Pubdate: Mon, 05 Apr 2010
Source: Morning Sentinel (Waterville, ME)
Copyright: 2010 MaineToday Media, Inc.
Contact: 
http://www.onlinesentinel.com/readerservices/Send_a_Letter_to_the_Editor-MS.html
Website: http://www.onlinesentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1474
Author: Susan M. Cover

HOUSE APPROVES MARIJUANA-DISPENSARY BILL

AUGUSTA -- The medical marijuana bill that will set up  a dispensary 
and registration system in Maine received  final House passage 
Monday, setting the stage for the  next phase of work before 
dispensaries can open.

After a short debate, the House voted 128-17 in favor  of the bill, 
which implements an expansion of the  existing medical marijuana law. 
In a November 2009  referendum, 59 percent of voters supported 
allowing  nonprofit dispensaries to open across the state.

Although passage of the bill virtually was assured  Monday, the House 
debate featured passionate testimony  on both sides.

Rep. Sally Lewin, R-Eliot, said she worries that,  because marijuana 
is illegal on the federal level, the  state should not expand access 
to it by setting up a  dispensary system.

"In my judgment, this is a bill to legalize marijuana  use," she 
said. "I believe it's rather like Swiss  cheese, full of holes."

However, Rep. Anne Haskell, D-Portland, shared a  personal story 
about her daughter's battle with cancer  and how much marijuana 
helped her cope with the nausea  caused by intensive chemotherapy.

"There are real people out there for whom this herb has  been a 
valuable resource," she said.

Last year, medical-marijuana advocates said that while  Maine was one 
of 14 states to allow the use of  medicinal marijuana with a doctor's 
permission, it was  difficult for many people to get it legally. The 
law  passed in 1999 allowed patients to grow it themselves  or to 
designate someone to grow it for them.

Advocates said that left people no option but to buy it  on the black 
market. After a successful signature drive  and a low-key campaign, 
Maine voters supported an  overhaul to the law that allows Maine to 
create a  dispensary system.

The bill to implement the new system makes several  changes to the 
measure approved by voters.

It limits, at least for the first year, the number of  dispensaries 
to eight across the state.

It gives the state Department of Health and Human  Services until 
July 1 to adopt rules establishing  application and renewal fees for 
patients, care givers  and dispensaries. Dispensary fees will be set 
by the  department, but the bill requires the fee be no less  than 
$5,000 and no greater than $15,000 per year.

It allows marijuana to be sold to patients in food and  "other preparations."

Also, it eventually will require all medical-marijuana  patients to 
register with the state -- a system that  was voluntary in the 
original citizen initiative. All  patients will be required to 
register with the state by  January 2011.

That change concerns the Maine Civil Liberties Union,  which believes 
it violates patient-doctor privacy.

"Cancer and AIDS patients using medical marijuana for  months or 
years will now have to register with the  state or risk prosecution," 
Maine Civil Liberties Union  Executive Director Shenna Bellows said. 
"It should be  voluntary for patients, especially when state law 
conflicts with federal law."

Kathy Bubar, who served on the medical-marijuana task  force last 
winter, said the biggest challenge for the  state will be setting 
guidelines for determining which  dispensaries are allowed to open in 
the first year.

"We've had a ton of inquiries," she said.

Yet the bill allows only eight -- one in each health  district 
throughout the state.

That means heavily populated areas such as York and  Cumberland 
counties will get only one per county. A  large geographical area 
such as central Maine -- which  is defined as Kennebec and Somerset 
counties --also  will be allowed only one dispensary.

After the first year, the department plans to review  the performance 
of the dispensaries and decide whether  to let additional ones open, 
Bubar said.

Rep. Michael Celli, R-Brewer, voted to support the  final measure but 
said there are many parts of the bill  that will have to be changed 
in the years to come.

"I do feel sorry for anyone on the health and human  services 
(committee) for the next 50 years," he said.  "They are going to get 
this bill back time after time  after time."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart