GROUPS SEEK POT LAW EXPANSION

MADISON -- As Donald Christen remembers it, his father was the one
who helped him decide to advocate for legalized marijuana.

It happened one day about 20 years ago when Christen, 54, and some
friends were at his dad's house complaining about laws banning
marijuana. Finally, his father chimed in.

"'You guys ought to stop your (complaining). If you don't like the
law you should get it changed,'" Christen remembers his father saying.

Christen has never looked back.

Two groups that Christen is associated with are preparing to
circulate petitions to allow expanded marijuana use in Maine.

Maine Citizens for Medical Marijuana calls for an expansion of the
state's existing medical marijuana law. The Maine Vocals plan to
circulate a petition that simply aims to legalize marijuana.

If those petitions pass muster with the secretary of state's office,
they will join another that has been circulating since November.

Maine Citizens for Patients' Rights proposes creating a system of
nonprofit dispensaries to provide qualifying patients with marijuana.

As the founder of Maine Vocals, an organization that advocates the
legalization of marijuana, and the organizer of a series of
marijuana-theme concerts, Christen has a long record of pushing for
marijuana legalization, as well as a lengthy history of run-ins with
the law for growing and trafficking.

Those convictions, along with his sometimes confrontational style,
have made Christen a controversial advocate for marijuana. But
nationwide, there is evidence of growing support for the medical use
of marijuana, particularly for cancer and AIDS patients.

Twelve states now have laws that allow the use of marijuana for
specific medical conditions, including nausea and wasting and other
symptoms associated with treatment of cancer and HIV/AIDS. Two of
those states -- New Mexico and Rhode Island -- passed laws in the
last two years.

State officials, however, say that the use of marijuana as therapy is
problematic at best.

New drugs that are safer and more effective than marijuana have
greatly weakened the case for its medical use. Prosecutors and law
enforcement say Maine's existing law -- passed by referendum in 1999
- -- is often used as a shield by dealers.

In the end, voters will decide -- if marijuana advocates have their way.

Christen said Maine's current medical marijuana law pushes patients
to become criminals.

He said marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol and should never
have been made illegal in the first place.

Prohibition has only served to criminalize users who are otherwise
law-abiding people, said Christen. If marijuana were legal, he said,
it could provide tax revenues for the state and a source of income for growers.

Whatever the rationale, there is evidence that allowing medical use
of marijuana, or simply making it legal, is gaining popularity. Polls
taken by the Gallup organization have shown support for legalizing
marijuana has increased from 12 percent in 1969 to 36 percent in
2005, according to an article by that organization.

A 2004 AARP poll of people 45 and older found that 72 percent believe
patients should be able to use marijuana if a physician recommends it.

Despite its improving image, however, state officials, including Gov.
John Baldacci and State Health Officer Dr. Dora Anne Mills, say
expanding the state's medical marijuana law is not a good idea.

Mills said that while she has not seen the specific petitions, she
has testified against past proposals to expand the use of medical marijuana.

There is some evidence that marijuana can provide potential benefits
for certain narrowly defined conditions -- including nausea and
wasting -- but the case for using marijuana to treat even those
conditions has weakened as alternative medicines have become
available, she said.

"My impression is there is less of a medical need now than there was
20 years ago," said Mills.

As a drug, marijuana is poorly understood, she said.

More research is needed to understand the active ingredients in the
plant and to determine the safest delivery system for those
ingredients, Mills said.

Smoking marijuana is also problematic because of the toxins in
marijuana smoke and because a doctor cannot control the precise dose
that a patient uses, said Mills.

Then there are the known risks, including impaired judgment and
memory loss from long-term use.

"I do feel that the federal government needs to do more research, but
in the meantime, I do not think we should be promoting medical
marijuana," she said.

Dan Cashman, a spokesman for Baldacci, said the governor has not seen
the petitions, but in general opposes legalizing marijuana.

While Baldacci respects the right of Maine people to pass a
medical-marijuana law, the statute puts the state in conflict with
federal laws and the governor believes it should not be expanded, said Cashman.

Kennebec County Sheriff Randall Liberty said he remains convinced
that marijuana is a "gateway drug" that can lead young people in the
wrong direction even though users don't face the risk of death in
case of an overdose.

"As a society we have already made the mistake of legitimizing
alcohol and tobacco use," which kill hundreds of thousands of people
a year, said Liberty. Maine has decriminalized possession of 1.25
ounces of the drug, and Liberty said he has no reason to believe the
state's medical-marijuana law is not adequate for the needs of patients.

Drug dealers also try to hide behind the law, claiming that large
quantities are meant for medicinal use, he said.

Kennebec and Somerset County District Attorney Evert N. Fowle calls
the existing law "a mess," but said that is where his agreement with
Christen ends.

As it is written, the law allows people whose ultimate goal is to
legalize marijuana to use the law as a shield, said Fowle.

It can be difficult for police to determine if someone who is growing
marijuana qualifies under the law and if they are in compliance.

Rather than expand the law, however, the prosecutor said the state
should "go back to the drawing board" and decide whether a law is
needed at all. If one is, the state can construct a measure with very
strict controls.

Jonathan Leavitt, coordinator for Maine Citizens for Patients'
Rights, believes the way to help police determine who qualifies for
medical marijuana is to use an identification-card system.

Leavitt said Maine's existing medical-marijuana law is unworkable
because while it allows patients to grow a maximum of six plants --
three of which can be flowering -- and to possess some marijuana, it
does not provide a legal means for patients to acquire seeds or marijuana.

"There is no mechanism in the law for patients to access their
medicine," he said.

Many patients are not in a position to grow their own or don't have
the skills or space.

"How are they going to access it without breaking the law?" he asked.

Leavitt said his organization's petition calls for nonprofit
dispensaries to provide marijuana to patients. Those dispensaries
would be licensed by the state. Patients would have ID cards that
they could show to law enforcement officers to prove they qualify
under Maine's law.

There is a growing body of research that shows that marijuana is
effective in many ways and he said that for patients with several
conditions, having access to it is a lifestyle issue.

"This is real for people who are dealing with chemotherapy, who are
HIV positive," said Leavitt. "A lot of times they can't hold food
down if they don't have THC (an active ingredient in marijuana) in
their system."

The prohibition of marijuana use has been an expensive failure, said
Leavitt. In the long term, he said his organization is not content
with just streamlining Maine's medical marijuana law.

"Our end goal is to create enough space so that the whole policy can
be re-examined," Leavitt said.