AWAITING ANSWERS ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Patients who have long been eligible to benefit from Maine's medical
marijuana law are looking forward to actually obtaining prescribed
relief, once regional marijuana dispensaries are able to open
throughout the state.

The dispensary system was authorized by voters last year for
patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS and other serious
ailments. But it appears that cautious implementation will keep them
waiting a while longer.

Such delay is both regrettable and inevitable. The tasks of
licensing businesses to distribute marijuana, and issuing local
permits for clinics to operate, have required considerable analysis
and debate. With an important deadline approaching, it's not clear
how licenses will be awarded.

Sanford has been approached by several potential applicants, but the
town decided last week to keep a moratorium in effect while awaiting
a clearer picture of how medical marijuana clinics will be regulated
by the state. The City Council in Brewer, also deciding it needed
more time to review the emerging landscape, extended its moratorium
another six months. Moratoriums are under consideration in many
other cities and towns throughout the state.

Sanford's moratorium is set to expire July 20. Representatives of
two companies recently visited the town to lay out preliminary
proposals for dispensaries and growing operations. One of them told
Sanford officials that establishing a regional growing center and
dispensary could create a substantial number of jobs.

Humanitarian and economic arguments aside, potential operators are
competing for eight licenses while facing a time crunch. The state
deadline for applications is June 25.

After Sanford's council voted down a proposal to lift the
moratorium, chairman Joseph Hanslip said the situation remains too
uncertain. "There are too many unanswered questions, too many
'likelys' and 'probablys.'" he said.

It's hard to blame either the task force or municipalities for
deliberating at length over the establishment of marijuana
dispensaries here. The legitimate concerns of patients, local
officials and law enforcement need careful consideration. Recently
the Maine Civil Liberties Union flagged a new concern - the
importance of preserving patient privacy, and providing due process
in the issuance or revocation of patient registration cards.

It's in everyone's interest for the system to be well-organized,
appropriately strict and fair. At the same time, the task force and
local officials should be mindful of a patient's perspective: Every
day of delay is a day of pain relief postponed.