Pot? Isn't that the "gateway drug" that's led so many Americans into lives twisted by illegal drugs and pockmarked by criminal charges? Wouldn't allowing its use send a bad message, that a little bit of mind numbing with an illegal substance is OK?

Well, yes. And no.

The problem with keeping marijuana possession as a criminal offense in all circumstances is that pot no longer impresses most of us as a grave danger to society.

We've all seen so much more damage done by alcohol, a legal substance. We've all seen police handed so many more serious problems, including burglary and assaults of all types, that we wonder whether they should have to bother with small-time pot use.

It's unlikely that outright legalization of marijuana would win over most voters but allowing its use in specific situations, by people who can be helped by it, has come to seem less scary than it used to.

This should bode well for Question 2, the medical marijuana referendum on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Mainers should study the issue carefully; it's time might have come.

Question 2 would work this way: A person with cancer, glaucoma, AIDS, seizures or muscle problems such as those experienced with multiple sclerosis would get a recommendation from a doctor for use of marijuana to ease the symptoms. It's been shown to reduce pain, nausea or both for many of these patients.

The patient would be allowed to have up to 1-1/4 ounces of marijuana or six plants (three of them mature) at any one time without facing criminal prosecution.

It's a little bit tricky. Pot would still be illegal and because the federal government would still take a hard line about doctors who get tangled in illegal substances the doctors would not actually write prescriptions. Pharmacists wouldn't stock marijuana on their shelves; patients and their supporters would have to be their own suppliers.

Patients who are under 18 would have to have written consent of a parent or guardian. Pot use would still be prohibited in public places, and nobody would have permission to drive while impaired.

Similar measures have been adopted by six states and the District of Columbia. Maine's is the only ballot measure this fall.

The Maine Medical Association, which represents doctors, offers up the only credible arguments against Question 2. Members say they're generally convinced of pot's value for use in connection with chemotherapy and AIDS but not other conditions. And they say the fact that the drug would still be illegal makes doctors uncomfortable.

That's understandable, but doctors would still hold the power here. They could deny permission for pot use in every case if they wanted to. They could be selective. If legal problems with the measure arose, they could be addressed by the Legislature.