ANNAPOLIS (January 21, 2011) – Multiple sclerosis patient and popular former talk show host Montel Williams will speak at a press conference Monday in Annapolis in support of legislation that would make Maryland the nation’s 16th state allowing physician-approved use of medical marijuana. Williams became a medical marijuana advocate after finding it provided relief from pain associated with his multiple sclerosis, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.
Williams grew up in Baltimore where his father was the city’s first African-American fire chief. Williams is a graduate of the Naval Academy in Annapolis and retired from the U.S. Navy as a decorated naval intelligence officer after more than two decades of service before embarking on his second career as a national television talk show host. In 1999, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and has sought treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Following his diagnosis, he created the Montel Williams MS Foundation, which is committed to raising awareness of the disease and providing inspiration to those who live with MS. Williams has served as an advocate for the compassionate use of medical marijuana in a variety of states that have approved new laws.
Montel will be joined at the Maryland press conference by the chief sponsors of the state’s medical marijuana legislation: physician and
Maryland Delegate Dan Morhaim (D-Baltimore Co.), and Maryland Senators Jamie Raskin
(D-Montgomery Co.) and David Brinkley (R-Carroll & Frederick Co.), both cancer survivors.
Source: Marijuana Policy Project, Washington, DC