cannabisnews.com: Attitudes Ease Toward Medical Marijuana Attitudes Ease Toward Medical Marijuana Posted by CN Staff on May 22, 2003 at 20:08:45 PT By Richard Willing, USA Today Source: USA Today Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich signed a law Thursday that will greatly reduce penalties for disease sufferers who use marijuana to relieve pain. The new law sets a maximum fine of $100 for "medical marijuana" users who have less than an ounce of the leaf. It makes Maryland the 10th state since 1996 to ease or eliminate sanctions for medical use of the herb, which gained wide use during the 1960s because of its euphoric effects. Maryland's move is a setback for the Bush administration, which had called on Ehrlich, a fellow Republican, to reject the measure. The White House has made marijuana a particular target of its anti-drug efforts, arguing that users often move on to more dangerous drugs. It has campaigned against medical marijuana proposals in several states, prosecuted distributors and growers of medical pot in California, and urged Canadian officials to reject a plan to eliminate criminal penalties for most marijuana users in that country. Despite those efforts, lawmakers in states across the nation have shown a willingness to separate marijuana from other banned drugs. That's largely because of claims by scientists and patients that the drug's most active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), can ease pain and nausea and improve the appetites of those suffering from AIDS, cancer, glaucoma and other ailments.Since last fall, 13 state legislatures have considered medical marijuana bills. The only proposal to have become law is Maryland's, which allows those whose doctors prescribe marijuana for medicinal purposes to avoid facing the $1,000 fine and one year in jail that recreational users would face."The Bush administration has come into this fight with guns blazing, but the trend line is clearly running against them," says Paul Armentano, senior policy analyst at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), a Washington, D.C. group that wants pot to be legal. "This is being driven by continuing evidence of (marijuana's) medicinal value and by testimony of actual patients." Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-05-22-marijuana-usat_x.htmSource: USA Today (US)Author: Richard Willing, USA TodayPublished: May 22, 2003 Copyright: 2003 USA Today, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.Contact: editor usatoday.comWebsite: http://www.usatoday.com/Related Articles & Web Site:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/Md. Gov. Signs Medical Marijuana Bill http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16358.shtmlEhrlich Lowers Fine for Medical Marijuana Users http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16357.shtmlDrug Czar Calls Marijuana Bill Immoralhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15791.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by Richard Paul Zuckerm on May 25, 2003 at 09:02:00 PT: REFLECTION OF PUBLIC CONSENSUS & STATE'S RTS. We need as many States as possible to undertake their independent judgement on the validity of the Cannabis laws, as a reflection of their authority under the Ninth & Tenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. As David Boaz, of Cato Institute, said during a luncheon at the NORML Conference a few years ago, there is no place in the United States Constitution giving the federal government the authority to criminalize Cannabis laws, considering there is no lethal dose to Cannabis and its historic place in medicine (and religion).States' medical marihuana laws may show a public consensus of the relative safety and efficacy of Cannabis in medicine.Indeed, Dr. Ethan Russo publishes a Journal Of Cannabis Therapeutics, on the value of Cannabis in medicine. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by billos on May 23, 2003 at 12:27:28 PT: Robert Ehrlich Kudos to Mr. Ehrlich. I was beginning to think all politicians had lost their senses.Keep ur Diapers on Walters while you sense the momemtum. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment