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Medical Marijuana Workgroup Meets

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Maryland's health secretary says academic institutions in the state are exploring the possibility of running a medical marijuana program in Maryland.

Joshua Sharfstein said Thursday that two or three institutions have expressed interest to him. The secretary spoke during a meeting of a workgroup that is putting together a medical marijuana plan to bring to lawmakers in the 2012 legislative session.

Sharfstein declined to name the institutions, because he hasn't had long conversations with them.

The workgroup is crafting a proposal that would allow an academic institution to propose a patient population that could use the drug and an approach to monitoring its use. Institutions would provide marijuana to patients. The institution also would have oversight responsibilities that would be monitored by the health department or an independent board.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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