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Feb. 6, 00
Lewiston Sun Journal (ME)
Copyright: 2000 Lewiston Sun Journal
Author: Michelle Kearns, Staff Writer
****
Ralph Holt Jr. would rather not buy his pot from a drug dealer's place where he sometimes sees children nearby. And he worries about how his family would feel if he got caught during a police raid.
A new law that passed overwhelmingly in last November's referendum made it legal for him to smoke marijuana to keep glaucoma's blindness at bay, but it didn't suggest a legal way to buy the drug. "There's times now when I have to buy it on the street," said Holt, who lives in Cornville, a small town outside of Skowhegan. "Sometimes places I go, there's people I wouldn't ever associate with." It would be a relief to him if a bill approved for discussion by a legislative committee last week passes and allows a government-approved source.
The medical marijuana law has also prompted legislation and discussions among state law enforcement officials. "It starts a new era in Maine," said Attorney General Andrew Ketterer. He has begun talking with people about creating a committee to develop a state approach to implementing the new law: Should there be an official form for doctors to sign? Should there be a distribution system? Holt is grateful that the law lets him grow six plants and possess 1* ounces of the herb because he feels better around his 13-year-old daughter. She's gotten mad at him for using marijuana because police at school told her it was wrong. He spends about $200 a month on the drug that he smokes when he wakes up, and then later chews before a drink of juice. This keeps enough in his system to relieve the pressure on his eyes from glaucoma. And it works better than the prescription drops that blinded him for 24 hours after he tried them.
Time For Action Holt isn't alone in his dilemma. Cumberland County Sheriff and Lewiston native Mark Dion said police need to see state-approved reasons for not arresting people who are protected by the new law. He was an outspoken advocate of the referendum because he thought it was a compassionate response to people in need. He has since talked with Ketterer about serving on a policy committee along with others, including a representative of the lobbying group Mainers for Medical Rights. "The government has to have some conversation around the safety of the material," Dion said. "We may have to regulate marijuana on some level so people don't have to go into that black market bazaar." His support makes Maine unique because law enforcement officials were uniformly opposed to medical marijuana laws after they were passed in other states, said Gina Pesulima, communications director for Americans for Medical Rights, the California-based group that sponsored the Maine organization. "Maine is farther along than most states," said Pesulima.
The laws are in effect in Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California, which is the only other state that has tried to develop a distribution system. Proposed legislation developed by the California attorney general's task force was tabled as members could not agree on a plan that would have set up county-run centers to grow and give marijuana to patients, said Pesulima. Since 1996 a system of private clubs has been providing the drug, she said. Dion said it's also important for Maine to develop a response to the law so that people won't be afraid to use it. "Almost to a person the criminal justice system in the state said 'no' to this initiative," he said. Opponents didn't want to permit some people to use a drug that federal law still forbade, and they feared it could lead to the drug's legalization. Ketterer didn't want it to pass, but he also said his office does not prosecute people using marijuana for medical reasons. "I wouldn't want to waste the resources of a trial," he said.
The federal prosecutor in Maine, who was also against the law, has a similar response. Even though federal law still says it is illegal to use, possess, distribute or grow marijuana, U.S. Attorney Jay McCloskey will continue to target large growers. He would rather see marijuana available by prescription, just as other dangerous drugs are, such as cocaine. "I don't see much difference," he said. Medical Response While it's illegal to prescribe marijuana, doctors break no law by suggesting that pot could benefit patients, McCloskey said. "I think a doctor can say anything he wants and that's not a violation of federal or state law," he said. Oncologist and hematologist Owen Pickus of Portland treats AIDS patients in central and southern Maine and said he would write a note for someone who met the new law's criteria of symptoms. They are: * Persistent nausea, vomiting, wasting syndrome or loss of appetite as a result of AIDS, or chemotherapy or radiation therapy used to treat cancer. * Glaucoma eye pressure. * Seizures associated with a chronic, debilitating disease, such as epilepsy. * Muscle spasms associated with diseases, such as multiple sclerosis. Already Pickus has turned away three patients with HIV: They thought the drug would make them feel better, but they did not have nausea or other symptoms described in the law. "I think the perception is if you don't feel good, you should be entitled to smoke dope," said Pickus, who also wants patients to have a safe, legal source for the drug instead of the current system.
How To Get It Sen. Anne Rand, a Portland Democrat, has sponsored the yet-to-be written bill that would arrange an approved distribution system. Perhaps the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency could be a supplier, she said, giving patients confiscated plants. "I would expect they would not be excited about playing any role in this at all," she said. The details have yet to be worked out, and would be part of the discussion once the bill is assigned to a committee, she said. "The people of Maine have certainly spoken loudly and clearly," Rand said. "I'd like to go one step further and try and provide a way so that people can access this drug legally." Portland neurologist Peter Richen plans to testify in favor of such a system before legislators. "I'm all for the referendum, but it's a hollow law without a viable mechanism for distribution," he said. "It's just a piece of paper." He has prepared pre-printed forms for his multiple sclerosis and epilepsy patients who want notes. But so far, no one has asked him for his official permission to use marijuana. "A lot of people are on it already," he said. "There's a variety called West Buxton Gold that keeps people pretty happy." For now, the group that lobbied for the law suggests that people ask around and find someone they trust. Perhaps a grandmother could turn to a grandson who has some, said Elizabeth Beane, a licensed social worker and spokeswoman for Mainers for Medical Rights. "Sometimes the black market isn't all that dangerous," she said. "A lot is grown in Maine. A lot of your friends and neighbors are probably growing it at home and we don't even know it."
Robin Lambert has HIV and has asked his doctor for a note to approve the pot he has been smoking for the past several years to keep himself from vomiting the 25 pills he swallows every day. "I don't want to think of myself as a lawbreaker," said Lambert. He lives in Portland and had been afraid to grow his own pot for fear someone would see the plants and report him to the police. Now that the law allows him to grow six plants, he has studied cultivation by reading magazines he found at Joe's Smoke Shop. He plans to buy some seeds and start the plants in his house. So far, he has been supplied by a marijuana dealer who he pays about $200 for a month's worth of the drug - less than one ounce. "In the beginning it bothered me, but after that it didn't," Lambert said
Lewiston Sun Journal (ME)
Copyright: 2000 Lewiston Sun Journal
Author: Michelle Kearns, Staff Writer
****
Ralph Holt Jr. would rather not buy his pot from a drug dealer's place where he sometimes sees children nearby. And he worries about how his family would feel if he got caught during a police raid.
A new law that passed overwhelmingly in last November's referendum made it legal for him to smoke marijuana to keep glaucoma's blindness at bay, but it didn't suggest a legal way to buy the drug. "There's times now when I have to buy it on the street," said Holt, who lives in Cornville, a small town outside of Skowhegan. "Sometimes places I go, there's people I wouldn't ever associate with." It would be a relief to him if a bill approved for discussion by a legislative committee last week passes and allows a government-approved source.
The medical marijuana law has also prompted legislation and discussions among state law enforcement officials. "It starts a new era in Maine," said Attorney General Andrew Ketterer. He has begun talking with people about creating a committee to develop a state approach to implementing the new law: Should there be an official form for doctors to sign? Should there be a distribution system? Holt is grateful that the law lets him grow six plants and possess 1* ounces of the herb because he feels better around his 13-year-old daughter. She's gotten mad at him for using marijuana because police at school told her it was wrong. He spends about $200 a month on the drug that he smokes when he wakes up, and then later chews before a drink of juice. This keeps enough in his system to relieve the pressure on his eyes from glaucoma. And it works better than the prescription drops that blinded him for 24 hours after he tried them.
Time For Action Holt isn't alone in his dilemma. Cumberland County Sheriff and Lewiston native Mark Dion said police need to see state-approved reasons for not arresting people who are protected by the new law. He was an outspoken advocate of the referendum because he thought it was a compassionate response to people in need. He has since talked with Ketterer about serving on a policy committee along with others, including a representative of the lobbying group Mainers for Medical Rights. "The government has to have some conversation around the safety of the material," Dion said. "We may have to regulate marijuana on some level so people don't have to go into that black market bazaar." His support makes Maine unique because law enforcement officials were uniformly opposed to medical marijuana laws after they were passed in other states, said Gina Pesulima, communications director for Americans for Medical Rights, the California-based group that sponsored the Maine organization. "Maine is farther along than most states," said Pesulima.
The laws are in effect in Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California, which is the only other state that has tried to develop a distribution system. Proposed legislation developed by the California attorney general's task force was tabled as members could not agree on a plan that would have set up county-run centers to grow and give marijuana to patients, said Pesulima. Since 1996 a system of private clubs has been providing the drug, she said. Dion said it's also important for Maine to develop a response to the law so that people won't be afraid to use it. "Almost to a person the criminal justice system in the state said 'no' to this initiative," he said. Opponents didn't want to permit some people to use a drug that federal law still forbade, and they feared it could lead to the drug's legalization. Ketterer didn't want it to pass, but he also said his office does not prosecute people using marijuana for medical reasons. "I wouldn't want to waste the resources of a trial," he said.
The federal prosecutor in Maine, who was also against the law, has a similar response. Even though federal law still says it is illegal to use, possess, distribute or grow marijuana, U.S. Attorney Jay McCloskey will continue to target large growers. He would rather see marijuana available by prescription, just as other dangerous drugs are, such as cocaine. "I don't see much difference," he said. Medical Response While it's illegal to prescribe marijuana, doctors break no law by suggesting that pot could benefit patients, McCloskey said. "I think a doctor can say anything he wants and that's not a violation of federal or state law," he said. Oncologist and hematologist Owen Pickus of Portland treats AIDS patients in central and southern Maine and said he would write a note for someone who met the new law's criteria of symptoms. They are: * Persistent nausea, vomiting, wasting syndrome or loss of appetite as a result of AIDS, or chemotherapy or radiation therapy used to treat cancer. * Glaucoma eye pressure. * Seizures associated with a chronic, debilitating disease, such as epilepsy. * Muscle spasms associated with diseases, such as multiple sclerosis. Already Pickus has turned away three patients with HIV: They thought the drug would make them feel better, but they did not have nausea or other symptoms described in the law. "I think the perception is if you don't feel good, you should be entitled to smoke dope," said Pickus, who also wants patients to have a safe, legal source for the drug instead of the current system.
How To Get It Sen. Anne Rand, a Portland Democrat, has sponsored the yet-to-be written bill that would arrange an approved distribution system. Perhaps the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency could be a supplier, she said, giving patients confiscated plants. "I would expect they would not be excited about playing any role in this at all," she said. The details have yet to be worked out, and would be part of the discussion once the bill is assigned to a committee, she said. "The people of Maine have certainly spoken loudly and clearly," Rand said. "I'd like to go one step further and try and provide a way so that people can access this drug legally." Portland neurologist Peter Richen plans to testify in favor of such a system before legislators. "I'm all for the referendum, but it's a hollow law without a viable mechanism for distribution," he said. "It's just a piece of paper." He has prepared pre-printed forms for his multiple sclerosis and epilepsy patients who want notes. But so far, no one has asked him for his official permission to use marijuana. "A lot of people are on it already," he said. "There's a variety called West Buxton Gold that keeps people pretty happy." For now, the group that lobbied for the law suggests that people ask around and find someone they trust. Perhaps a grandmother could turn to a grandson who has some, said Elizabeth Beane, a licensed social worker and spokeswoman for Mainers for Medical Rights. "Sometimes the black market isn't all that dangerous," she said. "A lot is grown in Maine. A lot of your friends and neighbors are probably growing it at home and we don't even know it."
Robin Lambert has HIV and has asked his doctor for a note to approve the pot he has been smoking for the past several years to keep himself from vomiting the 25 pills he swallows every day. "I don't want to think of myself as a lawbreaker," said Lambert. He lives in Portland and had been afraid to grow his own pot for fear someone would see the plants and report him to the police. Now that the law allows him to grow six plants, he has studied cultivation by reading magazines he found at Joe's Smoke Shop. He plans to buy some seeds and start the plants in his house. So far, he has been supplied by a marijuana dealer who he pays about $200 for a month's worth of the drug - less than one ounce. "In the beginning it bothered me, but after that it didn't," Lambert said