The U.S. Attorney Has Concerns About Plans to Amend Maine's Medical Marijuana Law and Says Prosecutions Are Possible. Maine's U.S. attorney has told state lawmakers that Maine's medical marijuana law contradicts federal law, and that the U.S. Department of Justice reserves the right to prosecute Mainers who cultivate and distribute the drug, even if they have state approval. U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty sent a letter, dated Monday, in response to a request from the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee, which recently endorsed changes to the Maine Medical Marijuana Act. [continues 660 words]
Maine's U.S. attorney has told state lawmakers that Maine's medical marijuana law contradicts federal law, and that the U.S. Department of Justice reserves the right to prosecute Mainers who cultivate and distribute the drug, even if they have state approval. U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty sent a letter, dated Monday, in response to a request from the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee, which recently endorsed changes to the Maine Medical Marijuana Act. Committee members met briefly with Maine Attorney General William Schneider on Wednesday afternoon to discuss legal issues. They are expected to move forward with the amendments. [continues 635 words]
An amended Maine bill has bipartisan support, but federal officials have yet to weigh in. Mainers who use marijuana to ease symptoms of chronic medical conditions would no longer have to register with the state under a proposal that appears likely to be approved by the Legislature. The Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee voted unanimously this week in favor of an amended version of L.D. 1296, which sought to deregulate Maine's medical marijuana program and protect the privacy of patients. [continues 834 words]
Mainers who use marijuana to ease symptoms of chronic medical conditions would no longer have to register with the state under a proposal that appears likely to be approved by the Legislature. The Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee voted unanimously this week in favor of an amended version of L.D. 1296, which sought to deregulate Maine's medical marijuana program and protect the privacy of patients. No vote has been scheduled in the House or Senate, but the bipartisan support -- and the blessing of the LePage administration -- means the bill is almost certain to pass. [continues 813 words]
Small-scale medical marijuana growers around the state are forming a trade group to help shape future policies and protect their rights. A formal announcement of the new group will be made at a news conference Thursday in Augusta, according to an e-mail notice from Jonathan Leavitt of the Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine. Maine has an unknown number of medical marijuana caregivers who have been allowed to grow and sell marijuana to eligible patients a maximum of five patients per caregiver under the state's decade-old medical marijuana law. A new law opening the door to Maine's first storefront medical marijuana dispensaries allows caregivers to continue serving patients as long as they register with the state by Jan. 1. [continues 111 words]
Small-scale medical marijuana growers around the state are forming a trade group to help shape future policies and protect their rights. A formal announcement of the new group will be made at a news conference Thursday in Augusta, according to an e-mail notice from Jonathan Leavitt of the Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine. Maine has an unknown number of medical marijuana caregivers who have been allowed to grow and sell marijuana to eligible patients - a maximum of five patients per caregiver - under the state's decade-old medical marijuana law. A new law opening the door to Maine's first storefront medical marijuana dispensaries allows caregivers to continue serving patients as long as they register with the state by Jan. 1. [continues 111 words]
Maine's Department of Health and Human Services announced the selection of two nonprofit corporations to dispense medical marijuana in York County and Down East. Safe Harbor Maine Inc. of Biddeford will be located in York County while Primary Organic Therapy Inc. of Whitneyville will serve Washington and Hancock counties. Operators were selected last month to serve six other regions of the state. The two new dispensary operators were chosen from a total of 17 applications by a four-member panel. They were scored based on plans to operate as a nonprofit corporation long-term, convenience of location, prior business experience, patient education, record-keeping, quality control and other criteria. Cathy Cobb, director of licensing for the department, said she plans to meet with the dispensaries' chief executives to review their applications and to discuss next steps. The dispensaries will likely take between two and four months to become operational. [end]
PORTLAND -- Some AIDS patients in Portland hoping to have legal access soon to medical marijuana may be disappointed. A medical team at the city's India Street Public Health Center, Maine's largest HIV practice, notified most of its 170 patients last week that it won't grant medical marijuana certificates to everyone who asks for one. The drug is potentially harmful and often not medically justified, the team said. "In this current era of effective medications for HIV/AIDS, we are delighted that most of our patients are able to enjoy a very good quality of life and for the majority, medical marijuana will not be necessary," the center said in a letter to patients. "We ... can only provide a certificate to those who genuinely need this substance." [continues 979 words]
PORTLAND - Some AIDS patients in Portland hoping to have legal access soon to medical marijuana may be disappointed. A medical team at the city's India Street Public Health Center, Maine's largest HIV practice, notified most of its 170 patients last week that it won't grant medical marijuana certificates to everyone who asks for one. The drug is potentially harmful and often not medically justified, the team said. "In this current era of effective medications for HIV/AIDS, we are delighted that most of our patients are able to enjoy a very good quality of life and for the majority, medical marijuana will not be necessary," the center said in a letter to patients. "We can only provide a certificate to those who genuinely need this substance." [continues 818 words]
Links to experienced dispensaries might ease the beginnings in Maine, but also raise concerns. Maine has so far licensed six medical marijuana dispensaries. Five of them have direct connections to California's cannabis industry. Some state officials are welcoming the experience and resources from the West Coast. The new arrivals should help Maine's experiment with dispensaries get off to a smooth start, they say. Others, however, fear the California connections are a troubling way to begin. Most of the concerns focus on Northeast Patients Group, which was granted the licenses to open dispensaries in or near Portland, Augusta, Thomaston and Bangor. [continues 730 words]
Tim Smale's quest for migraine relief led to marijuana, which he's now dispensing in Maine. Tim and Jennifer Smale have built and run businesses before. But their newest venture is more personal. Tim Smale, a former competitive swimmer with a master's degree in business administration, developed severe migraine headaches in his mid-20s. He said he tried various prescription drugs, but gave up because of side effects and the risk of addiction. In 2004, he said, he discovered what he says is a safer, better treatment for the pain and nausea: marijuana. [continues 187 words]
Dispensaries here will be modeled after California's finest, but with tighter regulations to avoid excess and abuse. BERKELEY, Calif. - It's 9 a.m. and as soon as the uniformed guard pulls open the black iron gate in front of the Berkeley Patients Group, a small line forms inside the city's oldest and busiest marijuana dispensary. Sara Romano leans over a glass case and checks out the day's selection. She lifts a couple of samples to her nose and sniffs before handing over $300 cash for an ounce of Space Queen, a favorite remedy for anxiety and depression, she says. [continues 1467 words]
Maine has so far licensed six medical marijuana dispensaries. Five of them have direct connections to California's cannabis industry. Some state officials are welcoming the experience and resources from the West Coast. The new arrivals should help Maine's experiment with dispensaries get off to a smooth start, they say. Others, however, fear the California connections are a troubling way to begin. Most of the concerns focus on Northeast Patients Group, which was granted the licenses to open dispensaries in or near Portland, Augusta, Thomaston and Bangor. Northeast is an offshoot of Berkeley Patients Group in Berkeley, Calif., one of the oldest and most successful dispensaries in that state. [continues 747 words]
A different culture is in play out West BERKELEY, Calif. -- It's 9 a.m. and as soon as the uniformed guard pulls open the black iron gate in front of the Berkeley Patients Group, a small line forms inside the city's oldest and busiest marijuana dispensary. Sara Romano leans over a glass case and checks out the day's selection. She lifts a couple of samples to her nose and sniffs before handing over $300 cash for an ounce of Space Queen, a favorite remedy for anxiety and depression, she says. [continues 1641 words]
AUGUSTA -- Rebecca DeKeuster doesn't act like a woman who has just cornered much of Maine's medical marijuana market. The former high school English teacher is criss-crossing the state behind the wheel of a 1997 Chevy Cavalier. Her husband towed it from California behind a U-Haul moving truck, she said. And when she finally pauses for a face-to-face newspaper interview, DeKeuster suggests the Augusta House of Pancakes, a favorite breakfast spot in her newly adopted hometown. [continues 437 words]
Medical Marijuana Culture In California Could Serve As Example For States Like Maine BERKELEY, Calif. -- It's 9 a.m. and as soon as the uniformed guard pulls open the black iron gate in front of the Berkeley Patients Group, a small line forms inside the city's oldest and busiest marijuana dispensary. Sara Romano leans over a glass case and checks out the day's selection. She lifts a couple of samples to her nose and sniffs before handing over $300 cash for an ounce of Space Queen, a favorite remedy for anxiety and depression, she says. [continues 1641 words]
PORTLAND - The City Council formally opened the door Monday to Portland's first medical marijuana dispensary. Councilors voted unanimously to add dispensaries to the list of permitted land uses in three business zones where pharmacies and other retail stores now operate. The Northeast Patients Group plans to open a state-licensed, nonprofit dispensary in Portland in December. Exactly where the dispensary will be is still not clear. The group's preferred location is a former Key Bank building at 959 Congress St., near the corner of St. John Street. That building is in one of the downtown business districts where dispensaries are now permitted. [continues 239 words]
Concerns about affordability arise as dispensary operators set prices high to prevent resale on the streets. Maine's new network of medical marijuana dispensaries is expected to make the drug more accessible to disabled and ill patients. Making it affordable may be another matter, however. While the dispensaries are state-licensed nonprofits, most plan to charge virtually the same prices as illegal dealers charge on the street -- from $300 to $400 an ounce. At those prices, a typical patient with cancer or multiple sclerosis might spend $500 to $600 or more each month to relieve symptoms with medication that is not covered by insurance. [continues 1092 words]
Legislators may need to clarify rules to keep licensed marijuana sellers from profiteering. Maine's new medical marijuana dispensaries have to incorporate as nonprofits. But that doesn't mean they are charities or that they can't make lots of money. It doesn't even mean they have to reveal the salaries paid to officers and directors. "I think the term nonprofit is often misunderstood," said Rob Levin, a Portland-based lawyer who specializes in nonprofit law. "I have no idea what the Legislature had in mind, but it wouldn't surprise me if more oversight was envisioned than what is required under (Maine law)." [continues 625 words]
