said that for some patients, marijuana is
far superior to alternatives in treating nausea.

But opponents worried that legalizing the drug for medicinal purposes would
send the wrong message to children and could potentially put the state in
conflict with the federal government. The Hospice Network of Maryland, while
supportive of the effort, said the bill would decriminalize the drug for
medical use -- but not for the doctors who prescribe it.

Nine states administer active medical marijuana programs. But the federal
government recently prosecuted a California man who grew marijuana to be
sold for medicinal uses under the auspices of that state's laws.

Maryland's bill has an ally in Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R). Spokesman
Henry Fawell said the governor "supports the concept" but has not decided
whether to support the bill.

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