MARIJUANA BILL GAINS SUPPORTERS

ANNAPOLIS - In a great show of bi-partisan support, Del. Donald E. Murphy,
R-Baltimore/Howard, introduced a medical marijuana bill that would protect
patients who use marijuana for medical purposes from arrest and imprisonment.

This is the third year Murphy introduced the legislation, but this year the
bill has 47 co-sponsors, setting a national record for the most co-sponsors
of any medical marijuana bill.

Murphy said he's hoping the bi-partisan sponsorship, which includes the
House majority and minority leadership, will give the bill some momentum,
especially if the bill is passed in the House and sent to the Senate.

"This is a 50 percent increase in co-sponsors," Murphy said. "Nine of our
co-sponsors are on the [Judiciary] Committee. I'm feeling confident that we
will do better this year."

Murphy's bill would allow several things, including registering patients
for immunity from prosecution for possession or cultivation of small
amounts of marijuana; allow a qualified patient or primary caregiver to
cultivate the plants; and would make the medical use of marijuana as a
defense to any prosecution involving marijuana.

Two other bills are filed in the House that would support medicinal use of
marijuana as a court defense.

But members of the Carroll delegation aren't quick to support any of these
bills.

"I'm convinced that marijuana has a medical use," said Del. Donald B.
Elliott, R-Carroll/Frederick. "But there is a lack of control of the drug.
If they had some kind of marijuana cigarettes, prescribed out of a doctor's
office, I would have no problem with it. But without controls there's no
way I'd support it."

Del. Joseph M. Getty, R-Carroll, and Sen. Timothy R. Ferguson,
R-Carroll/Frederick, both said that they have no problems with a medical
marijuana allowance, but they too would like to see better controls on the
distribution of the drug. They both also said they would prefer waiting for
a lead from the federal government.

"Law enforcement [officials] called me and said that there's no way we can
craft a bill ... not because we're worried about the patients using the
marijuana, but because when we try to prosecute dealers, this could be
their defense," Ferguson said. "There's no good way to fine-tune the language."

Federal law classifies marijuana as a schedule I, controlled dangerous
substance. Under that classification physicians cannot prescribe the drug.
In the past two years a bill has circulated in Congress to change
marijuana's classification to schedule II, which would open the door for
doctors to prescribe it.

Ferguson, Getty and Elliott said they would prefer to wait for that change
before supporting any statewide bill.

"The problem is that the state is mandated by the federal law," Getty said.
"I'd like to see Don Murphy's bill pass, but only when there is a channel
for the marijuana to be passed through the pharmacy."

But the support for medical marijuana does not spread to the rest of the
delegation. Sen. Larry Haines and Dels. Carmen Amedori and Nancy
Stocksdale, R-Carroll, are totally against the legalization of marijuana in
any way.

"It's opening the gate for legalizing marijuana," Haines said. "It would
make it easier for anyone to get their hands on it."

Amedori and Stocksdale both said that it's not even proven that marijuana
gives patients any real pain relief.

"Nobody wants to watch other people suffer," Amedori said. "But I'm just
not ready and I don't think the citizens and residents of Carroll County
are ready to legalize this drug. They haven't shown me any report or study
that proves that marijuana does any of the things it's said to do for
patients."

Stocksdale said that she's never supported the bill in the past because
there's been no proof that marijuana has any different medicinal qualities
than other medications currently available from doctors.

"I've been told by medical personnel that they do have medication to do the
same thing as marijuana is supposed to do," Stocksdale said. "I think there
has to be more research. I'd rather err on the side of caution."

But Murphy and Del. Dana Lee Dembrow, D-Montgomery, a bill co-sponsor, said
that giving patients this option would be giving them another way to
eliminate some of their pain.

"How many people have died from marijuana use?" Murphy asked.

"Zero," Dembrow replied.

"I would suggest that pretzels are more dangerous than marijuana," Murphy said.