Debate Over Access To Medical Marijuana Continues
Lawmakers in Augusta today heard from supporters and opponents of a citizen-initiated bill that would make medical marijuana more accessible in Maine through nonprofit, state-licensed facilities. The bill would also expand the list of diseases and conditions eligible for medical marijuana treatment.
The hearing for LD 975, the Maine Marijuana Medical Act, drew a smaller crowd than had been anticipated. Five people spoke against the measure and two turned out in favor. Among them was Jonathan Leavitt, who said he was representing Maine Citizens for Patients Rights, which spearheaded the signature gathering. "We represent over 80,000 people who signed our petition last year in support of medical marijuana from every city and town in the state of Maine."
Leavitt told the state Health and Human Services Committee that the medical marijuana law has been in place in Maine for a decade but is not serving it's purpose. Leavitt says people suffering from cancer and HIV, for example, must have a practical, legal means of obtaining marijuana to alleviate their symptoms. "I think by now these stories are familiar to anyone who's paying attention to what's happening in their community and in many cases to what's happening in their own families."
Leavitt also referred to the Obama administration's announcement that federal agents will no longer target marijuana distributors unless they violate both federal and state laws. "And most importantly the new U.S. attorney general has made it clear that the federal government will defer to individual states to determine their policy on medical marijuana. It means we no longer have to worry about the DEA using valuable law enforcement resources to support bad drug policy."
But Maine Drug Enforcement Agency director Roy McKinney says the Obama administration's announcement is not enough to create open access to medical marijuana for those who qualify, because marijuana is still illegal at the federal level. "The issues of access have always been the major obstacle for the proponents and will remain so until the Supreme Court rules differently or there is a change in the law by the U.S. Congress."
McKinney paints a bleak picture of changes that he says have come about in California since that state began allowing so-called "marijuana dispensaries."
"Numerous California communities that have permitted the establishment of such dispensaries have found that they have resulted in negative and harmful secondary effects," he said. 'Officials are concerned about reports that dispensaries are associated with crimes like burglary, robbery, loitering by drug dealers and people under the influence of controlled substances. Furthermore, investigations have exposed some of these dispensaries as massive drug trafficking organizations."
Also speaking against the bill was Guy Cousins, director of the Maine Office of Substance Abuse. He says increased access to marijuana for medical patients will lead to the drug's proliferation in the general population. "LD 975 allows the individual caregiver access to 2.5 ounces of marijuana every 15 days. This creates an access issue to marijuana for nonqualifying individuals," he said. "We know from our work with scheduled prescription medications that the three most common methods of diversion involve family and friends. Prescribed drugs are either given to them, sold to them or stolen from them."
In addition to creating registration and renewal fees to pay for a dispensary system for medical marijuana, the bill also expands the list of diseases and conditions eligible for medical marijuana treatment. Hepatitis C, Crohn's disease, ALS and chronic pain would be included, along with cancer and HIV.
The Maine Marijuana Medical Act proposes a statewide ID card system to identify qualified patients and protect them from being arrested. The state has no estimates of the number of patients who would use the marijuana dispensaries or how many dispensaries would be needed.
At the hearing, two people spoke in favor of LD 975 and five spoke against the bill.
The bill is now in work session. If the Legislature fails to pass the act, the measure will head to Maine voters this fall because supporters collected more than 55,000 valid signatures to get it on the ballot.
