POT PETITIONERS COMPETE FOR MAINE VOTERS

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) Maine voters may be asked to support two very
different bids to legalize marijuana.

Maine Vocals and Mainers for Medical Rights are organizing petition drives
in hopes of getting their initiatives on the ballot next fall. Both groups
want to legalize the drug for medical use but disagree on the best way to
do that.

The Mainers for Medical Rights' proposal would limit marijuana usage to a
narrow range of medical conditions, including epilepsy, multiple sclerosis,
glaucoma, cancer and AIDS.

By contrast, the Vocals' version would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana
``for any illness for which marijuana can provide relief.''

Vocals' founder, Don Christen, says the broad wording is necessary to
ensure those who need help get it. He said the other group's proposal is
part of a national agenda that does not reflect Maine's needs.

Mainers for Medical Rights is the state wing of Americans for Medical
Rights, or AMR, a national group that was successful in passing legislation
legalizing marijuana on the West Coast. AMR is promoting similar
legislation in almost a dozen other states.

``By passing legislation in as many states as possible, AMR hopes to pass
federal legislation,'' Christen says. ``They don't care that the bill will
be meaningless to the people it is supposed to help. ... The people of
Maine are getting bought and they don't even know it.''

Christen said Maine Citizens for Medical Marijuana, Maine Cannabis
Alliance, Maine Green Party and other groups have expressed concern that
the AMR proposal will confuse Maine voters.

Mainers for Medical Rights and AMR maintain Christen's concerns are not
valid. They say he is a radical, and his own record jeopardizes any
legalization effort. Christen has a history of drug charges and has served
time behind bars for trafficking in marijuana.

AMR supporters say their proposal is more moderate and has a better chance
of attracting voters. The AMR initiative limits the quantity of marijuana a
patient can possess to less than two ounces and six growing plants. The
Vocals' bill allows for an unlimited supply or crop of marijuana.

David Fratello, a national spokesman for the group, said AMR's Maine
initiative is being backed by the Maine AIDS Alliance, the Maine Civil
Liberties Union, and Rep. J. Elizabeth Mitchell, DPortland. The initiative
got under way three weeks ago.

``We are trying to encourage the building of a mainstream coalition,''
Fratello said.