November 3, 1999
From the Portland Press Herald
letters@pressherald.com
http://www.portland.com/
http://www.portland.com/cgi-bin/community/netforum/community/a/1
By Meredith Goad, Staff Writer

MAINERS STRONGLY SUPPORT ALLOWING MARIJUANA TO BE USED FOR MEDICAL REASONS

Rejecting the concerns of doctors, police and prosecutors, Mainers went to the polls Tuesday and just said yes to medical marijuana.
(Marijuananews note: Did they reject the "concerns" or the self-serving arguments of those who place power above human compassion?

Question 2, which legalizes the use of small amounts of marijuana for medicinal purposes, passed by a large margin. With 88 percent precincts reporting, 61 percent of voters agreed that Mainers suffering from certain medical conditions should be allowed to buy, grow and use the drug to alleviate their symptoms without fear of prosecution.

Thirty-nine percent of Mainers voted against the law.

Mainers for Medical Rights, http://www.mainers.org/ the group behind the referendum, said the vote sends a strong message favoring "compassionate and common sense" use of medical marijuana.

"I think it sends a message that the people of Maine expect some leadership from Augusta on this issue," said Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion, who supported Question 2, "and that the law should stand for more than enforcement, that it has to have a compassionate component as well."

With the approval of Question 2, Maine became the eighth state to pass a law legalizing medical marijuana. Under the new law, patients will not be prosecuted as long as they have their doctor's written approval to use the drug to fight their nausea, loss of appetite and other symptoms. Patients will be allowed to possess only 1.25 ounces of the drug at any time, or no more than six marijuana plants.

Many voters interviewed at the polls Tuesday seemed to be casting a very personal vote, saying that they know someone with AIDS or cancer who could benefit from the drug.
(Marijuananews note: I am constantly surprised at the large number of people who have direct personal experience with a friend or family member who has used and/or needed medical marijuana.)

Rupert Neily, 53, of Hallowell, said his father has prostate cancer and uses marijuana to relieve the pain. "It has been helpful to him," Neily said, adding that the law is long overdue.

Question 2 had no organized opposition, but Gov. Angus King, the Maine Medical Association, U.S. Attorney Jay McCloskey and various law enforcement officials spoke out against it.
(Marijuananews note: As did almost every newspaper in the state, and prohibitionists around the country.)

Law enforcement officials said they fear a medical marijuana law will complicate the enforcement of federal drug laws, and doctors worry about running afoul of those laws.

Some Mainers shared those concerns and decided to vote against Question 2.

Richard Esten, 49, of South Portland said he would have felt more comfortable with the law if everything was under a doctor's control. But the idea of people growing their own marijuana, even for use as medicine, made him uneasy.

"To use it's one thing, under a doctor's prescription, but to grow it is something else," he said. "I think that puts it out of control."
(Marijuananews note: Control is very important to some people.)

Other voters said they believe those details can be dealt with later.

"I agree that there should be a better way of limiting the dosages and controlling it," said Rhianna Meadows, 19, of Portland, "but I think that voting yes is a good way to get the ball rolling."
(Marijuananews note: Most of the newspaper editorials that opposed the proposition more or less recognized that marijuana has medical uses, but they wanted the government to allow and control it, not their stupid readers. Of course, the papers have said nothing "to get the ball rolling." Consequently, if it were left up to the "leaders" we would never go anywhere -- except into less freedom.)

Although many law enforcement officials opposed Question 2, Dion, the Cumberland County sheriff, voiced his support. That had some influence on Gail Huston, 38, of South Portland.
See
Portland Paper Carries Debate Between Police Chief And Sheriff On Medical Marijuana.
The Chief Doesn’t Trust the People With Either Truth or Freedom. Maine Votes Tuesday
-- 2 Articles

"I figured if there are some people who are in the legal system who are recommending it, then it's probably a good thing," she said.

Passage of the law in Maine adds significant fuel to the national debate over medical marijuana, observers say.

Although voters in several states and the District of Columbia have voted on medical marijuana laws, currently there are only four states where medical marijuana programs have actually been put into place. California passed its law in 1996, followed by Alaska, Oregon and Washington in 1998.

Voters in Colorado, Nevada, Arizona and the District of Columbia have also passed medical marijuana laws, but for different reasons programs were never developed there. Colorado and Nevada will be voting on the issue again in 2000.

Gina Pesulima of California-based Americans for Medical Rights said that because almost all of these elections were in the West, there has always been a perception that they reflected "a West Coast attitude" about medical marijuana.

But with Maine passing a similar measure, "I think there may be more of a perception that this is an issue that has national support among the population of voters," she said.

Proponents of medical marijuana also hope passage of the law will put more pressure on the federal government to address the issue.

"For us the significance is that it's forcing Congress to confront the way it regulates drugs," said Rob Stewart of the Drug Policy Foundation in Washington, D.C. http://www.dpf.org/

Calvina Fay of the Florida-based Drug Free America Foundation, http://www.dfaf.org/ which opposes the medical use of marijuana, said passage of the law in Maine "sets an extremely bad precedent." She said it will send the wrong message to young people and lead to more recreational use of the drug.
See
The Day Before the Maine Election, Prohibitionists Issue Press Release Saying,
"Support for Maine's Medical Excuse Marijuana Initiative Stalls."
And Everything Else They Said Was Equally Correct.
"It's just going to help spread misinformation to the public all over the country," she said.
See
The Party Line Versus Reality On  Medical Marijuana.
Prohibitionism Is Being Destroyed By Its Own Delusions.
Analysis By Richard Cowan and 1 Article

Maine voters, however, disagreed.
See
Panic In Prohibition Park:
How Maintaining The Party Line For The Cadres Alienates The Public.
Analysis By Richard Cowan

John Buckley, 77, of South Portland, voted for Question 2. He said while he recognizes there are some concerns about the law, he's confident the "actual nuts and bolts" will be worked out later.

"From what I've seen, this is the only viable alternative that is available to many people that need this to keep them from pain," he said.
See
New Study Shows How Marijuana Eases Pain;
Will Someone Do A Study On How The Suppression of Medical Marijuana Causes Pain?