Tell committee members to approve medical marijuana bill

Delegate Don Murphy is sponsoring for the third consecutive year the Darrell Putman Compassionate Use Act, which would provide legal protection for patients who use medical marijuana with their doctors' approval.

This year's bill, HB 1222, already has more support than ever before with 53 co-sponsors, which sets an all-time national record for co-sponsors on a bill of this nature.

The support for medical marijuana in Maryland continues to grow.

The next step is to get the bill out of committee and on to the House floor, where every delegate will have an opportunity to vote in support of patients who need to use medical marijuana.

Please visit MPP's Maryland Web site—/MD—and send an e-mail to members of the House Judiciary Committee, telling them to vote in favor of the medical marijuana bill, HB 1222.

Committee members make decisions on behalf of the entire state, so your input is critical. Legislators will support or oppose the bill based on what they hear from constituents.

The bill needs 12 "yes" votes to pass the 22-member committee. Eight committee members are co-sponsors of the bill. The remaining committee members have not yet committed their support.

The committee members who are sponsoring the bill are:

Del. Don Murphy (R-Catonsville)

Del. William H. Cole IV (D-Baltimore)

Del. Dana Lee Dembrow (D-Silver Spring)

Del. Lisa A. Gladden (D-Baltimore)

Del. Sharon M. Grosfeld (D-Kensington)

Del. Pauline H. Menes (D-College Park)

Del. Kenneth C. Montague, Jr. (D-Baltimore)

Del. David M. Valderrama (D-Oxon Hill)

It is your job to convince their fellow committee members that protecting patients from arrest and incarceration for using medical marijuana is the right thing to do.