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Mainers
for Medical Rights
44 Exchange Street
Suite 201
Portland, ME 04101
800.846.1039
207.780.0704
info@mainers.org
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March 7, 1998
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EDITORIAL
Medical Marijuana:
It Wouldn't Be The End Of The World |
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As
easily as state clerks can reject about 400 signatures on technical grounds, the
petition drive seeking to have Mainers vote on legalizing marijuana for medicinal
purposes could go up in funny-smelling smoke.
The group Mainers for Medical Rights gave itself only a small buffer when it turned
in signatures last month.
After prevailing in a challenge to tardy signatures from the City of Portland,
the group is hoping to see more than 51,000 approved by the Secretary of State's
Office. That would mean a statewide vote in November.
If it gets to that point, Mainers should give it a chance. This is not a "free
drugs for everybody" kind of initiative and it doesn't even have the support
of many of the people who want to see pot legalized in the state.
It is a well-thought out, limited measure to bring legal relief to thousands of
Maine residents suffering from some specific and difficult conditions.
To qualify for legal possession of a small amount of pot, a person would need
a doctor's certification that he or she has AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, some kinds
of epilepsy or a muscular disorder like multiple sclerosis.
Marijuana has been shown to relieve nausea and other symptoms in people with these
diseases. It doesn't always work but when it does it can mean the difference between
misery and comfort. The Freeport veterinarian who is a chief spokesman for the
initiative says he believes he would have died if he hadn't used pot to help regain
his appetite following his third cancer surgery in 1995.
Marijuana helped him get strong enough to undergo a fourth operation that has
put him into remission.
People in the position that Dr. Michael Lindey was in can find pot now, as Lindey
obviously did.
But they could be arrested, too. They shouldn't have to face that threat.
Yes, there's the potential for fraud and deceit and other forms of wickedness.
But guess what -- those things exist in abundance right now as sick and well people
attempt to get their hands on marijuana.
The petitioners are proposing a humane exception. Voters should give it a chance. |
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| The
Journal Tribune - Biddeford, Maine |
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