cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Lobby Coalition Pitches New Initiatives





Marijuana Lobby Coalition Pitches New Initiatives
Posted by FoM on April 07, 2001 at 09:37:06 PT
By Sharon Mack, of the News Staff
Source: Bangor Daily News 
Don Christen, the founder and leader of Maine Vocals, a pro-marijuana lobbying group, announced this week that his organization, in cooperation with the Maine Citizens for Medical Marijuana, will seek signatures for the next year on two initiatives: the legalization of medical marijuana, and the relegalization of the cultivation of hemp as an agricultural crop.Part of the proposal would set up marijuana outlet stores throughout the state, dubbed “buyers’ clubs.”
Although the hemp issue is before the Legislature’s Agriculture Committee, Christen said this week that should the bill pass and be signed into law, the petition drive would be abandoned.This is the third petition drive by Vocals and MCMM in as many years. Christen said 42,000 signatures are required to place the issue before voters in 2002.“It is about time our legislators listened to the will of the people,” Christen said. “Marijuana can be a potent and powerful medication.”Marijuana has been credited with helping those suffering from AIDS, cancer, epilepsy and glaucoma, among other diseases.Christen said the marijuana initiative would increase the number of plants that could be possessed. A patient or designated provider, with the written or oral recommendation of a physician, could grow up to 99 plants or possess no more than 18 pounds of usable processed pot. Christen said that is a two-year supply.“We went with two years because a person could be too sick the second year to grow it then,” he said.The designated providers would be limited to 10 patients at a time, which means they could grow up to 1,000 plants. Christen said the providers, however, could form a cooperative. “There could conceivably be huge farms,” he said.In addition, the initiative provides safeguards to protect any Maine physicians who prescribe marijuana from a backlash from the federal government that would affect their license to practice.The buyers’ clubs would be set up in cities of 25,000 or more people, with one in each county.The hemp initiative would require the Maine Department of Agriculture to assist Maine farmers in procuring unsterilized seed “until farmers are able to get their own.”Christen explained that although other states have passed hemp legislation, the federal government seizes all unsterilized seeds. Christen said the hemp effort could save some Maine farms and provide a profitable, alternative crop. In Canada, hemp farmers are realizing $400 an acre profit and shipping more than 80 percent of their hemp to the United States. Source: Bangor Daily News (ME)Author: Sharon Mack, of the News StaffPublished: April 7, 2001Copyright: 2001 Bangor Daily News Inc.Contact: bdnmail bangornews.infi.netWebsite: http://www.bangornews.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Mainers For Medical Rightshttp://www.mainers.org/Maine Awaits Drug Ruling http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9002.shtmlMaine Panel Split on Marijuana Distribution Reporthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7184.shtmlCannabisNews Hemp Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/hemp.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on April 09, 2001 at 10:45:01 PT:
News Brief From The Associated Press
Maine Vocals Aim for Two Ballot Questions with Petition Drive Source: Associated PressBy Associated PressPublished: April 9, 2001Copyright: 2001 Associated PressThe Maine Vocals are planning to start petition drives aimed at revamping Maine's medical marijuana law and legalizing the cultivation of industrial-grade hemp. Donald Christen, president of the marijuana-legalization group, said they will try to collect 42,000 signatures for each of the petitions to get the issues on the November 2002 ballot. The Secretary of State's office has already approved the wording of the petition on the medical marijuana law, he said. He criticized Maine's current medical marijuana law as unworkable, saying it doesn't allow patients to grow or possess enough marijuana. The Legislature, meanwhile, has been unable to come up with a way to assure patients an adequate supply, Christen said. The law allows patients to grow six plants at a time, but his group wants to let voters decide whether patients should be able to grow up to 99 plants, Christen said. Hemp is the non-halluciogenic relative of marijuana whose fibers can be used for clothing, food and other products. It was widely grown in the United States until the late 1930s. Some states have taken steps toward legalizing its cultivation, such as approving research into the crop. Christen said he expects approval on the wording of the hemp petition this week. 
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