cannabisnews.com: Editorial: Legalize Pot in Maine





Editorial: Legalize Pot in Maine
Posted by FoM on September 22, 1999 at 21:24:39 PT
Staff Editorial, The Maine Campus
Source: U-WIRE
Marijuana. For many in Maine this word is not associated with partying - it is a medicine that heals. In November, Maine citizens will be faced with a question on the ballot concerning the medical use of marijuana. 
This citizen-initiated 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?" Six states have passed this measure and four states, Alaska, California, Oregon and Washington state, have medicinal marijuana laws in effect. It seems to be a valid medical use and one that could work in Maine. Besides helping patients suffering from the AIDS virus, it also helps those suffering from cancer, glaucoma, neurological seizures and severe muscle spasticity. The initiative would allow patients to have no more than one and one-quarter ounces of marijuana in their personal possession. It also only allows patients to have three plants that produce usable marijuana. Researchers are currently trying to put the active components of marijuana, cannainoids, in a capsule form. Once this happens, people could see the real effects of marijuana, but until that day we should begin allowing patients to use marijuana for medicinal use. The snag in this growing trend across the nation to allow marijuana for medicinal purposes is that the U.S. Justice Department will still prosecute patients found with marijuana in their possession. This is a law that needs to be in agreement with state and national laws. Consider this: is marijuana, in controlled uses, really that much more addicting than most of the powerful drugs used to treat these illnesses today? Updated 12:00 PM ET September 22, 1999(C) 1999 The Maine Campus via U-WIREMainers For Medical Rightshttp://www.mainers.org/Harris - Excite: Medical Marijuana Pollhttp://news.excite.com/news/poll/ Polls Show Support for Proposal to Allow MMJ Use-9/22/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2975.shtml
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