ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) ― A measure to legalize medical marijuana in Maryland would create state-run production centers that supporters said Tuesday would be closely monitored and licensed by the state.
Delegate Dan Morhaim, an emergency room physician who drafted the legislation, said it would create strict conditions compared to 14 other states where medical marijuana is allowed. The state agriculture department and health department would monitor the production and distribution process.
"We have drafted, I believe, the most narrow and constrained bill of any," Morhaim said during a news conference where he outlined the legislation with supporters.
The production centers would be secured and registered with the state, which would make sure potency isn't changed. Employees would need background checks to work in them.
"Under this bill, growing marijuana on your own would continue to be illegal with the same penalties that we have now," Morhaim said. "But why not have a safe, secure supply for those patients who need it?"
Pharmacies could distribute marijuana to patients who receive authorization from a physician with whom they have had ongoing medical relationships. Also, a physician could not prescribe it unless alternatives have not worked.
Morhaim said the state will charge people who buy marijuana "reasonable fees," to cover the cost of the program.
In 2003, Maryland approved a law limiting sentencing to a $100 fine for people who use marijuana if they have a medical excuse. But critics of that law say it still drives people whose pain could be alleviated by marijuana into alleys to buy from drug dealers.
Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-Montgomery, said it's wrong to treat the seriously ill or terminally ill "as petty criminals."
"Everybody gets a good giggle or laugh out of the issue when they first hear about it, but when you really begin to penetrate the surface of it, this is a deadly serious subject for lots of Americans and lots of Marylanders," Raskin said.
Republican Sen. David Brinkley, who has had cancer twice and lost his mother to cancer, said he believed marijuana should be available to alleviate pain or stimulate appetite, if other alternative treatments have been exhausted.
"This is not an ideological, partisan – whatever you want to call it – issue," Brinkley, R-Frederick, said. "This is truly a compassion issue."
Debby Miran, a 55-year-old Towson woman who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2001, said she started using marijuana to stimulate her appetite after her weight dropped to below 100 pounds after she had a bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy.
"My goal was not to get high, but rather to try and stimulate my appetite," Miran said. "To make a long story short, this was the first time since the actual transplant that I was able to eat, albeit very small amounts."
While it's unclear how many people would qualify for medicinal marijuana under the legislation, Morhaim said it likely would be in the thousands. But he said the number would be lower than many of the other states that allow it, because the standards are strict under his proposal.
Morhaim also said he believed the climate for legalizing medicinal marijuana is opening up, after Attorney General Eric Holder announced last year that federal agents will now target marijuana distributors only when they violate both federal and state laws.
News Hawk- Weedpipe 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: WJZ
Author: BRIAN WITTE
Contact: WJZ
Copyright: MMIX, CBS
Website:Lawmakers In Both Parties Push Medical Marijuana
Delegate Dan Morhaim, an emergency room physician who drafted the legislation, said it would create strict conditions compared to 14 other states where medical marijuana is allowed. The state agriculture department and health department would monitor the production and distribution process.
"We have drafted, I believe, the most narrow and constrained bill of any," Morhaim said during a news conference where he outlined the legislation with supporters.
The production centers would be secured and registered with the state, which would make sure potency isn't changed. Employees would need background checks to work in them.
"Under this bill, growing marijuana on your own would continue to be illegal with the same penalties that we have now," Morhaim said. "But why not have a safe, secure supply for those patients who need it?"
Pharmacies could distribute marijuana to patients who receive authorization from a physician with whom they have had ongoing medical relationships. Also, a physician could not prescribe it unless alternatives have not worked.
Morhaim said the state will charge people who buy marijuana "reasonable fees," to cover the cost of the program.
In 2003, Maryland approved a law limiting sentencing to a $100 fine for people who use marijuana if they have a medical excuse. But critics of that law say it still drives people whose pain could be alleviated by marijuana into alleys to buy from drug dealers.
Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-Montgomery, said it's wrong to treat the seriously ill or terminally ill "as petty criminals."
"Everybody gets a good giggle or laugh out of the issue when they first hear about it, but when you really begin to penetrate the surface of it, this is a deadly serious subject for lots of Americans and lots of Marylanders," Raskin said.
Republican Sen. David Brinkley, who has had cancer twice and lost his mother to cancer, said he believed marijuana should be available to alleviate pain or stimulate appetite, if other alternative treatments have been exhausted.
"This is not an ideological, partisan – whatever you want to call it – issue," Brinkley, R-Frederick, said. "This is truly a compassion issue."
Debby Miran, a 55-year-old Towson woman who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2001, said she started using marijuana to stimulate her appetite after her weight dropped to below 100 pounds after she had a bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy.
"My goal was not to get high, but rather to try and stimulate my appetite," Miran said. "To make a long story short, this was the first time since the actual transplant that I was able to eat, albeit very small amounts."
While it's unclear how many people would qualify for medicinal marijuana under the legislation, Morhaim said it likely would be in the thousands. But he said the number would be lower than many of the other states that allow it, because the standards are strict under his proposal.
Morhaim also said he believed the climate for legalizing medicinal marijuana is opening up, after Attorney General Eric Holder announced last year that federal agents will now target marijuana distributors only when they violate both federal and state laws.
News Hawk- Weedpipe 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: WJZ
Author: BRIAN WITTE
Contact: WJZ
Copyright: MMIX, CBS
Website:Lawmakers In Both Parties Push Medical Marijuana
