Maryland House passes medical marijuana defense

Published: April 10, 2011

Maryland on the verge of lifting criminal penalties from medical marijuana patients!

The Maryland House of Delegates has just passed a bill that would remove criminal penalties from patients who use marijuana on the advice of a physician. The Senate has already passed the bill 41-6, but because it’s been amended, it will go back to the Senate for one last procedural vote. From there, it’s on to the governor’s desk!

Ask Governor Martin O’Malley to sign SB 308!

In its amended form, SB 308 would provide an affirmative defense to patients who use marijuana to treat a debilitating medical condition. This condition would need to be diagnosed by the patient’s regular physician, and the defense would not apply in circumstances where the patient used marijuana in public or possessed more than one ounce. While the bill is far from perfect – patients would still be subject to arrest and would have no legal way to obtain medical marijuana – it represents an enormous step forward by removing criminal penalties altogether from those patients who can show a real medical need.

We’re not at the finish line yet, though. The last step is for Governor O’Malley to sign the bill into law, so please ask him to do so now.

Thanks!