cannabisnews.com: Proponents Find an Unlikely Ally of Marijuana Bill





Proponents Find an Unlikely Ally of Marijuana Bill
Posted by FoM on March 01, 2001 at 13:43:40 PT
By Douglas Tallman, News-Post Staff 
Source: Fredrick News-Post
Proponents of a bill that would allow terminally ill patients to smoke marijuana to relieve pain and nausea might have found an ally in an unlikely source: ardent opponent Sen. Walter Baker.The colorful and irascible chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on Wednesday chided his committee members for wasting time by questioning supporters of a medical marijuana bill.
"Members of the committee, this bill is not going anywhere. I wish you'd quit asking the questions and let the witnesses put on their show," he said after committee members questioned the finer points of the bill with witnesses."I think the good news here today is his behavior marginalized his own position because he came off as insensitive to patients and their families," said Robert Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project.Mr. Baker's antics angered Delegate Donald Murphy, a conservative Republican who is sponsoring the same bill in the House of Delegates."I think that will have people who were on the fence go with us because of that," he said.The bill would allow patients suffering from AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis and other debilitating diseases to grow, own and smoke marijuana so long as they had their doctor's approval.A similar measure last year failed to emerge from the House Judiciary Committee.The bill hearing drew testimony from 20 supporters, some of whom described losing their appetite because of the disease or because the treatment was so harsh.At one point in the hearing, Mr. Baker quipped, "Medical marijuana. On the street, they call it pot."Sen. Perry Sfikas, D-Baltimore County, replied the bill had an uphill fight, but he said he wanted to learn what the witnesses had to say."Ask a question if you want," Mr. Baker said, "but don't make a speech."Outside the hearing room, Mr. Murphy was fuming."It's bad enough that politicians think they know better than doctors, but I can't believe they think they're God," he said.Mr. Murphy is a conservative Republican who was a friend of Darrell Putman, a Woodbine man who ran a horse and carriage service in downtown Frederick.Mr. Putman, an anti-drug Vietnam veteran, contracted Hodgkin's lymphoma, which left him weak. His doctor recommended he use marijuana to regain his appetite, said his wife, Shaleen Putman.Although it gave him the strength to help out with the family business, he was afraid of losing his home, business and family if he were arrested with marijuana, Ms. Putman said.The drug added four months to his life, she said.The bill has been named the Darrell Putman Compassionate Use Act in his honor.Among the sponsors of the House bill are Delegates David Brinkley and Louise Snodgrass, both Frederick County Republicans and both cancer survivors.The hearing drew only a few opponents. Beverly Preston of Linthicum, a retired pharmacist, noted the bill does not require documentation that patients have tried other drugs before turning to marijuana.Doug Stiegler of the Family Protection Lobby said there was no way to control the marijuana reaching only the people who need the drug. Source: Fredrick News-Post (MD)Author: Douglas Tallman, News-Post Staff Published: March 1, 2001Address: 200 East Patrick Street, PO Box 578 Frederick, MD 21705-0578 Copyright: 2001 Great Southern Printing and Manufacturing CompanyWebsite: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/Contact: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/contact/Related Articles & Web Site:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Maryland Debates Medicinal-Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8845.shtmlMarijuana Bill Draws Support http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8612.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on March 02, 2001 at 04:30:54 PT:
Ignorant people and barking dogs
have a lot in common; when they speak, nothing of any substance is said.Unfortunately, they can both be irritating...and occasionally dangerous. Not necesarily through actual violent potential, but simply because equally ignorant people trust their opinions. Mr. Baker is one such ignorant menace. His sorry display of intellectual acumen does not speak well of his ability to serve those who elected him. Which, as a life-long resident of Maryland I am sad to say, is indicative of many of our pols. We haven't had a clean, scandal-free election since the Civil War. Thank God for Murphy, Snodgrass and Brinkley, who give the lie to the idea that to be an MD pol you have to be a corrupt cretin. 
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Comment #3 posted by dddd on March 01, 2001 at 23:30:17 PT
Astounding!
Sorta off topic as usual,,but I just saw a short report on L.A.s ABC localnews,that Shakespeare smoked weed.A small clay pipe was found withMJ residue at his former residence.It's remarkable that they would report such a thing...dddd
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Comment #2 posted by zenarch on March 01, 2001 at 14:00:25 PT
Light weight opposition
Doug Stiegler of the Family Protection Lobby said there was no way to control the marijuana reaching only the people who need the drug.Nor has there ever been Mr. Stiegler.At least he acknowledges that people DO NEED Cannabis! That's good
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on March 01, 2001 at 13:51:33 PT:
Clowns Aid the Cause
Baker demonstrates the kind of Neanderthal thinking that makes the cause more likely to succeed. I am merely glad that he lacks the foresight to censor his own outrageous behavior.
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