Title:
Maryland House passes medical marijuana defense
Message:
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!
