T
The420Guy
Guest
Pubdate: Mon, 28 Aug 2000
Source: Portland Press Herald (ME)
Copyright: 2000, Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
Contact: letters@pressherald.com
Author: Paul Carrier, Portland Press Herald Writer
MEDICINAL MARIJUANA LAW UNDER REVIEW
Almost a year after Maine voters passed a law allowing some sick people to possess and use
small amounts of marijuana, state officials are still trying to figure out how to make the law
work.
A task force that has been looking at the issue for months hopes to come up with
recommendations by Oct. 1, although the Legislature has given the panel until Dec. 1 to do
its job. Lawmakers will consider the recommendations next year.
What the 28-member task force will suggest remains to be seen, but the major
recommendations are sure to deal with whether the state should create a distribution system
for medicinal marijuana and whether the state should register patients who are legally entitled
to the drug.
The creation of the task force, which grew out of a failed effort in the last legislative session
to have the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency distribute confiscated marijuana to those who
need it, shows that the new law is going through some growing pains and may need a little
fine-tuning.
"I think what the people passed had a very pointed intent," said Cumberland County Sheriff
Mark Dion, a member of the task force. But he said the law that was enacted by referendum
in November 1999 fell a bit short as far as "filling in all of the details."
The law legalizes the use of small amounts of marijuana by Mainers 18 and older who suffer
from certain illnesses, such as AIDS and cancer, if they have a doctor's written approval to
use the drug to fight nausea, loss of appetite or other symptoms.
The law allows a qualified patient to possess up to 1.25 ounces of harvested marijuana and up
to six marijuana plants, of which no more than three may be mature, flowering plants.
The law as approved by the voters makes no other provision for patients to acquire marijuana
for medicinal use. Nor does it set up any kind of system to keep track of who is legally
entitled to the drug.
That has fueled calls for a distribution system and a registration system, but opinions vary on
the best way to address both issues.
Advocates for medicinal marijuana argue that the law has its drawbacks as far as access is
concerned.
For one thing, limiting patients to small purchases of processed marijuana raises costs. And
some advocates say restricting patients to six plants is impractical because it prevents qualified
users from growing enough marijuana outdoors during the state's relatively short growing
season to get them through the year.
Indoor growing is an alternative, but advocates say some patients lack the space or the money
to grow plants indoors. They say the grow-your-own solution is useless to a newly diagnosed
patient who may need marijuana immediately and cannot wait several months for plants to
mature. And they say some patients may be too handicapped or simply too sick to grow their
own plants, indoors or out.
"I don't have the room (to grow indoors). I don't have the money to pay CMP" for the
necessary lighting, said Carroll Cummings of Vassalboro, who uses marijuana on the advice of
his doctor to relieve the pain he suffers from various medical problems. Cummings was
arrested this month for possessing more marijuana than the law allows.
"An ounce and a quarter does not even last me a whole week," Cummings said. He said the
state should allow large-scale growing by distributors serving medically qualified users.
One suggestion being considered by the task force involves a limited distribution system in
which a qualified marijuana user could grow or buy enough marijuana for two people, by
doubling the possession limit and by allowing such a person to have 12 plants instead of six.
In effect, such people would supply themselves and one other qualified user.
But some advocates are talking about a more sweeping alternative that might allow nonprofit
agencies to operate monitored marijuana distribution centers throughout the state, on a
regional basis.
"We want a distribution system that will take people off the black market" and allow patients
to get "a month's supply at a time, for a reasonable cost," said Elizabeth Beane, director of
Mainers for Medical Rights, the group that successfully promoted the medicinal marijuana
referendum last year.
The size and number of such distribution centers could vary, but the idea is so controversial
that the task force is almost sure to split over it. A few large centers might be easier for the
police to monitor than many small ones, but critics say large centers might pose a greater risk
of illegal trafficking.
Opponents fear any substantial distribution network would trigger the loss of millions of
dollars in federal funds for various criminal-justice programs.
"I don't think there's going to be a clear recommendation" to the Legislature on distribution,
said Rep. Edward Povich, D-Ellsworth, the co-chairman of the task force.
Clearly distribution "is going to be the most troublesome issue" facing the task force, said Roy
McKinney of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, another member of the panel.
The committee may unite behind a registration system for marijuana users, but there is some
disagreement there as well. Should registration be voluntary or mandatory?
The existing law authorizes Mainers to possess and use marijuana if they have what the law
calls "an authenticated copy of a medical record or other written documentation from a
physician," saying that the users need marijuana for medical reasons.
But, as Dion noted, police "can always question the validity of a document from a doctor."
One way around that would be to have the state, perhaps through the Department of Human
Services, register legitimate users and give them a standardized authorization card similar to a
driver's license that would automatically be accepted by police as proof of medical need.
"It's likely that some sort of registration system will be among the recommendations," said
Assistant Attorney General James Cameron, co-chairman of the task force. Supporters say
that would make it easier for the police to identify legitimate users and protect such users
from police harassment or mistaken arrest.
Registration becomes all the more important - perhaps essential - if the state sanctions a
distribution system. Making registration mandatory would guarantee uniformity, but
supporters of a voluntary system argue that mandatory registration would weaken the law
passed by the voters, by forcing users to register for something to which they are now entitled
without registration.
"We see (mandatory registration) as a step backward," said Beane, the director of Mainers for
Medical Rights.
In any case, making registration mandatory may not be necessary to get the job done.
Cameron said experts believe "virtually every patient would register" under a voluntary
system, to avoid misunderstandings with the police.
MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk
Source: Portland Press Herald (ME)
Copyright: 2000, Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
Contact: letters@pressherald.com
Author: Paul Carrier, Portland Press Herald Writer
MEDICINAL MARIJUANA LAW UNDER REVIEW
Almost a year after Maine voters passed a law allowing some sick people to possess and use
small amounts of marijuana, state officials are still trying to figure out how to make the law
work.
A task force that has been looking at the issue for months hopes to come up with
recommendations by Oct. 1, although the Legislature has given the panel until Dec. 1 to do
its job. Lawmakers will consider the recommendations next year.
What the 28-member task force will suggest remains to be seen, but the major
recommendations are sure to deal with whether the state should create a distribution system
for medicinal marijuana and whether the state should register patients who are legally entitled
to the drug.
The creation of the task force, which grew out of a failed effort in the last legislative session
to have the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency distribute confiscated marijuana to those who
need it, shows that the new law is going through some growing pains and may need a little
fine-tuning.
"I think what the people passed had a very pointed intent," said Cumberland County Sheriff
Mark Dion, a member of the task force. But he said the law that was enacted by referendum
in November 1999 fell a bit short as far as "filling in all of the details."
The law legalizes the use of small amounts of marijuana by Mainers 18 and older who suffer
from certain illnesses, such as AIDS and cancer, if they have a doctor's written approval to
use the drug to fight nausea, loss of appetite or other symptoms.
The law allows a qualified patient to possess up to 1.25 ounces of harvested marijuana and up
to six marijuana plants, of which no more than three may be mature, flowering plants.
The law as approved by the voters makes no other provision for patients to acquire marijuana
for medicinal use. Nor does it set up any kind of system to keep track of who is legally
entitled to the drug.
That has fueled calls for a distribution system and a registration system, but opinions vary on
the best way to address both issues.
Advocates for medicinal marijuana argue that the law has its drawbacks as far as access is
concerned.
For one thing, limiting patients to small purchases of processed marijuana raises costs. And
some advocates say restricting patients to six plants is impractical because it prevents qualified
users from growing enough marijuana outdoors during the state's relatively short growing
season to get them through the year.
Indoor growing is an alternative, but advocates say some patients lack the space or the money
to grow plants indoors. They say the grow-your-own solution is useless to a newly diagnosed
patient who may need marijuana immediately and cannot wait several months for plants to
mature. And they say some patients may be too handicapped or simply too sick to grow their
own plants, indoors or out.
"I don't have the room (to grow indoors). I don't have the money to pay CMP" for the
necessary lighting, said Carroll Cummings of Vassalboro, who uses marijuana on the advice of
his doctor to relieve the pain he suffers from various medical problems. Cummings was
arrested this month for possessing more marijuana than the law allows.
"An ounce and a quarter does not even last me a whole week," Cummings said. He said the
state should allow large-scale growing by distributors serving medically qualified users.
One suggestion being considered by the task force involves a limited distribution system in
which a qualified marijuana user could grow or buy enough marijuana for two people, by
doubling the possession limit and by allowing such a person to have 12 plants instead of six.
In effect, such people would supply themselves and one other qualified user.
But some advocates are talking about a more sweeping alternative that might allow nonprofit
agencies to operate monitored marijuana distribution centers throughout the state, on a
regional basis.
"We want a distribution system that will take people off the black market" and allow patients
to get "a month's supply at a time, for a reasonable cost," said Elizabeth Beane, director of
Mainers for Medical Rights, the group that successfully promoted the medicinal marijuana
referendum last year.
The size and number of such distribution centers could vary, but the idea is so controversial
that the task force is almost sure to split over it. A few large centers might be easier for the
police to monitor than many small ones, but critics say large centers might pose a greater risk
of illegal trafficking.
Opponents fear any substantial distribution network would trigger the loss of millions of
dollars in federal funds for various criminal-justice programs.
"I don't think there's going to be a clear recommendation" to the Legislature on distribution,
said Rep. Edward Povich, D-Ellsworth, the co-chairman of the task force.
Clearly distribution "is going to be the most troublesome issue" facing the task force, said Roy
McKinney of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, another member of the panel.
The committee may unite behind a registration system for marijuana users, but there is some
disagreement there as well. Should registration be voluntary or mandatory?
The existing law authorizes Mainers to possess and use marijuana if they have what the law
calls "an authenticated copy of a medical record or other written documentation from a
physician," saying that the users need marijuana for medical reasons.
But, as Dion noted, police "can always question the validity of a document from a doctor."
One way around that would be to have the state, perhaps through the Department of Human
Services, register legitimate users and give them a standardized authorization card similar to a
driver's license that would automatically be accepted by police as proof of medical need.
"It's likely that some sort of registration system will be among the recommendations," said
Assistant Attorney General James Cameron, co-chairman of the task force. Supporters say
that would make it easier for the police to identify legitimate users and protect such users
from police harassment or mistaken arrest.
Registration becomes all the more important - perhaps essential - if the state sanctions a
distribution system. Making registration mandatory would guarantee uniformity, but
supporters of a voluntary system argue that mandatory registration would weaken the law
passed by the voters, by forcing users to register for something to which they are now entitled
without registration.
"We see (mandatory registration) as a step backward," said Beane, the director of Mainers for
Medical Rights.
In any case, making registration mandatory may not be necessary to get the job done.
Cameron said experts believe "virtually every patient would register" under a voluntary
system, to avoid misunderstandings with the police.
MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk
