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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FEBRUARY 7, 2002

Medical Marijuana Bill Introduced in Maryland

Del. Murphy Sets National Record for Most Co-Sponsors

ANNAPOLIS -- Delegate Don Murphy filed the Darrell Putman Compassionate Use Act today, setting a national record for the most co-sponsors of any medical marijuana bill. Murphy's legislation, if passed, would protect patients who use medical marijuana from arrest and imprisonment.

The bill has 53 co-sponsors and strong bipartisan support, including Majority Leader Maggie McIntosh, Speaker Pro Tem Thomas Dewberry, Minority Leader Alfred Redmer, Jr., and Minority Whip James Ports, Jr.

"Medical marijuana legislation is gaining support in the House of Delegates because more and more members realize that it's a crime to arrest and imprison patients for the simple act of taking their medicine," Murphy said.

The Darrell Putman Compassionate Use Act would allow a patient suffering from a serious illness, who has a recommendation from his or her doctor, to apply to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for a registry identification card, which would grant the patient immunity from prosecution for possession or cultivation of small amounts of marijuana.

Murphy's bill is based on the Marijuana Policy Project's model medical marijuana bill that is similar to legislation enacted by the Hawaii legislature two years ago. It differs from last year's bill with the addition of three new provisions that place greater controls on patients and primary caregivers. Patients would be required to possess a registry identification card; marijuana cultivation could only occur in a secure, indoor facility; and a caregiver could only serve one patient.

"Delegate Murphy has put safeguards into the bill that will allow law enforcement officers to easily identify patients so they won't face arrest, he is protecting neighborhoods by requiring indoor cultivation, and his bill prohibits large-scale marijuana growing by restricting the number of patients a caregiver can serve," said Billy Rogers, MPP's director of state policies.

Thousand of doctors in eight states -- Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington -- are legally recommending marijuana to tens of thousands of patients.

Del. Murphy's bill is named for Darrell Putman, a former Green Beret and operator of a horse carriage service in downtown Frederick, who died of cancer prior to the 2000 legislative session, the first year that a medical marijuana bill was introduced in Annapolis. Putman was a medical marijuana user who inspired Del. Murphy to file this legislation.

 

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"This fight against the War on Drugs is not a war in the classic sense of the word, so it's virtually impossible to point to one instance and say, 'That was the battle that stemmed the tide in our favor'. We have had many small victories that have led us to where we are and each day we continue to communicate and educate brings us that much closer to our ultimate goal: The end of marijuana prohibition." -Richard "Panama" Red-
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