cannabisnews.com: Bill Would Let State Supply Medical Marijuana User Bill Would Let State Supply Medical Marijuana User Posted by FoM on March 13, 2000 at 10:57:00 PT By Joshua L. Weinstein, Staff Writer Source: Press Herald Online Back in the day, before it was legal for Bryan Clark to smoke marijuana, a legislative committee gave him a lovely little pot plant. "Grow it," Clark remembers the chairman telling him. "Smoke it, enjoy it."Clark, who got AIDS when he was 13 from the blood clotting factor his doctors prescribed for his hemophilia, did all three. He doesn't have the plant any more. It was just a little thing that another medical marijuana patient had brought to the committee as a show-and-tell display. The state did not legalize marijuana for medical purposes at that time. Last November, however, the voters did, 61 percent of them.And Clark has a question: "Where's my pot?"It's legal for him to smoke, but still difficult to get.A bill before the state Legislature would fix that by having the state Drug Enforcement Agency distribute confiscated marijuana to certified medical users, but even its sponsor, Sen. Anne Rand, doubts it will pass.The Health and Human Services Committee will hold a hearing on the bill today at 10 a.m. in Room 436 at the Capitol.It's an interesting, if improbable solution, Clark said.It would be easier if patients could get their marijuana at the pharmacy, as they do other drugs, but even though Clark's physician has written him a letter saying he meets the requirements set out in Maine's law, marijuana is still illegal under federal law, so it is not available by prescription.Maine's new law provides Clark another way to get the drug. He and other patients are permitted to grow six plants, three of which may be flowering.But that's expensive."Growing?" Clark asked. "Can I get housing assistance for a two-bedroom (apartment)? Can I claim my plants as dependents? . . . Are my lights counted toward my utility allowance?"He's only partially kidding.Growing marijuana indoors is expensive – he figures more than $500 for grow lights and another $45 or $50 a month in electricity.He can buy marijuana illegally, but that's expensive, too – $50 for an eighth-ounce of high-quality bud.Clark, 26, who lives in Portland, has been using marijuana for eight years to quell the nausea that racks him. He is pleased that the state no longer labels him a criminal for having the drug, but he still worries. Buying marijuana, he said, is still illegal."The fear ain't over," he said. "You've got to do what you've got to do, and that's the unfortunate thing about this."Not that he'll stop. Only marijuana, he says, eases the medication-caused nausea and fights its wasting effects by allowing him to eat. And nausea can be deadly for Clark: he has hemophilia, and nausea can cause him to vomit so violently, he bleeds internally.Mark Dion, the sheriff of Cumberland County, sympathizes with Clark.He supported last November's ballot question that legalized marijuana for limited medical purposes, and hopes the state will help figure a way to get patients their marijuana.Dion would like the state to develop a registry of legitimate medical marijuana patients, but he knows the problems facing Clark, other patients and the state."There are some real delicate public policy questions to be answered," he said. "One is, where do we get the material? Will the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency be the source? Will the state act as a pass-through agent providing legitimate patients with seized contraband? What are the liabilities that might attatch to this pass-through process, or shall the state be engaged in growing material in order to assure safety, and then pass that on to designated individuals, and what of the registry?"In Oregon, where marijuana is legal for medical purposes, the state has developed a registry but does not supply patients with marijuana.Here in Maine, Sen. Anne Rand wants to.The bill that will be discussed today calls for a registry and for the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency to distribute confiscated marijuana. Yet Rand acknowledges a problem: As long as marijuana remains illegal under federal law, it is unlikely legislators will ask the MDEA to distribute it."The truth is," she said, "the federal government really has to change its attitude about marijuana, it's got to allow research."Rand, a Democrat who represents Portland and is the Senate's assistant majority leader, said she opposes marijuana's outright legalization."But," she said, "I think we're probably missing a great opportunity by not doing research on this plant, and certainly for the people who could get a lot of relief and do get a lot of relief from the medical use of marijuana."Maine's attorney general, Drew Ketterer, is forming a task force to study the issue, and Rand will be a member.But the task force, so far, is law-enforcement heavy. Its co-chairs are State Rep. Edward Povich, a Democrat from Ellsworth who also chairs the Legislature's Criminal Justice Committee, and James Cameron, the assistant attorney general who coordinates state drug prosecutions. It also includes the president of the Maine Sheriff's Association, which opposed the law, the director of the Maine DEA, the commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, the president of the Maine Prosecutor's Association and the U.S. attorney.It also includes Rand, Dion, three physicians, a former medical marijuana user and a representative of the group that got the medical marijuana question on the ballot.Ketterer says he sympathizes with Clark, but he disputes the young man's question."The legitimate question isn't, 'Mr. Attorney General, where's my pot?' " he said. "It is, 'Mr. Government' – whatever that is – how do we resolve it?' Does that mean I grow my own and hope for the best? Suppose I have a crop failure? Does that mean they have to go without it? I don't know. We have to get at the issues."Voters in Alaska, Arizona, California, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, D.C. and Washington state have approved medical marijuana laws. Legislators in Hawaii have passed a similar law, and lawmakers in Maryland are considering one.For his part, Clark would be happy with a registry and a way to get his marijuana. He'll even grow it – for the state – if he is given the space and equipment.Until then, he's waiting for Ketterer, for Rand, for the Legislature, for Dion, for the federal government. Staff Writer Joshua L. Weinstein can be contacted at 791-6368 or at: jweinstein pressherald.com Maine's medical marijuana law was approved by voters last November.It limits medical marijuana users to people who have nausea, vomiting or wasting syndrome from AIDS; who are undergoing chemotherapy; who have glaucoma; or who have chronic seizures or muscle spasms.Patients must be under a physician's care, and have discussed the use of medical marijuana with the physician. The physician must believe that the use of marijuana will alleviate symptoms.Patients may have up to an ounce-and-a-quarter of marijuana or six plants, no more than three of which may be flowering.Medical marijuana patients are not permitted to smoke marijuana in public places. Dronabinol, a synthetic version of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is legal under federal law.It is sold under the name Marinol.THC is the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.The drug is prescribed to combat nausea and increase appetite.Medical marijuana users say they prefer smoked marijuana to dronabinol because they can control the dosage. They also say that when they are nauseated, they cannot swallow pills, that the drug takes too long to take effect and leaves them profoundly stoned.Dronabinol's supporters say the medicine is scientifically proven to be safe and effective, and does not cause lung damage that smoking does. Published: Monday, March 13, 2000Copyright © 2000 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.Related Article & Web Site:Mainers For Medical Rightshttp://www.mainers.org/State Would Distribute Confiscated Marijuana http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread5057.shtmlCannabisNews Articles On Maine, Medical Marijuana Plus Archives: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtmlhttp://www.google.com/search?q=CannabisNews+Maine http://www.google.com/search?q=CannabisNews+Medical END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by mike zacharias on April 10, 2001 at 01:03:35 PT: question hello,the question i have is a quick answer, so i would greatly appreciate it if anyone can answer. i found a great deal to travel to hawaii ($530 for round trip and hotel, ltc travel agency) and am curious if anyone knows anything buying there. this is not some sting operation, and i don't want a personal connection. i just want to know if it is hard to hook up in hawaii, as it will add to my trip considerably. i am of the frame of mind that grass is not a problem if it is used responsibly and does not get in the way of real life (recreationally speaking of course). if you could give advice to a traveling stoner it would be greatly appreciated.thanks,mike zacharias [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by STAN DUP on March 13, 2000 at 12:33:48 PT: Nicotine/THC comparison is "SMOKESCREEN"! "Dronabinol does not cause lung damage that smoking does"... 1. Nicotine attacks the small airways in the lung's, THC passes through the larger airways which is not nearly as harmful because it would take longer to damage the tissue. 2. People smoke far more nicotine(30-40 cigarettes, or more a day) than they would THC. The majority of people smoke 30-50 years before(if at all) they develop any lung damage from nicotine. 3. I'm sure any of these sick people would welcome the idea of living an additional "moment" without pain and suffering! STAN [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: