Final Md. Senate vote likely tomorrow; contact your legislators now

Published: April 9, 2010

Today, finally, SB 627 cleared an important procedural hurdle, paving the way for a vote on the Senate floor tomorrow morning. Despite delay tactics Wednesday and Thursday and numerous hostile amendments offered in today’s floor debate, the bill cleared the "second reader," this morning, meaning no more amendments can be offered in the Senate. The bill should receive its final discussion in the Senate and a floor vote  tomorrow morning. 

Please contact your elected officials in Annapolis now and urge them one final time to pass medical marijuana this year!

This year’s legislative session is scheduled to end Monday night. Frankly, we’re facing long odds at this point, and our only hope is to convince officials in the House to move the bill immediately after it comes over from the Senate. That’s why we need you to

take just one minute of your time to send a message to officials in Maryland asking them to support the measure.

If you are a seriously ill patient or a medical professional, please also contact the chairs of the House committees the bill would go to and respectfully urge them to promptly call a vote on the bill if it clears the Senate. They are Rules Committee Chair

Hattie Harrison (a co-sponsor of the bill), Health and Government Operations Chair Peter Hammen, and Judiciary Committee Chairman Joe Vallario. Please click on their names for their phone numbers.

Passing the bill in the Senate would be a big achievement, and if nothing else would generate a great deal of momentum toward passing the bill next year. But there’s no reason patients should have to spend another year buying medicine from drug dealers or in fear of arrest simply for trying to get better or alleviate their symptoms. Please

ask your representatives to do everything they can to help the bill pass this year. And of course, when you’re done, ask your friends to do the same.

Thanks again, and I’ll keep you posted.