The state legislature defeated a proposed measure to provide legal protections for seriously ill patients who use medical marijuana by more than two-to-one on May 16.
The legislation, introduced by Sen. Anne Rand (D-Cumberland), created an “affirmative defense [of medical necessity] to a charge of possession of marijuana provided a licensed physician ha[d] recommended in writing the use of the drug to alleviate negative medical symptoms.” The law also allowed a patient to legally possess up to one and a quarter ounces of usable marijuana. The measure previously passed the Maine Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services with amendments on April 29 by a vote of 11-1.
Sally Sutton of the Maine Civil Liberties Union, who lobbied in support of the legislation, expressed disappointment at the Legislature’s sharp change in opinion. “Even some legislators on the Committee who originally supported the bill changed their votes,” she said. “I guess the concept of medical marijuana runs contrary to all they’ve heard from the War on Drugs.”
“Despite having majority support among the American public, medical marijuana remains a hard sell in the state legislatures,” explained NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup, Esq. He said that NORML will remain focused upon educating legislators of the efficacy of medical marijuana.
For more information, please contact either Sally Sutton of the Maine Civil Liberties Union at (207) 774-5444 or R. Keith Stroup of NORML at (202) 483-5500.