PENALTY FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE CAPPED

ANNAPOLIS (AP) - A House committee voted yesterday to reduce the
penalty for Marylanders who use marijuana for medical purposes to a
maximum fine of $100.

"This bill will keep cancer patients and AIDS patients out of jail,"
said Delegate Donald Murphy, Baltimore County Republican, chief
sponsor of the bill, after it was approved 14-4 by the Judiciary
Committee.

Mr. Murphy's bill set up a complex system to prohibit state
prosecution of people who use marijuana for medical purposes on the
recommendation of a doctor. It involved registration with the state
and listed medical conditions that could be treated.

But the committee passed a simpler piece of legislation that would
require judges to consider evidence that marijuana was used for
medical purposes. If a judge found someone possessed marijuana out of
medical necessity, the maximum penalty would be a fine of $100.

The bill will come before the House of Delegates tomorrow. If it
passes the House, the bill will go to the Senate.

Billy Rogers, director of state policies for the Washington-based
Marijuana Policy Project, said the bill "removes the threat of prison
and allows patients to use medical marijuana to treat their
illnesses."

"While a judge could impose a $100 fine, it is likely most
prosecutors and judges will not waste their time harassing Maryland
patients if this bill becomes law," he said.

Mr. Rogers said seven states have medical marijuana laws approved by
voters after referendum campaigns. Hawaii is the only state with a
law passed by the legislature, he said.

People who use marijuana for medical purposes still face prosecution
under federal law in those states that have eliminated state
penalties.

There is disagreement in the scientific and medical communities about
whether marijuana relieves nausea and reduces pressure that builds up
in the eyes of people with glaucoma.