TEMPLE AIRS MEDICAL MARIJUANA PLAN

BANGOR - The Rev. Kevin Loring, head of the Temple of Advanced
Enlightenment, proposed Monday night that his church join with Bangor
police and city officials to develop a plan to distribute medical
marijuana to residents who have prescriptions for cannabis.

Maine allows marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes if prescribed
by a physician. As part of its community outreach work, church members
would like to be able to distribute marijuana in the Bangor area to
people who have been advised to use the drug but cannot obtain it legally.

Loring's preliminary proposal, presented during the public portion of
the City Council's regularly scheduled meeting, generated questions
from just one councilor - Hal Wheeler. He asked Police Chief Ron
Gastia his reaction to the Temple's suggestion that police officers
accompany them when they distribute the drug.

The police chief said that he did not think his department had the
resources to spare an officer for the kind of activity Loring was proposing.

"I also have some concerns about the department getting involved,"
Gastia said. "I'd suggest that they turn to the Maine Drug Enforcement
Agency. There are specific criteria that must be met for people [to
use marijuana legally]. I don't believe the police should oversee it,
especially if volunteers are doing it."

In response, Loring said it would take no more than two hours of an
officer's time a week and suggested that someone might volunteer for
the duty.

"The officer's presence would be to see that no laws were broken and
to ensure public safety," he said. "We don't want marijuana shops
downtown like they have in California."

That state has the country's most liberal marijuana laws and allows
people with prescriptions to purchase the drug from
dispensaries.

Wheeler, who said he had no experience with marijuana, asked Loring
what kinds of medical conditions besides glaucoma it might be
prescribed for.

The minister said patients who have cancer and AIDS might be
prescribed marijuana to improve their appetites and keep them from
"wasting away." Loring added the drug has been approved for use in
treating depression in Australia.

He also told the council that reaction to recent publicity had been a
mixed blessing.

"Due to the press coverage provided by the Bangor Daily News," Loring
said in his prepared remarks to the council, "we have made a lot of
new friends and unfortunately also a lot of new enemies. Drug dealers
are afraid of our temple, because we place a new value on cannabis
that is not monetary."

Outside the council chamber, Loring said that he has not heard
directly from "drug dealers." The minister said that he has heard
second- and thirdhand that they are not happy with the temple's plans
and considered them a threat to their business.

The church's next step would be to continue the conversation with city
officials and police, Loring said after he left the meeting. The group
also intends to reach out to Attorney General-elect Janet Mills and
legislators to see how Maine law could be changed to allow the temple
and other organizations to distribute marijuana to people who need
it.

The Bangor-based church uses marijuana as a sacrament twice a week at
Loring's Bangor apartment and is seeking an exemption from the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Agency to use it legally in worship services. It had
been holding organizational meetings twice a month at a local church
where marijuana was not smoked.

The temple will have to find a new meeting place, Loring said, because
of negative reactions to the church's mission when it became more
well-known after the BDN story was published. The meeting scheduled
for today has been postponed until the group can find a new venue.

For information on the Temple of Advanced Enlightenment, visit
www.templegreen.org.