Pubdate: Wed, 4 Nov 2009
Source: Bangor Daily News (ME)
Copyright: 2009 Bangor Daily News Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/MWLhV21W
Website: http://www.bangordailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/40
Author: Meg Haskell
Cited: Maine Citizens for Patients Rights http://www.mainepatientsrights.org/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis - Medicinal - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries

MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACCESS LAW OK'd

Mainers who use marijuana to relieve the symptoms of certain medical 
conditions will have easier access to the drug after voters approved 
Question 5 on Tuesday's statewide referendum ballot.

With 86 percent of precincts reporting at about 1:04 a.m. Wednesday, 
the measure was winning 58.61 percent to 41.39 percent.

Statewide, the number of votes was 293,694 in favor to 207,419 opposed.

The measure eases access to marijuana for individuals with certain 
medical conditions. It expands the list of qualifying medical 
conditions, creates a state-regulated registry of qualified users, 
and allows for a statewide system of storefront distribution centers.

While 13 states permit medical use of marijuana, only Rhode Island 
and New Mexico have similar dispensary provisions, according to the 
Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. The national 
organization on Tuesday night called the Maine vote "a dramatic step forward."

Maine supporters established a comfortable lead early on and held it 
throughout the day, although results varied regionally.

By early Wednesday morning, 54.4 percent of voters in Aroostook 
County had rejected the measure; Penobscot County voters had endorsed 
it by 50.6 percent; and Cumberland County voters had endorsed it by 67 percent.

Campaign manager Jonathan Leavitt of the organization Maine Citizens 
for Patient Rights said earlier Tuesday evening that he was confident 
Mainers would approve the measure.

"This confirms what our polling has told us all along," he said. 
Leavitt said he expected some advantage in the southern part of the 
state, but "only a small percentage."

Leavitt acknowledged that his group had run a low-profile campaign.

"The credibility of this issue is so strong, we didn't need to 
convince anyone that this was the right thing to do," Leavitt said.

Question 5 was opposed by the Maine Center for Disease Control and 
Prevention, the Maine Office of Substance Abuse, the Maine Chiefs of 
Police Association, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Maine 
Prosecutors Association.

Kennebec County District Attorney Evert Fowle, who also is president 
of the Maine Prosecutors Association, said Tuesday night the measure 
would prove difficult to enforce because of its complexity and breadth.

"It's a very poor law," he said. "This was written by self-proclaimed 
marijuana activists. The ultimate goal of the people behind this law 
is to legalize marijuana."

Regardless, he added, "We'll do our best to make this law work and 
respect the will of the voters."

The measure also was opposed by the organization Maine Citizens for 
Medical Marijuana. Spokesman Don LaRouche of Madison, who uses the 
drug to ease the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and glaucoma, said in 
an interview last month that government regulation of marijuana would 
prove intrusive and that a proposed $5,000 registration fee for 
dispensaries would be a burden for designated growers.

LaRouche said Tuesday night that he didn't think Maine voters were 
well-informed about the impact of the new law.

"I'm absolutely ashamed of the state of Maine giving more power to 
the government," he said. LaRouche said his organization would begin 
immediately to work on a proposal to undo some of the provisions of 
the new law.

Voters leaving the polls Tuesday afternoon expressed a range of viewpoints.

Frank Tolman of Pittsfield, a self-employed salesman, voted against Question 5.

"I don't want to put the drug dealers out of business," he said. "The 
feds are already involved in our banks and our car companies. It's 
just a complete takeover.  I'm a conservative. The less the 
government handles, the better."

Also opposing the measure, but for different reasons, was a voter in 
Bangor who did not want to be identified.

"I voted no," he said. "It's a drug. I mean, what's next, medical cocaine?"

But Bangor resident Nicholas Barrett, 20, voted in support of the 
medical marijuana initiative.

"If it helps people out, why not?" he asked. "It's a medicinal herb; 
it has its uses." Barrett, who said he occasionally uses marijuana on 
a recreational basis, said he was willing to accept the tradeoff that 
increased therapeutic availability of the drug might lead to 
increased recreational use.

Karan Savoy of Bangor also supported the measure, although she had 
heard little about the issue in the lead-up to the referendum.

"It's probably time to make it more available, especially for older 
people," she said. "People will get it one way or another, so it's 
good to have some regulations and restrictions."

A Maine law approved in 1999 by public referendum allowed an 
individual suffering from one of four specific conditions to grow, 
possess and use small amounts of marijuana if a physician determines 
the effect of the drug may be beneficial. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake