MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACCESS LAW OK'd

Mainers who use marijuana to relieve the symptoms of certain medical
conditions will have easier access to the drug after voters approved
Question 5 on Tuesday's statewide referendum ballot.

With 86 percent of precincts reporting at about 1:04 a.m. Wednesday,
the measure was winning 58.61 percent to 41.39 percent.

Statewide, the number of votes was 293,694 in favor to 207,419 opposed.

The measure eases access to marijuana for individuals with certain
medical conditions. It expands the list of qualifying medical
conditions, creates a state-regulated registry of qualified users,
and allows for a statewide system of storefront distribution centers.

While 13 states permit medical use of marijuana, only Rhode Island
and New Mexico have similar dispensary provisions, according to the
Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. The national
organization on Tuesday night called the Maine vote "a dramatic step forward."

Maine supporters established a comfortable lead early on and held it
throughout the day, although results varied regionally.

By early Wednesday morning, 54.4 percent of voters in Aroostook
County had rejected the measure; Penobscot County voters had endorsed
it by 50.6 percent; and Cumberland County voters had endorsed it by 67 percent.

Campaign manager Jonathan Leavitt of the organization Maine Citizens
for Patient Rights said earlier Tuesday evening that he was confident
Mainers would approve the measure.

"This confirms what our polling has told us all along," he said.
Leavitt said he expected some advantage in the southern part of the
state, but "only a small percentage."

Leavitt acknowledged that his group had run a low-profile campaign.

"The credibility of this issue is so strong, we didn't need to
convince anyone that this was the right thing to do," Leavitt said.

Question 5 was opposed by the Maine Center for Disease Control and
Prevention, the Maine Office of Substance Abuse, the Maine Chiefs of
Police Association, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Maine
Prosecutors Association.

Kennebec County District Attorney Evert Fowle, who also is president
of the Maine Prosecutors Association, said Tuesday night the measure
would prove difficult to enforce because of its complexity and breadth.

"It's a very poor law," he said. "This was written by self-proclaimed
marijuana activists. The ultimate goal of the people behind this law
is to legalize marijuana."

Regardless, he added, "We'll do our best to make this law work and
respect the will of the voters."

The measure also was opposed by the organization Maine Citizens for
Medical Marijuana. Spokesman Don LaRouche of Madison, who uses the
drug to ease the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and glaucoma, said in
an interview last month that government regulation of marijuana would
prove intrusive and that a proposed $5,000 registration fee for
dispensaries would be a burden for designated growers.

LaRouche said Tuesday night that he didn't think Maine voters were
well-informed about the impact of the new law.

"I'm absolutely ashamed of the state of Maine giving more power to
the government," he said. LaRouche said his organization would begin
immediately to work on a proposal to undo some of the provisions of
the new law.

Voters leaving the polls Tuesday afternoon expressed a range of viewpoints.

Frank Tolman of Pittsfield, a self-employed salesman, voted against Question 5.

"I don't want to put the drug dealers out of business," he said. "The
feds are already involved in our banks and our car companies. It's
just a complete takeover. I'm a conservative. The less the
government handles, the better."

Also opposing the measure, but for different reasons, was a voter in
Bangor who did not want to be identified.

"I voted no," he said. "It's a drug. I mean, what's next, medical cocaine?"

But Bangor resident Nicholas Barrett, 20, voted in support of the
medical marijuana initiative.

"If it helps people out, why not?" he asked. "It's a medicinal herb;
it has its uses." Barrett, who said he occasionally uses marijuana on
a recreational basis, said he was willing to accept the tradeoff that
increased therapeutic availability of the drug might lead to
increased recreational use.

Karan Savoy of Bangor also supported the measure, although she had
heard little about the issue in the lead-up to the referendum.

"It's probably time to make it more available, especially for older
people," she said. "People will get it one way or another, so it's
good to have some regulations and restrictions."

A Maine law approved in 1999 by public referendum allowed an
individual suffering from one of four specific conditions to grow,
possess and use small amounts of marijuana if a physician determines
the effect of the drug may be beneficial.