GROUP TO START PETITION DRIVE ON MARIJUANA

SKOWHEGAN (AP) - A group advocating the legalization of marijuana is
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 Maine Vocals, 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.

Hemp is marijuana's non-halluci-nogenic relative whose fibers can be used
for clothing and other products.