cannabisnews.com: Medical Pot Use Up to Maine Voters





Medical Pot Use Up to Maine Voters
Posted by FoM on September 20, 1999 at 12:05:53 PT
Source: UPI
Whether Mainers will take their doctor's advice against the medical use of marijuana will be decided at a statewide ballot in November. The Bangor Daily News reported today that the Maine Medical Association's House of Delegates has voted to oppose the medical use of the drug. 
More than 100 doctors voiced their disapproval of the marijuana initiative at their annual meeting in Bar Harbor, citing the lack of scientific evidence for the drug's safety. Dr. John Garofalo of Augusta called marijuana "a gateway drug" that can lead to the use of harder drugs. The association's response echoed that of the Maine Legislature, which went on record in May against a proposed bill to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. After the Legislature turned down the bill, a group called Mainers for Medical Rights collected more than 47,000 signatures to assure its place on the ballot, leaving the decision up to the voters. The referendum would allow an individual to possess up to 1.25 ounces of harvested marijuana and grow up to six plants for personal use, only three of them mature and flowering. Individuals would also have to show their doctors' reports that marijuana could help relieve the distress of such conditions as AIDS, cancer or various chronic diseases. Supporters of the referendum are loath to predict whether the voters will follow the association's advice. Complicating any prediction is a report from the National Academy of Science's affiliate, the Institute of Medicine, which states that marijuana may help treat nausea and pain. However, it also concluded that inhaling the smoke creates additional problems, including a greater risk of cancer and lung disease and low-birth rate babies. Until vigorous clinic trials determine its efficacy, the Institute has recommended that marijuana smoking be confined to terminally ill patients or those with debilitating symptoms that approved medicine cannot relieve. Washington, Oregon, California, Oregon and Alaska have already enacted the controversial measure.UPI-Updated 11:49 AM ET September 20, 1999Doctors Oppose Ballot Measure To Legalize MMJ - 9/18/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2932.shtml
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