State Voters Face Choice On Medical Use Of Marijuana

AUGUSTA, Maine - Weighing in on a nationwide debate, Maine voters will decide next month whether to legalize the use of marijuana for some medicinal purposes in the state.

Advocates of the proposal, which will be listed as Question 2 on the Nov. 2 ballot, say by authorizing marijuana for specific medical conditions the proposed law would protect patients who are advised by a doctor they might benefit from the drug. The list of qualifying ailments includes persistent nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite from AIDS or cancer treatments, glaucoma, and seizures or muscle spasms from chronic diseases, such as epilepsy or multiple sclerosis.

The ballot initiative has been advanced by proponents organized as Mainers for Medical Rights.

''We shouldn't be driving very sick people into illegal situations,'' says retired veterinarian Mike Lindey, 67, of Freeport, who as part of the campaign for passage of the initiative has taken to the Internet to describe his own use of marijuana during chemotherapy several years ago.

Critics of the initiative challenge the medicinal value of privately obtained marijuana with no standardized source or preparation, as well as at least some of the claims by proponents that it would be beneficial in the cases outlined in the proposal.

The Maine Medical Association opposes the ballot initiative. ''It was an easy decision ... when considered on its scientific merits,'' said Dr. Katherine Stoddard Pope, a Portland anesthesiologist who led a committee that proposed the group's opposition statement.

The ballot question asks, ''Do you want to allow patients with specific illnesses to grow and use small amounts of marijuana for treatment, as long as such use is approved by a doctor?''

The proposed law defines a usable amount as up to 1.25 ounces of harvested marijuana and up to six marijuana plants, no more than three of which may be mature, flowering plants.

Since 1996, five states California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Arizona have passed medical marijuana initiatives. Voters in the District of Columbia also registered approval.

The U.S. Justice Department, however, has argued that no claim of necessity can justify use of a drug that is classified by Congress to be a dangerous substance with no approved medical purpose.

As a Schedule I substance, marijuana is illegal to cultivate, possess or use under federal law.

Two soundings of public sentiment in September reported similar majorities favoring the initiative.

In a survey of 402 Mainers by Critical Insights of Portland, 68 percent of those responding said they would vote to allow patients with specific illnesses to grow and use small amounts of marijuana, provided its use is approved by a doctor. Thirty percent said they would vote against the measure.

A separate survey of 400 Maine voters by Strategic Marketing Services, also of Portland, found about 70 percent of those interviewed were in favor of the proposal, while nearly 28 percent opposed or were leaning against the proposal.

In March, a panel of medical experts concluded in a report to the federal government that marijuana has medical benefits for people suffering from cancer and AIDS and should undergo scientific trials to see how it works best.

An affiliate of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, said chemicals in marijuana ease anxiety, stimulate the appetite, ease pain and reduce nausea and vomiting.

It also said there is no evidence that use of marijuana leads to other drug use. But the panel warned that smoking marijuana can cause respiratory disease and called for the development of standardized forms of the drugs.

It also came out against claims that marijuana is beneficial in treating glaucoma.

''Although glaucoma is one of the most frequently cited medical indications for marijuana, the data do not support this indication,'' the report said.

Earlier this month, Gov. Angus King said enactment of the medical marijuana initiative would put Maine on a ''slippery slope.''

He noted the conflict between the proposal and federal law and suggested that for some proponents, the initiative would be ''a first step toward the ultimate legalization of marijuana.''

Literature distributed by Mainers for Medical Rights maintains that no one wishing to use marijuana recreationally would gain legal access to it under the proposal.

Copyright 1999 Associated Press

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