PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - A judge on Friday gave a victory to supporters of a referendum aimed at legalizing marijuana by overruling a decision by election officials to reject thousands of signatures.

The same judge who upheld Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap's decision to reject a casino referendum proposal because of invalid signatures on Thursday revived the campaign to put the proposal to legalize marijuana for recreational use on the November ballot.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol disputed Dunlap's rejection of 26,779 signatures because the signature of the notary didn't match the signature on file.

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AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - A 13-year-old medical marijuana advocate who moved from Connecticut to Maine so she could access cannabis to treat a rare form of epilepsy has died.

Two medical marijuana advocacy groups say Cyndimae Meehan died Sunday in her family's Augusta home. She had a severe form of epilepsy known as Dravet syndrome.

Her mother moved her to Maine to access medical marijuana after failed attempts to treat the girl's frequent seizures using federally approved drugs. Connecticut doesn't allow pediatric medical marijuana use.

A family friend and medical marijuana advocate says Cyndimae regained her strength and stopped using a wheelchair once she began taking cannabis oil. The family became medical marijuana advocates, often testifying on state medical marijuana bills.

The family is planning a funeral in Connecticut.

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(AP) - Chief Justice Leigh Saufley says Maine's growing heroin and opiate crisis requires sweeping changes to Maine's criminal justice system. Saufley, in her annual address to the Legislature, warned on Wednesday that the "relentless influx" of new criminal cases could overwhelm the court system. She said the number of sentences for serious drug crimes jumped from 1,300 in 2013 to nearly 1,800 in 2015. Saufley said the courts need more sentencing options, and the state needs more programs for addicts, both before they are charged with a crime and after they leave prison. She also called for more drug treatment housing for youths and adults. She said addicts who leave prison also need more treatment housing options.

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Every day, an average of more than 80 Americans die from opioid overdoses. The number of Maine residents seeking treatment for opiate abuse has tripled since 2010, and the number of babies born affected by prenatal exposure to drugs or alcohol increased by 68 percent between 2010 and 2014.

The National Council of Jewish Women is hosting a panel discussion on this subject from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Falmouth Public Library, 5 Lunt Road.

The event will be open to the public, and featured guests will be Portland Police Chief Michael Sauschuck; Oliver Bradeen, the Portland Police Department's substance abuse disorder liaison; and the Rev. Alice Hildebrand, head of the bereavement team at Maine Medical Center.

For more information, call 781-2351.

Patty Weber

Falmouth

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I was watching the news last night with my son. One segment in particular that struck a nerve with me was the debate on the legalization of marijuana. They had several individuals speaking on how they've acquired over 100,000 signatures on petitions backing a statewide vote on legalization.

This referendum may actually pass, making this now-illegal and dangerous drug available to everyone. What is troubling to me is the effort everyone seems to be putting forward for a "high."

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Waterville and Vassalboro school boards also will vote on the policy to allow a caregiver to administer medical marijuana to students at school.

Winslow, Waterville and Vassalboro schools are enacting policies to allow students to use medical marijuana in school as districts across the state move to comply with a state law passed last year that allows the practice.

The Winslow School Board on Monday voted to approve a policy that allows a parent or legal guardian considered a primary caregiver under Maine's medical marijuana laws to administer marijuana on school grounds to a student certified to use the drug.

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I've wanted to write a post about demonizing marijuana use for a while, but my views are controversial, so I've kept them to myself. I've written quite a bit about our state's addiction epidemic, though, and I'm beginning to feel disingenuous about ignoring the marijuana debate as a piece of that story. As I read about Bangor Public Health's forum on the "pitfalls of legalization of recreational marijuana," my conscience tugged at my fingers.

You see, I am a lot more concerned about the pitfalls of not legalizing and have been for years.

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PORTLAND, Maine - The conflict between two groups seeking to place recreational marijuana legalization questions on the 2016 state ballot continues to deepen as signature-gatherers take to the streets.

After months of negotiations - which the leader of one of the groups characterized as a sham - failed to achieve a compromise, animosity between Legalize Maine and the Marijuana Policy Project made its way to the streets and storefronts of Portland, as the two organizations each work to gather more than 60,000 signatures required to place their questions on the November 2016 ballot.

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By Jamie Comstock, Special to the BDN Posted Aug. 17, 2015, at 8:50 p.m.

Let's break down some myths about marijuana:

Myth 1: Marijuana use is harmless. Today's marijuana is far more potent than the plant of the past.

New strains are being crossbred to produce higher levels of tetrahydrocannabinol "" the chemical responsible for marijuana's effects "" than ever before, with some reaching 20 to 30 percent THC (as compared with the average 1 percent THC in the 1970s).

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Experts Blame It in Part on Surge of Heroin Use

MACHIAS, Maine (AP) - Public health agencies and drug treatment centers nationwide are scrambling to battle an explosive increase in cases of hepatitis C, a scourge they believe stems at least in part from a surge in intravenous heroin use.

In response, authorities are instituting or considering needle exchange programs but are often stymied by geography - many cases are in rural areas - and the cost of treatment in tight times.

In Washington County, at the nation's eastern edge, the rate of the acute form of hepatitis C last year was the highest in a state that was already more than triple the national average. The problem, health officials there agree, is spurred by the surge in the use of heroin and other injectable drugs and the sharing of needles to get high.

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Portland (AP) - Portland's City Council is denying a permit to a group that wanted to hold a marijuana farmers market in a public park. The Portland Press Herald reported that the council voted 5 to 4 against granting the permit on Monday. The councilors previously granted New World Organics of Belfast permission to hold the New England Cannabis Farmers Market in Deering Oaks. Council members said they revisited the issue after hearing advertising for the event, which they said suggested marijuana would be available for use. Event organizer Justin Olsen said the market is designed to be a networking event and "not a place for people to smoke."

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A nationally-backed campaign to legalize recreational use of marijuana in Maine is raising more money than a local effort that has the same goal.

Maine campaign finance reports say the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has raised $104,166 this year. The filings also say the group raised $53,011 during the quarter that ended June 30.

The group is backed by the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which donated $50,000 to the campaign in June.

Filings say local group Legalize Maine raised $25,290 during the same quarter. The group has raised $55,575 this year.

Both groups are asking residents if the question of legalization should be on the ballot in 2016.

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(AP) - A legislative committee has voted to reject a bill seeking to legalize marijuana for recreational use in Maine, but supporters say the real fight will be on the House floor. Democratic state Representative Diane Russell's bill was rejected Thursday by the criminal justice committee and would have allowed people 21 and older to have as much as one ounce of pot. It would also set a 10 percent tax rate on marijuana sales, The Press Herald reported. The tax revenues would go to public school construction, substance abuse programs, drug and alcohol awareness among youth, and regulation. Under a compromise unveiled Thursday, the bill would allow up to 45 marijuana retail stores around the state.

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A Maine legislative committee says schoolchildren should be allowed to take prescribed marijuana on school grounds if a parent or guardian administers it on campus. The Portland Press Herald reported that the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs approved the legislation on Thursday. The rule means school nurses and personnel will not be responsible for storing or administering marijuana. A parent, guardian, or caregiver would have to come to campus to administer it. The bill is going to the full state Legislature for consideration. The bill says the drug cannot be smoked and must be taken in some other form such as an oil, edible substance, or pill. (AP)

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Regarding Scott Gagnon's May 7 BDN blog post, the drug war is a cure worse than the disease. Children of inmates are at risk of educational failure, joblessness, addiction and delinquency. Not only do the children lose out, but society as a whole does, too.

Incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders alongside hardened criminals is the equivalent of providing them with a taxpayer-funded education in criminal behavior. Prisons transmit violent habits rather than reduce them.

Nonviolent drug offenders are eventually released, with dismal job prospects because of criminal records. Turning drug users into unemployable ex-cons is a senseless waste of tax dollars.

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This Friday at the State House, the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety will have a work session on LD 113, An Act to Reduce the Penalties for Certain Drug Offenses. The bill is sponsored by Senator Roger Katz of Kennebec. The bill, in part, looks to downgrade punishments associated with possession of heroin and methamphetamine, two drugs that have been especially problematic in Maine. The bill would downgrade possession of these Class W drugs from a Class C Felony crime to a Class D Misdemeanor crime.

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(AP) - Medical marijuana patients in Maine are urging state lawmakers to allow use of smokeless forms of the drug in hospitals. Patients, their caregivers, and dispensary representatives told lawmakers Monday that many patients are denied the drug or have to use it discreetly because most hospitals do not allow it. The bill is getting pushback from hospital officials and doctors, the Portland Press Herald reported. They say they could lose federal funding if they allow medical marijuana. Samantha Brown told lawmakers that her 3-year-old daughter uses marijuana to treat seizures but has been denied access to it during hospital visits. Brown said that left her in the "uncomfortable position" of having to use it covertly.

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BANGOR, Maine - A local group of medical marijuana patients is renting a space downtown where they can smoke or ingest their medicine.

A group calling itself the 13 Owls Club is renting on an hourly basis the VIP smoking area above the recently expanded hookah lounge run by the Herbal Tea & Tobacco shop in the heart of the city, Herbal Tea owner Christopher Ruhlin said during a recent interview.

"We have doctors, lawyers and architects, and these people depend on a discreet, professional environment," said Ruhlin, adding that he is a medical marijuana patient advocate and a member of the club.

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BANGOR - A local group of medical marijuana patients is renting a space downtown where they can smoke or ingest their medicine.

A group calling itself the 13 Owls Club is renting on an hourly basis the VIP smoking area above the recently expanded hookah lounge run by the Herbal Tea & Tobacco shop in the heart of the city, Herbal Tea owner Christopher Ruhlin said during a recent interview.

"We have doctors, lawyers and architects, and these people depend on a discreet, professional environment," said Ruhlin, adding that he is a medical marijuana patient advocate and a member of the club.

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Last week saw the launch of a second initiative to put a question on the 2016 Maine ballot to legalize recreational marijuana. This effort would run alongside the stated intent of the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project to gather signatures and also put a question on the 2016 ballot.

Some media outlets are framing this as Mainers having two choices for legalizing marijuana in Maine. But the truth of the matter is they will have three choices on how marijuana policy moves forward in Maine. A third choice will be to reject marijuana legalization of both varieties and move forward with a public health-oriented approach that doesn't create a third legalized drug.

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