Montel Williams Lends Support to Medical Marijuana Bill

Former talk show host Montel Williams, who has been a strong proponent of medical marijuana, has taken his fight to Maryland state lawmakers.

The Baltimore native became a national advocate for medical marijuana legislation and reform, when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis over a decade ago. Williams spoke at a news conference Monday with Maryland lawmakers in attendance to discuss how the drug has provided relief to his pain-ridden body over the last few years.

The 54-year-old entertainer revealed that opiates no longer offer him pain relief and that marijuana is the only pain-blocker for him at this stage:

"Marijuana may not work for everyone, but what it has done for me is given me my life back," Williams told the Frederick News-Post.

Williams was a featured speaker at the press conference along with Republican Senator David Brinkley, one of the lead sponsors of the proposed bill that was introduced last year. The legislation will call for marijuana to be distributed through pharmacies and will put in place regulations for its medical use. Procedures will also be set for the state with regards to the drug's growth and prescription process.

There is also another stipulation in the bill, which will require that physicians have a well-established medical relationship with their patients, before the drug can be prescribed to them.

To date, only 15 states have medical marijuana legislation in place.

As far as Williams is concerned, he is ready to fight the good fight to make sure that his state joins the other ones that have the medical marijuana legislation in their law books.

In Maryland, legislation sponsored by Brinkley and Senator Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, passed in the Senate last year with a 35-12 vote. The House, however, didn't pass the measure but lawmakers say they'll give it another crack this year.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments