WELDON SIGNS ON TO MARIJUANA BILL

ANNAPOLIS -- Delegate Richard Weldon said Tuesday he will sign on to a bill
that will allow the terminally and seriously ill to use marijuana to gain
some relief from their symptoms.

Like many legislators who support the idea, a cancer sufferer has touched
Mr. Weldon's life personally.

"I lost an uncle who died of cancer," he said. "You know, this was a
6-foot-3 (inch), 260 pounds of big, vibrant, vital guy, and we watched him
wither away to nothing before he died. One of the contributors to his rapid
decline in health was that he had no appetite, and he couldn't eat.

"This was 15, 20 years ago before we would ever have contemplated the use
of a substance like marijuana if it had the benefit of increasing appetite."

The use of the drug would at least have allowed his uncle to eat and take
in calories to keep his strength up in the hope of finding a timely cure,
he said.

Delegate Dan Morhaim, a Baltimore Democrat and a doctor, has proposed
legislation for a pilot project that would determine if there are medical
benefits to using marijuana to increase the appetite for those in the
terminal stages of an illness such as cancer, Mr. Weldon said.

"There's been speculation Delegate Morhaim's bill will prove conclusively
and scientifically that there's a benefit," Mr. Weldon said.

Dr. Morhaim is not the only lawmaker to develop medical marijuana
legislation. State Sen. David Brinkley, R-Carroll/Frederick, is writing
legislation so seriously ill users of marijuana only face a $100 fine if
prosecuted for possession, if they can prove they need it for medical use.

Fellow Sen. Gloria Hollinger, D-Baltimore, will propose legislation focused
on the health benefits of the drug. All three are coordinating their efforts.

But GOP support may be hard to find, Mr. Brinkley said.

"I'm working on Republicans to try and get some Republican support," he said.

Mr. Weldon recognizes that his support for the bill may put him in conflict
with other members of his party.

"I know there'll be controversy and I understand that and I think there are
some members of the Republican party that will want to talk to me about why
I've co-sponsored this legislation."

Legislation was proposed and rejected on a 6-5 vote in the senate Judicial
Proceedings Committee last year, killed by the single vote of Frederick's
state Sen. Timothy Ferguson. He lost his seat to Mr. Brinkley in the 2002
election.

Now legislators hope there is support to get the bill passed. But Mr.
Weldon hedges when asked how he thinks the bill will fare.

"I think it has a better chance" than last time, he said. "I wouldn't
attempt to predict success or failure of a piece of legislation because
there are so many dynamics at work."

But it may be how widespread cancer has become that finally provides the
push needed to pass the medical marijuana law.

"The sad thing is about cancer in particular (is) there are so many horror
stories," Mr. Weldon said. "We all have family members or friends or
extended family that have been impacted by this horrible disease. So the
sad thing is the pool of potential supporters grows as the disease
continues to ravage our population E There are some significant minority
members who are signing on as sponsors of Delegate Morhaim's bill."