MAINE TAKES PRIDE IN MEDICAL POT

Program Seen As a Model for Other States

AUBURN, Maine - The first thing that jumps out at a visitor to the
Remedy Compassion Center is how neat and clean it is. The walls are an
immaculate blue from floor to ceiling, and the freshly carpeted main
room is vast and almost empty.

The second thing one notices is the distinctly herby, faint odor of
fresh-cut marijuana.

The center is, after all, a medical marijuana dispensary and, given
the controversial nature of the treatment - or business - being
conducted here, the impression of spotlessness is no accident.

"We wanted it to be a setting where it would be like going to a
pharmacy," said Tim Smale, who opened the facility after struggling
for years to obtain marijuana legally as a remedy for his own
recurring migraine headaches.

"There's tens of thousands of people like me who don't have a place to
go for medicine, so it's all about creating a place for patients to go
and find a safe and trusted source."

California more than a decade ago became the first state to legalize
medical marijuana, which has long been hailed for its role in
preventing nausea and vomiting in cancer patients and easing the
symptoms of others suffering from a variety of diseases and ailments.

Since 16 states and the District have legalized the drug for anyone
with a doctor's note, the debate over marijuana's gradual
decriminalization is flowering on a national scale. Critics say the
lax and haphazard laws in early states such as California have tainted
the concept for Maine and other states seeking more orderly and
regulated processes.

There has been a backlash of sorts. In Montana, where voters approved
the concept in a 2004 referendum, medical marijuana advocates have
gone to court against a law enacted by the Legislative Assembly
designed to sharply restrict the number of people who qualify for the
treatment and ban large growing operations in the state.

Mr. Smale's dispensary is one of the first on the East Coast, putting
Maine at the forefront of a slippery legal dispute within the Obama
administration and with state lawmakers over how far the states can go
before violating federal drug laws.

"Where do we go from here? It's a good question," said Jessica A.
Smith, a Justice Department spokeswoman, who noted that marijuana
remains illegal under federal law even as more states vote to legalize
it as a medical palliative.

The issue has become particularly sticky since 2009 when U.S. Deputy
Attorney General David W. Ogden issued a memo reminding federal
prosecutors that "no state can authorize violations of federal law."

Although the memo advised U.S. attorneys not to target individuals
acting in compliance "with existing state laws providing for the
medical use of marijuana," news of the Ogden memo sent jolts of
paranoia through states.

Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, an independent, declared an
indefinite halt last month to his state's plan to open three medical
marijuana dispensaries.

His office had received a letter from Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Peter
F. Nehronha asserting that "growing, distributing, and possessing
marijuana in any capacity, other than as part of a federally
authorized research program, is a violation of federal law regardless
of state laws permitting such activities."

Lawmakers in Maine, however, were unfazed by a similarly worded letter
sent by Maine U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty.

"I don't know why, but we haven't seemed to have the trouble with the
feds that the other states have," said John Thiele, a program manager
at Maine's Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the
registration of medical marijuana users.

A bill to clarify the rights of medical marijuana users is working its
way through the state Legislature this month. Its provisions include a
ban of police seizure of marijuana from legally qualified patients and
dispensers, and it forbids local Maine jurisdictions from adopting
standards tougher than state law.

Three of eight dispensaries certified by the state have opened in
recent weeks, and approximately 1,460 patients have been registered
since Maine passed its medical marijuana law in 2009.

More than 100 have signed up to buy marijuana at the Remedy Compassion
Center, where Mr. Smale said the state could become a model for the
nation.

"California didn't have any rules and, as a result, the dispensaries
flourished, with hundreds opening under a hodgepodge of local rules,"
he said. "It didn't set a very good precedent for the country. Maine
has an opportunity to blaze a different path."

What is unique about the state's law, Mr. Smale said, is that it
"created at completely closed-loop system, and I think that's the
beauty of it for America."

Maine allows registered patients to either grow a small number of
marijuana plants or buy from a registered caregiver or dispensary.

Although annual registration costs $15,000 for dispensaries and $100
for patients, it remains to be seen how profitable it may be for the
state, which also collects a 5 percent sales tax.

"It's too early to say that we're making a lot of money," said Mr.
Thiele. "The state is going to have to spend more money to make sure
it can regulate this in an effective and efficient manner."

Another issue is the morally uncertain position for state officials
when deciding who qualifies for medical marijuana.

One official in Maine, wishing not to be identified, said the state
was caught in such position this month over what to tell a doctor who
had recommended medical marijuana for a 17-month-old baby with a brain
tumor. The official refused to provide further details, citing issues
of doctor-patient confidentiality.