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                                                                      EXHIBIT 24

                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

         KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned director and/or
officer of Meridian Medical Technologies, Inc. a corporation organized under the
laws of the state of Delaware (the "Corporation"), hereby constitutes and
appoints James H. Miller, Dennis P. O'Brien, Steven Kaplan, Richard E. Baltz and
Virginia W. Liao and each of them (with full power to each of them to act
alone), his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents for him and her
on his or her behalf and in his or her name, place and stead, in all cases with
full power of substitution and resubstitution, in any and all capacities, to
sign, execute and affix his or her seal to and file with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (or any other governmental or regulatory authority) a
Registration Statement on Form S-8 or any other appropriate form, all amendments
(including post-effective amendments) thereto and any related registration
statement filed in accordance with Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended, with all exhibits and any and all documents required to be filed
with respect thereto, relating to the registration of shares of common stock,
par value $0.10 per share, of the Corporation issuable pursuant to the
Corporation's 2000 Stock Incentive Plan, and grants to each of them full power
and authority to do and to perform each and every act and thing requisite and
necessary to be done in and about the premises in order to effectuate the same
as fully and to all intents and purposes as he himself or she herself might or
could do if personally present, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said
attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, may lawfully do or cause to be
done by virtue hereof.

         IN WITNESS HEREOF, the undersigned director and/or officer has hereunto
set his or her hand and seal, as of the date specified.



Signature                               Title                                     Date
- ---------                               -----                                     ----

                                                                            
/s/ James H. Miller                     Chairman of the Board,                    January 11, 2001
- -------------------                     President and CEO (Principal Executive
James H. Miller                         Officer)


/s/ Dennis P. O'Brien                   Vice President and Chief Financial        January 11, 2001
- ---------------------                   Officer (Principal Financial and
Dennis P. O'Brien                       Accounting Officer)


/s/ Bruce M. Dresner                    Director                                  January 11, 2001
- --------------------
Bruce M. Dresner

/s/ Robert G. Foster                    Director                                  January 11, 2001
- --------------------
Robert G. Foster


                                        Director                                  January 11, 2001
- -------------------------
E. Andrews Grinstead, III

/s/ David L. Lougee                     Director                                  January 11, 2001
- -------------------
David L. Lougee