Hope and effort to legalize medical marijuana continue in Maryland

It will come up and get rejected, but it will always rise again — the effort to make the use of medical marijuana legal in Maryland. Some states already have laws that allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes. If Maryland were to adopt legalization laws, it would be added to the list of 16 states and the District of Columbia that have done so.

The last time we wrote about this drug law matter was almost a year ago already. Since then, marijuana still remains an illegal substance for all in the state, even though there is a group of people who are as passionate as ever about progressing toward medical legalization in the state in order to treat pain and other hardships of health conditions.

Last week, CBS Baltimore reported that there is a new push toward legalization in Maryland. Last Monday, legalization advocates, including patients who argue that their pain could be addressed with the drug, gathered to encourage lawmakers to move forward with approving medical marijuana in the state.

The medical marijuana legislation is before the General Assembly. Sources suggest that even if it passes at that level, the current Governor Martin O’Malley ultimately wouldn’t let the legislation pass. He has reportedly stated that he would veto any legislation that would legalize the use of medical marijuana in the state.

But all hope among legalization advocates is not lost. One patient, for example, hopes that someday soon he will get some relief from his Tourette Syndrome symptoms through the legalized use of marijuana, which has proven to reduce his symptoms in the past.

Source: CBS Baltimore, “Md. Lawmakers Consider Legalizing Medical Marijuana,” March 19, 2012