When the Maryland Senate voted earlier today to approve HB 1101 today, it failed to become the 19th medical cannabis (marijuana) state. In spite of the bill’s comendable intentions, it remains highly flawed. Some have touted the HB 1101 approach as a “yellow light” on medical cannabis, yet sadly, it can only be seen as a “yellow light” on a “bridge to nowhere.”

In spite of the bill’s laudable intent, the approach is completely untested, and causing even greater concern, the program is almost certainly  unimplementable for legal, financial and practical reasons. In fact, the Maryland Department of Legislative Services found that participation program is “expected to be low (or nonexistent)” and will “not likely to be able to comply with the bill’s requirement to set its fees at a level sufficient to offset program costs…unless it sets its fees at a level that would likely be prohibitively high.”

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Yesterday, the New Hampshire House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed House Bill 573, by a voted of 286-64. The bill is expected to pass the Senate, which approved similar legislation last year. In fact, the year’s bill will provide patients with greater access options, as they will be able to purchase medical cannabis from a state-regulated dispensary in addition to being able to cultivate their own medicine in an enclosed, locked facility. While last year’s bill was vetoed by the previous governor (the veto fell just 2 shorts shy of being overridden),  it is expected that it will again pass the senate followed this time with the signature of newly elected Governor Maggie Hassan. (more…)

Gov. O'Malley

Patients Not Criminals!

While the Maryland medical cannabis community entered the 2012 legislative session with high hopes because of three bills in the house proposing medical cannabis access points, the Governor O’Malley has come out in opposition of any bill naming any state agency as a regulatory body for the program fearing threats of federal prosecution of Maryland state employees.  While the cannabis community was hoping for O’Malley to champion this issue much like many of the brave Maryland state legislators, he too is joining governors across the country who are falling for the latest federal scare tactic.  While public officials across the country have received threat letters regarding medical cannabis, not one person has been prosecuted for the implementation of state sanctioned medical cannabis programs despite their receipt of threat letters indicating otherwise.

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US AG Holder: Rattling Sabers

In the past few months, United States Attorneys General in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Rhode Island, and Vermont  have issued letters threatening federal action against any entity, including state employees, participating in state sanctioned medical cannabis programs.  While our community has seen these types of letters under previous administrations, it is disappointing to see President Obama sanction this behavior.

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Aimed at establishing the right for patients to reliably and affordably obtain medical marijuana, Maryland House Deputy Majority Whip Delegate Cheryl Glenn (D-Baltimore) introduced an amendment today to a proposed bill to ensure that patients have the right to cultivate their own medicine. House Bill 291 would protect patients from arrest and prosecution, and set up a state-run production and distribution system, but it fails to provide alternatives like self-cultivation for patients who don’t live near a distribution center or who cannot afford the high prices seen at facilities in other states.

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Yesterday, ASA Director of Government Affairs Caren Woodson joined Maryland Delegate Morhaim on the Marc Steiner Show to discuss the proposed medical cannabis bill. Check out the full, hour long podcast online.

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