​The Maryland House of Delegates Judiciary Committee approved a bill, SB 308, on Thursday which would allow patients who use marijuana to treat medical conditions to use a medical necessity defense in court.

The bill would also create a panel to advise the Legislature on the best practices for creating a medical marijuana program for Maryland in 2012.

The Senate passed the bill by an overwhelming 41-6 vote on March 24, and will need to approve the bill again because of amendments made by the Judiciary Committee. Thursday’s committee vote was the biggest obstacle advocates faced in their effort to remove criminal penalties for medical marijuana users.

Sponsors of the measure had originally hoped to pass a comprehensive medical marijuana law that would have established dispensaries throughout the state and protected patients from arrest, but that plan was derailed when the Secretary of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene voiced concerns over the cost of implementing it.





​In its current form, SB 308 allows patients with certain qualifying medical conditions to use an affirmative defense when charged with marijuana possession if they used cannabis due to a medical necessity. The defense would not apply if the person possessed more than once ounce of marijuana, or used marijuana in a public place.