cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Bill Signed 





Medical Marijuana Bill Signed 
Posted by CN Staff on May 23, 2003 at 13:32:03 PT
By Clifford G. Cumber, News-Post Staff 
Source: Frederick News Post 
Annapolis -- Gov. Robert Ehrlich signed a medical marijuana bill Thursday, reducing the criminal penalties for patients who use the drug to reduce severe pain. After a flurry of vetoes the day before, Mr. Ehrlich also endorsed legislation enabling local school boards to allow charter schools. Supporters praised the signing of the Darrell Putnam Compassionate Use Act, which provides a total $100 fine and no jail time for marijuana possession if proof of medical necessity is offered. 
The act is named for a former Green Beret who used marijuana in the waning years of his terminal cancer.The White House had lobbied Mr. Ehrlich to veto the bill, something the governor acknowledged at a press conference following the signing. He said he hoped signing the bill had not damaged his relationship with the Bush administration. "I do believe people are reasonable and can distinguish between what drugs are doing to our nation and specific issues" such as end-of-life decisions, he said.Mr. Ehrlich's stand impressed some."I really thought with the pressure coming from the White House that, if not the governor, then senior members of the state Republican party would pressure him to veto the bill. So I'm thrilled that the guy is putting his personal principals above partisan politics," said Delegate Rick Weldon, R-Frederick. "I still think it is possible to say that this is about compassion rather than politics."Don Murphy, a key supporter of the legislation and a former Baltimore County delegate, finally saw all his lobbying pay off."If there's such a thing as a great day for cancer patients, today is such a day," he said.Even House Speaker Michael Busch, who had voted against the legislation over two years when it came to the House of Delegates, said the legislation was the best the state could do."I do believe that the legislature last year and this year put (the legislation) in absolutely the best posture, considering you don't have pharmaceutical controls" over distribution.The Putnam Act still means marijuana possession is illegal and prosecutable, and the legislation conflicts with federal law. That was one of the General Assembly's greatest concerns."It's our hope that we can now get some changes at the federal level," said state Sen. David Brinkley, a New Market Republican and cancer survivor who fought for the legislation.But, he said, "I don't know that the Maryland legislature is ready to tackle it any more aggressively. We'll keep trying, but it's taken us five years to tackle this threshold."Even as the bill was signed, opponents attempted to crash the event. Joyce Nalepka, president of Drug-Free Kids, twice tried to enter the line into the signing room, and was twice removed by Maryland State Police. After being escorted out, an emotional Ms. Nalepka, wearing a button showing a marijuana leaf with a line through it, said she was upset at the action. "All of the legalizers march into the governor's office. I came up and they assign three police officers to escort me out."The governor also signed the Public Charter School Act of 2003, which allows the establishment of public charter schools in Maryland. It provides parents, teachers and charter school advocates with an appeal to the state Board of Education if the local board denies a charter.Similar legislation died in the General Assembly the last three years, but won passage this year, although in a vastly revised form from the initial bill proposed by the governor. Despite that, the administration has been claiming victory."Today marks a major victory for parents, teachers and students," Mr. Ehrlich said. "My charter school initiative gives parents the freedom to move their child out of a failing school and into a creative learning environment where they can reach their full potential."Maryland is the 41st state to enact a public charter school law, allowing children to qualify for part of $200 million in federal money to support charter schools.The list also included a piece of legislation initially promoted by former Delegate Sue Hecht to require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene develop guidelines allowing visual monitoring in nursing homes. The bill is named Vera's Law, after Ms. Hecht's mother, who suffered abuse at a nursing facility.Ms. Hecht was on vacation and unavailable for comment. Source: Frederick News Post (MD)Author: Clifford G. Cumber, News-Post Staff Published: Friday, May 23, 2003Copyright: 2003 Great Southern Printing and Manufacturing CompanyWebsite: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/Contact: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/contact/index.htmRelated Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmPropaganda Czar - Baltimore Sunhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16365.shtmlEhrlich Signs Marijuana Bill http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16364.shtmlEhrlich Signs Marijuana Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16363.shtmlAttitudes Ease Toward Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16362.shtml
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Comment #8 posted by mayan on May 23, 2003 at 18:29:28 PT
Joyce...
Do you need a tissue? We have plenty. Now you know how it feels to be shut out & oppressed. Poetic justice in the truest sense! The way out IS the way in...Bush answers on 9/11 overdue: 
http://www.suntimes.com/output/greeley/cst-edt-greel23.htmlDeclassify the 9/11 Report:
http://www.latimes.com/la-ed-commission21may21,0,3577817.storyIt's time to stop the stonewalling: Bush criticized over 9/11 probe
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/article.php?sid=11539&mode=nested&order=0The Mouse That Roared - 9,000 FTW Subscribers Take on America(and the World)!
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/052103_roaring_mouse.htmlMike Ruppert on Amy Goodman and the 9/11 Latecomers:
http://www.questionsquestions.net/docs04/0518_ruppert911.html9/11 Film Draws Overflow Crowd:
http://onlinejournal.com/Media/050703Lynn/050703lynn.html
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Comment #7 posted by observer on May 23, 2003 at 18:13:52 PT
Nalepka: Rejected and Ejected
''Even as the bill was signed, opponents attempted to crash the event. Joyce Nalepka, president of Drug-Free Kids, twice tried to enter the line into the signing room, and was twice removed by Maryland State Police. After being escorted out, an emotional Ms. Nalepka, wearing a button showing a marijuana leaf with a line through it, said she was upset at the action. 'All of the legalizers march into the governor's office. I came up and they assign three police officers to escort me out.'"poetic justice ... For background on Joyce Nalepka, see:
Joyce Nalepka and the NFP, Marijuana Alert, p.429, Peggy Mann, 1985 http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/7/thread7357.shtml#5 
http://www.drugfreekidsamericaschallenge.org/
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Comment #6 posted by charmed quark on May 23, 2003 at 15:39:43 PT
Poor J oyce
The police still get to kick in the door. arrest me, haul me off to jail. Then, if I prove medical neccessity, I get let out with a fine. And Joyce is worried about he children?-Pete
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Comment #5 posted by Virgil on May 23, 2003 at 14:35:23 PT
Get used to it Joyce
I am furious that with 8 Democratic wanna-be presidents that the failed/unconstitutional WOD has not yet been sparked. The core of the plutocracy demands silence or a spark will ignite the tender and a real debate will be on.June 2nd will change the situation, when Americans say we need someone to set things right again and completely right. The Greens and the Libertarians will surely have some video on the Internet and campaign on the fact that silence is being imposed or at least called for on the WOD failure and its Constitutional issues. Now is the time for unsilence. It does not have to be a Democrats spark that ignites the tender. Let there be fire. Let there be smoke. 
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Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on May 23, 2003 at 14:14:13 PT:
(Uproarious, gut shaking laughter)
Gimme a few minutes (cough, splutter).Okay, I'm fine now. I just had a reaction to Joyce whining about how unfair it all is. Awwwww, poor Joycie; she worked so hard to marginalize us, using every dirty trick she and her legislator friends could come up with and then some, to keep our side from ever being heard and exclude us from the democratic process. She vilified us, besmirched our organizations and sided with people who lump us in with perverts and murderers.And now, she's out of the limelight? That must really sting, doesn't it? Considering how much she has relished her 'Grandma' role in speaking her lies about cannabis to power, this must cut twice as deep, as her ego is all bound up in her crusade.The problem with crusaders is that when they have lost monentum, they try to double the impetus, not realizing the moment has passed and a new dynamic has arrived to replace them. Look behind you, Joyce; the people you spat upon aren't behind and under you any more. The worm has turned in your own home State, and the people you have harmed are now far ahead and above you. Pray they aren't inclined to do to you what you've done to them for so long...payback IS a bitch.
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Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on May 23, 2003 at 13:57:22 PT
Victory!
I had been thinking some dark thoughts about what this bill really says about our society (that arrest and $100 fine for the sick and dying is considered a reprieve), but this makes it all worthwhile, doesn't it?"After being escorted out, an emotional Ms. Nalepka, wearing a button showing a marijuana leaf with a line through it, said she was upset at the action. "All of the legalizers march into the governor's office. I came up and they assign three police officers to escort me out."
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Comment #2 posted by medicinal toker on May 23, 2003 at 13:55:27 PT
Too bad Joyce is incapable of learning from it!
She's whining about being held back by cops -- imagine how patients feel when cops kick in their door and hold a gun to their head over a humble medicinal plant she wants to withhold from them! It's a great PR victory for the movement. It's about time Joyce is on the outside looking in! I just hope it translates into real protection, but the legislature needs to revisit the issue ASAP and remove criminal penalties completely and allow cultivation. Anything less is not compassion.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on May 23, 2003 at 13:39:02 PT
Well Now
I guess Joyce really got upset.
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