Pubdate: Thu, 07 Feb 2002
Source: Frederick News Post (MD)
Copyright: 2002 Great Southern Printing and Manufacturing Company
Contact: 
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/contact/contactfinalnew.cfm?contact=letters
Website: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/814
Author: David Brinkley
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

BRINKLEY: FERGUSON MISINFORMED ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL

It is interesting that state Sen. Tim Ferguson thinks Maryland 
"should wait for the federal government to fund research" before he 
supports medical marijuana legislation.

He also says it is "sincerely wrong to expect state government to 
take the lead in the effort." As a cancer survivor and original 
sponsor of medical marijuana legislation in Maryland, and as a 
continued supporter of this legislation, I disagree with him.

Despite the progress we've made in diagnosis and treatment of 
diseases, including cancer, the time it takes to conduct, conclude, 
dispute and conterdispute research and the subsequent findings is 
never the patient's ally. In essence, he is advocating studying how 
to treat the patient while the patient lies dying.

Furthermore, why shouldn't the states take the lead on this issue? 
It's past time for the states to lead. Remember the Tenth Amendment?

The purpose behind the legislation is to allow patients and their 
health care practitioners to freely explore their options, 
particularly when their treatment protocols demand aggressive therapy.

This year another measure has been introduced. HB24 allows a 
defendant to introduce evidence of medical necessity at the 
sentencing phase of a trial, and forces the court to consider that 
evidence. This was introduced by Delegate Thomas Hutchins, a retired 
captain in the Maryland State Police.

Insofar as, "Law enforcement and judges don't know how to deal with 
dealers of marijuana who might show up in court and plead innocent 
because less than 1 percent of their sales are to health patients," 
give me a break. Read the bill. The legislation isn't crafted to 
protect those individuals at all.

The whole point of passing a bill in the legislature is to instruct 
the judges and law enforcement personnel how to function when 
circumstances of medical necessity arise. This legislation seeks to 
protect caregivers, patients and licensed medical practitioners from 
the long arm of the law.

It would be encouraging for Mr. Ferguson to agree that Maryland can 
and should take the lead in this issue, and not rest responsibility 
in Washington. The patients of today and tomorrow deserve nothing 
less.

DAVID BRINKLEY, Maryland state delegate New Market
- ---
MAP posted-by: Josh