MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATES TURN EYES TOWARD DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

Now that Maine voters have approved a proposal to legalize marijuana for
certain medicinal uses, the referendum drive's chief organizer says
advocates will seek governmental cooperation to make a new law work.

''We are hoping to work with law enforcement, the Legislature and the
governor,'' said Craig Brown of Mainers for Medical Rights. Brown said the
goal is to develop a distribution system that will allow patients to avoid
going to ''the black market.''

With 640 of 664 precincts reporting, unofficial returns produced a majority
favoring passage of 61 percent to 39 percent.

The unofficial raw vote from 96 percent of precincts was 249,647 in favor
of the measure and 157,099 against.

Incomplete returns showed Cumberland County favoring enactment by nearly
2-1. Tight splits were seen in Aroostook and Washington counties.

Elections officials have up to 20 days to tabulate the results and pass
them on to Gov. Angus King, who would have up to 10 days to proclaim the
results.

The legislation would take effect 30 days thereafter.

The citizen initiative asked voters: ''Do you want to allow patients with
specific illnesses to grow and use small amounts of marijuana for
treatment, as long as such use is approved by a doctor?''

Question 2 was designed to authorize possession of marijuana for specific
medical conditions when patients are advised by a doctor they might benefit
from the drug.

The list of qualifying ailments includes persistent nausea, vomiting, loss
of appetite from AIDS or cancer treatments, glaucoma, and seizures or
muscle spasms from chronic diseases, such as epilepsy or multiple sclerosis.

The pending law defines a usable amount as up to 1.25 ounces of harvested
marijuana and up to six marijuana plants, no more than three of which may
be mature, flowering plants.

Since 1996, California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Arizona have enacted
similar measures; the Justice Department is challenging them in federal court.

In San Francisco, Justice officials have asked a federal appeals court to
reconsider a ruling that could allow sick people to defend their use of pot
on the basis of medical necessity.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals told a federal judge in September to
rethink his order of last year that closed down some Northern California
medical marijuana clubs, and consider an exemption for patients who face
imminent harm without the drug and have no effective legal alternative.

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who has vowed to uphold a
successful state initiative allowing patients to use pot, had asked the
federal Justice Department not to appeal the ruling.

Federal prosecutors have repeatedly argued that Congress has declared pot
to be among the most dangerous controlled substances and has no medical
purpose, thus invalidating the medical necessity argument.