I can’t resist commenting on what is otherwise a decent front page Washington Post article. In particular, the ridiculous quote offered by Leonard C. Collins Jr., a prosecutor in Charles County, Maryland.

First, had Mr. Collins conducted a simple internet search, he would have learned that studies in the United States, backed up by countless studies around the world, have clearly demonstrated that marijuana is efficacious for a number of serious and chronic illnesses.  In fact, CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, reported on the research that clearly demonstrates the efficacy of cannabis to relieve hard to treat nueropathic pain.  Moreover, safe access to cannabis for patients and research has been endorsed by a growing number of professional health care organizations, including the American Public Health Association, the American Nurses Association, the American College of Physicians, and most recently, the Medical Student Section of the American Medical Association.

Apparently, Charles County’s top prosecutor is abandoning any sense of a rational (or compassionate) approach to the issue, in favor of nonsense reminiscent of “reefer madness” days.

Second, I would invite Mr. Collins to do a little bit more research to understand the specific and unnecessary barriers that block the normal FDA-approval process for cannabis.  For starters, he might consider reading ASA’s report on the matter.

And, finally, I invite all Charles County medical cannabis advocates to get involved with the Maryland chapters of Americans for Safe Access. The only way to beat the law (and guys like Mr. Collins) is to  change the law!

Last week, in separate and unrelated cases, two Maryland residents who use cannabis to control symptoms of a serious or chronic condition used their medical necessity as a mitigating circumstance during sentencing.  As a result, both individuals received a $100 fine — the maximum penalty permitted by the State of Maryland’s medical marijuana law.

The first case involved Bill, a local ASA advocate and 50-something grandfather of two. Bill suffers from a rare, serious condition known as Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS). The case second concerned a nineteen-year-old woman who uses cannabis to control symptoms of epilepsy. They were both charged by prosecutors with felony possession with intent to distribute.  ASA provided information to both defense councils, but I was honored to provide my personal testimony at Bill’s sentencing hearing.

While the outcome is better than the alternative, the process patients are required are undergo underscores the need for real medical marijuana reform in Maryland. The bottom line: no one who uses cannabis in accordance with a physician’s recommendation should be treated as a criminal by law enforcement or subjected to fines or other penalties. Anything less than comprehensive reform leaves patients vulnerable to arrest and prosecution and wastes taxpayer money!

Read more HERE and HERE

Tony Bowles was a plaintiff in ASA’s successful lawsuit against the California Highway Patrol. He has taken action time and time again on behalf of patients in need of medical marijuana. He now lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, where he is working hard to help improve Maryland’s medical marijuana law. Tony can be reached at tonebowles@sbcglobal.net

Marylanders have much to be hopeful for this year with the introduction of legislation, by Delegate Henry Heller (D-Montgomery County) that creates a task force to study the issues related to medical marijuana throughout the state of Maryland, and the recent statement from the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder backing President Obama’s campaign promise to end federal interference in states with medical marijuana laws, telling reporters that ending federal medical marijuana raids “is now American policy.”

This is very good news! These are major steps in the path to improving our state’s medical marijuana law. Currently, individuals in Maryland who possess a physician’s recommendation to use marijuana for therapeutic purposes are vulnerable to arrest and prosecution. Maryland chapters of Americans for Safe Access believe Maryland patients deserve real protections.

In his recent speech, President Obama stressed the importance of practicing efficient, cost-effective government.

Law enforcement is under increased budgetary pressure in these tough times.  Study commissions such as the one proposed in HB1339 allow the type of evaluation necessary to determine if a law is effectively using police, judicial, and tax-payer resources.   The proposed commission will examine the consequences and long term effects of the Darrell Putnam Compassionate Use Act: an open-ended, vague law.  Closing legislative loopholes not only protects Maryland citizens, but will reduce unnecessary expenditure and allow Maryland to weather the financial storm.

If the bill passes, the State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene would be required to staff a Governor-appointed task force to evaluate whether the current state law is effective, fair, and equally enforced across all state jurisdictions in addition to other issues concerning the limited, therapeutic use of cannabis. (Watch a video of Delegate Heller talking about HB 1339, approximately halfway through.)

Delegate Heller’s introduction of HB1339 is the culmination of Maryland ASA chapters organizing together and shows how hard work pays off.

Our goal is to improve Maryland’s medical marijuana law, and it’s important for us to get organized now. There is a lot of work to be done. This is a serious issue and every Marylander should know it could affect them. President Obama recently said, “We don’t do what’s easy, we do what’s necessary.”

The Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing on HB1339 March 24, 2009, at 1pm. This is fantastic news and puts this legislation on a SUPER fast track.  April 13th is the final day of the legislative session and our hearing is in less than 3 weeks.  There is not a lot of time, but I am confident we can pass this legislation and be much closer to securing safe and legal access for medical cannabis patients across the state.

It’s been a little over a year since I helped start the Montgomery County Chapter of Americans for Safe Access, and I’ve watched us grow from only having dozens to now having hundreds of Marylanders join us in support. In fact, every week I get calls from individuals that either have no knowledge of our states medical marijuana law, or others that say the law simply isn’t working for them. It’s become abundantly clear to me that Maryland’s medical marijuana law is Broken!

I look forward to working with many of you to fix our states broken medical marijuana law and hope you’ll join us in our efforts soon.

Tony Bowles was a plaintiff in ASA’s successful lawsuit against the California Highway Patrol. He has taken action time and time again on behalf of patients in need of medical marijuana. He now lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, where he is working hard to help improve Maryland’s medical marijuana law. Tony can be reached at tonebowles@sbcglobal.net

Last week, ASA, in partnership with the Drug Policy Alliance, kicked off our Patients for Access campaign in Maryland, which I first wrote about here in January. The campaign is designed to build grassroots support and identify potential leadership to support future legislative reform efforts.

More than a dozen people came out for our first Medical Marijuana Teach-In and Know Your Rights Training. I think we gave an astounding presentation and I was pleased to see many familiar and new faces. The crowd was incredibly diverse and the feedback portion of the training indicated that they sincerely appreciated the information and the training. “Dynamic”, “Necessary”, “Informative”, and “Enraging” were just a few of the descriptions used during an oral evaluation.

Little is known by the public about the state’s medical marijuana law and a few attendees were not even aware that Maryland has a medical marijuana law. We believe our first training raised awareness and provided a foundation to build on.

Everyone at the training signed our petition to protect Maryland medical marijuana patients and many also signed up to participate in a field trip to meet friendly state legislators next Month in Annapolis. A few took the information, sign-up sheets, and membership forms to get their friends and family involved.

We were fortunate to be hosted at a really great space in Baltimore’s Charles Village inside an old Methodist Church which now serves as a noncommercial, cooperatively managed space for radical politics and grassroots culture — a project sponsored by a local co-op, 2640.

We are conducting similar teach-ins throughout the month of March. This week we host trainings in Salisbury, Maryland (Eastern Shore) and Silver Spring, MD (Montgomery County). Our final training occurs in Western Maryland on the March 25th.

For more information and to keep updated about our continued efforts to improve Maryland’s medical marijuana law see:

http://www.drugpolicy.org/statebystate/maryland/
http://www.americansforsafeaccess.org/maryland

Tony Bowles was a plaintiff in ASA’s successful lawsuit against the California Highway Patrol. He has taken action time and time again on behalf of patients in need of medical marijuana. He now lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, where he is working hard to help improve Maryland’s medical marijuana law. Tony can be reached at tonebowles@sbcglobal.net

Last year’s attempt to introduce HB 1040, The Maryland Compassionate Use Act, which would have replaced the current law with comprehensive language concerning cultivation, identification cards, confidentiality issues, fees, transportation, and possession, was blocked by Chair of the Judiciary, Joseph Vallario. The very same lawmaker who gutted the 2003 legislation. Despite the fact that we had more than enough support in the Judiciary Committee to pass the new law with improvements, Chairman Vallario wouldn’t put the improved legislation up for vote. Why? Because he’s still worried that letting qualified individuals suffering from severe or chronic illness use medical marijuana will bring the wrath of the Federal Government down on Maryland. He even said way back in 2002 “I am not going to have a part in something that is in violation of federal law.”

This year we’re taking a new approach in Maryland to help tackle this problem. I am working with ASA and the Drug Policy Alliance to build up grassroots support to compliment our next legislative efforts. We’ll be focusing on recruitment, training, and developing strong, vocal and representative leadership that will be crucial for helping policymakers move far-reaching legislation aimed at establishing full legal protections for Maryland’s most vulnerable citizens and the people who care for them.

Between now and early spring we will hold several regional teach-ins and know your rights trainings. These forums will provide an opportunity to introduce patients, their care providers and other grassroots supporters to each other, briefly recap previous efforts to improve the law, and explain the strategy and tactics while covering all of the basic legal information for interactions with law enforcement. We are hoping to bring interested medical marijuana supporters to Annapolis for a tour of the Capital where they can take advantage of the activity of the legislative session, meet their state lawmakers, deepen their understanding of the legislative process, and raise enthusiasm around working on a legislative campaign in the future.

Maryland’s existing medical marijuana law, “The Darrell Putman Compassionate Use Act” does not go far enough; it slaps patients with a criminal conviction even if they successfully offer a medical necessity defense in court. This means that even a successful defense results in a permanent criminal record, which poses barriers to financial aid, housing, employment, and more. Maryland’s medical marijuana law is the only state medical marijuana law that does not shield patients from arrest! We need real compassion and honest protection now!