Pubdate: Thu, 22 May 2003 Source: Washington Post (DC) Copyright: 2003 The Washington Post Company Contact: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491 Authors: Lori Montgomery, and Craig Whitlock, Washington Post Staff Writers EHRLICH LOWERS FINE FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. today signed a bill to dramatically reduce penalties for cancer patients and others who smoke marijuana to relieve suffering, despite fierce lobbying from the White House and many of his conservative supporters. The measure would set a fine of $100 for using marijuana out of "medical necessity." Possession otherwise carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Supporters of the legislation say marijuana offers relief from pain and nausea to people sickened by cancer, AIDS and other illnesses or by medical treatments such as chemotherapy. Under the new law, Maryland becomes the first state to single out seriously ill marijuana users for relaxed sanctions, although other states have done more to decriminalize medical marijuana. In recent years, eight states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Most of those actions have come through ballot referendums, and Ehrlich noted today that he is only the second governor in the country -- and the first Republican -- to sign such a bill. The other was a Democratic governor in Hawaii. A medical marijuana initiative also won approval from District voters but has been blocked by Congress. In addition, 21 states, including Virginia, have approved largely symbolic laws or resolutions recognizing marijuana's medical value. Ehrlich, who as a Baltimore County congressman sponsored legislation that would have freed states to make their own decisions on the issue, was urged to veto the bill by the White House's drug policy chief John P. Walters. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom