In 2003 Maryland became the ninth state to legalize the medical use of marijuana. The bill applies to defendants possessing less than one ounce of marijuana and who can prove they used marijuana out of medical necessity and with a doctor's recommendation. Under Maryland's medical marijuana law, patients are protected from a criminal record and possible imprisonment. The maximum penalty for possession of marijuana by a patient with a valid doctor's recommendation is $100. Ehrlich, the first Republican governor to sign a bill relaxing penalties for medicinal use of marijuana, signed the measure despite intense pressure from the Bush administration to veto it.
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