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| | MAINE LAWMAKERS VOTE DOWN POT LEGALIZATION BUT EASE ACCESS TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Back To Main Index
Page
 Notes From Maine LD1296 Bill Meeting In Augusta on 5/9/2011
Some Real Good
News For The Medical Patients In Maine! Good Positive Changes About To Happen!
In a rare show of cooperation during a generally divisive legislative session,
lawmakers on
the Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday unanimously
endorsed a proposal
to expand access to marijuana under the state's medical
marijuana program.
A second bill that seeks to legalize and tax marijuana in Maine was voted down
in a divided decision by the Criminal Justice Committee, but the issue promises
to resurface in the future.
The first measure, LD 1296, would make registration with the state voluntary for
patients who wish to use marijuana under the supervision and support of their
physician, a measure intended to protect the privacy of patients, according to
bill sponsor Rep. Deborah Sanderson, R-Chelsea.
Some people will prefer to register in order to ensure they do not run afoul of
law enforcement agencies, Sanderson said Tuesday, but people should not be
forced to be listed in a state registry to seek lawful therapeutic medical
treatment.
The bill includes a number of other provisions that clarify and change the
operations of the state's medical marijuana program, which was established more
than a decade ago and overhauled through a citizen referendum in 2009.
Subsequent rulemaking resulted in a tightly regulated network of patients,
doctors, growers and storefront dispensaries that some critics say violates the
expressed will of the voters for a more open system.
Sanderson's bill had its public hearing on April 25 and had strong support from
the Maine Civil Liberties Union, which argued for the increased access and less
restrictive registration process the bill proposes.
The bill drew opposition from the Maine Medical Association for its proposed
elimination of the list of specific conditions for which marijuana can be
approved. The Maine Medical Association lifted its objections after the amended
version approved on Tuesday restored a slightly expanded list of conditions.
Other provisions in the original bill had raised the concerns of the Department
of Health and Human Services, which regulates the program. But the amended
version satisfied all stakeholders at the public hearing, resulting in the
unanimous committee vote.
Sanderson was quick to praise the revision process that enabled the bill's
endorsement.
"There was a lot of misinformation out there, but once we sat down together
we were able to come very close to consensus," she said.
Meanwhile, the Criminal Justice committee took testimony on a bill that would
legalize the use, purchase and possession of up to one pound of marijuana for
recreational or medicinal use. The bill, LD 1453, would impose a tax of 7
percent on the sale of marijuana with revenues directed to programs that support
small farmers, law enforcement agencies, residential weatherization programs and
higher education.
Sponsored by Rep. Diane Russell, D-Portland, the bill would allow an individual
to cultivate and store marijuana for personal use and license up to 300
commercial growers. It would allow state-licensed dispensaries to sell to
customers age 21 and over.
In presenting her legislation to the Criminal Justice Committee, Russell
compared the federal prohibition against marijuana to the failed constitutional
prohibition against alcohol in effect from 1920 to 1933, which ushered in
illegal, Mafia-controlled trafficking.
"We have absolutely no control over the marijuana market," she said.
"And because we have no control, the vast majority of the drug trade is in
the hands of criminals." Allowing marijuana to be regulated, taxed and sold
responsibly to law-abiding adults would "siphon the life out of the drug
trade," she said.
Russell brought in Lt. Jack Cole, former narcotics officer with the New Jersey
State Police and founder of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition to testify in
support of her bill. Cole called the nation's war on drugs "a
self-perpetuating and constantly expanding policy disaster."
He decried the amount of time and money spent in prosecuting drug violations.
While agencies are busy trying to round up marijuana offenders, he said, more
serious crimes go unsolved and unprosecuted.
"There's more important things for us to work on than a bunch of people
smoking pot, guys," Cole told committee members.
The bill was opposed by the Maine Department of Public Safety and the Office of
Substance Abuse.
Lawmakers discussed a recent round of letters to states from U.S. Attorneys
emphasizing the federal prohibition against marijuana, including
state-sanctioned medical marijuana programs that are creating problems for law
enforcement agencies. Maine, which has a tightly regulated program, has not
received such a letter.
Committee member Sanderson said Maine is unlikely to draw federal scrutiny for
its medical marijuana program, but that an effort to legalize marijuana
altogether could focus unwanted attention on the program.
"I am not in favor of legalization at all, but even if I were I would not
vote for this bill" for fear of jeopardizing the medical program, she said.
Other committee members ranged broadly in their views of the issue. Retired
state trooper Rep. David Burns, R-Whiting, said he opposed any effort to ease
state or federal drug laws. He said marijuana serves as a gateway drug to more
serious substances and predicted that legalizing marijuana in Maine would
attract drug traffickers and commercial growers to the state.
"I can see them coming here in droves if we pass this law," he said.
Rep. Ann Haskell, D-Portland, recounted her adult daughter's traumatic
experience with uterine cancer. A "tortuous" treatment with
chemotherapy drugs left her daughter too nauseated to eat or drink anything, she
said, and it was only the then-clandestine availability of marijuana that eased
her sickness.
Haskell acknowledged that Russell's bill, as written, is unlikely to find
legislative support. But she and others on the committee urged the possibility
of a citizen's referendum on the issue.
"I think we need to hear from the people where we need to go with drug
policy in this country, and I am willing for it to start here," she said.
After the 8-3 committee vote against her proposal, Russell thanked her fellow
lawmakers for reviewing it with professionalism and open minds.
"When you bring forward a bill like this, some people assume you're doing
it because you want to go out and smoke a lot of pot," she said.
"That's obviously not the case. This is not a fringe issue; it's a very
mainstream issue."
Pubdate: Wed, 11 May 2011
Source: Bangor Daily News (ME)
Copyright: 2011 Bangor Daily News Inc
Author: Meg Haskell, BDN Staff
|
Maine Patients Coalition.org Maine Marijuana Patients Advocates