A CAREFUL APPROACH ON MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

With no criticism of applicants intended, we take it as evidence of
rigorous review that no companies were chosen to operate medical
marijuana dispensaries in two of the state's eight districts - York
County and Washington/Hancock County.

A panel of the state's Department of Health and Human Services
reviewed 27 applications. Three companies were licensed to operate
dispensaries in six districts, with Northeast Patients Group selected
for four of them.

A sound selection process will serve the interests of the state and
patients using the dispensaries. Yet since marijuana is expected to
bring relief to many who are suffering, we hope the second round of
applications, due to close on Aug. 20, will bring suitable bids for
York County and the Downeast area.

The efficacy and appropriateness of medical marijuana is still
debated, but there is substantial evidence that it can relieve the
pain, nausea and tremors that accompany certain illnesses. Maine
voters authorized making such therapy available to those who need it,
and the sooner dispensaries are seeing patients, the better.

The availability of marijuana for patients in controlled doses in a
well-regulated setting may do more than bring relief to individual
patients. The system in Maine, and similar arrangements in other
states have the potential to advance understanding of how and why
cannabis relieves discomfort.

This approach is seen by some as a risky alternative to federal drug
oversight. But the Food and Drug Administration, which modernized the
drug industry, should be able to accommodate an new approach to
distributing and testing a remedy that has been used for centuries.

The companies will operate as non-profits, but the money involved is
likely to be substantial. Northeast Patients Group, which plans to
operate in Portland at 959 Congress St., estimates that there will be
5,000 medical marijuana patients in Maine within five years, each
consuming 1.5 ounces of marijuana per month. The company hopes to hold
its price at $340 per ounce, according to its application, slightly
below the black market rate.

Some patients are certain to be at the door waiting when the first
dispensary opens later this year. But it's likely that many will be
hesitant to sign up for a substance widely condemned as illicit.

Maine's voters have done what they could to remove the stigma from
medical marijuana, but it's the state's physicians who are entitled to
make the key judgments of whether to certify patients for this
therapy, and whether to advise it.

And over a period of time, they will be the first to know whether or
not Maine's experiment is a success.