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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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US ME: State Would Distribute Confiscated Marijuana To Medical
ccguide Wednesday 15 Mar 2000 Pubdate: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA) Copyright: 2000 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. Contact: Address: PO Box 120191, San Diego, CA, 92112-0191 Fax: (619) 293-1440 Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/ Forum: http://www.uniontrib.com/cgi-bin/WebX Author: Associated Press STATE WOULD DISTRIBUTE CONFISCATED MARIJUANA TO MEDICAL USERS UNDER BILL PORTLAND, Maine - A bill before the Legislature would have the state distribute confiscated marijuana plants to people who are allowed to use it for medical reasons. The law is meant to help people who have trouble getting marijuana to help treat their medical conditions, a practice that Maine voters approved in November. But even the bill's sponsor doubts it will pass, as long as marijuana possession remains illegal under federal law. "The federal government really has to change its attitude about marijuana, it's got to allow research," Sen. Anne Rand, D-Portland, said Monday. The bill calls for the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency to distribute the marijuana and provides for a registry of patients allowed to use it. Bryan Clark, 26, favors the law. He has been using marijuana to quell the nausea that began after he got the AIDS virus at age 13 from the blood clotting agent prescribed for his hemophilia. His doctor has written a letter saying Clark meets the requirements of the state law. But federal anti-marijuana laws keep Clark from getting it by prescription, and growing it at home is too expensive, he says - $500 for lighting equipment and about $50 in electricity per month. The only other option is buying it illegally, he says, which defeats the purpose of the new state law. "You've got to do what you've got to do, and that's the unfortunate thing about this," he said. The Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee was scheduled to discuss the bill further Thursday. Maine's attorney general hopes to form a task force to study the question. Marijuana is banned by the federal government, although voters in six states have approved laws allowing the drug to be used for medical purposes. The Maine law limits medical marijuana use to those 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 must discuss the use of medical marijuana with the physician. Patients may have up to 1 1/4 ounce of marijuana or six plants, no more than three of which may be flowering. - --- MAP posted-by: Allan Wilkinson
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