AUGUSTA, Maine (Bangor Daily News) — While the voters approved the citizen initiated bill to expand access to marijuana for medical purposes last month, a task force established by Gov. John Baldacci is struggling to craft a measure that will implement the will of the voters.
For example, there is language in the original bill that appears to grant what Attorney General Janet Mills called “extraordinary rights” if a person had a card under the law allowing them to use pot for medicinal uses anywhere at anytime. She said that would be a “nightmare” and would lead to unnecessary litigation.
There appeared to be broad agreement on the panel to recommend dispensaries be subject to the same inspection standards as other licensed facilities in the state, but there was disagreement on whether the same inspection standards should apply to an individual growing their own marijuana in their home.
But there was broad agreement on recommendations dealing with confidentiality. The general public would not have access to the names of individuals whose doctors have approved their use of medical marijuana, but law enforcement officers would have access to a confidential list of legitimate card holders.
There are several unresolved issues, such as how many marijuana plants an individual should be allowed to grow for their own use. As passed, the measure says six plants, but Dan Walker, an attorney representing the group that put the issue on the ballot, suggested that be changed to six mature and six immature plants to assure a constant supply.
I’m interested in the notion that allowing someone to take their medicine anywhere at anytime is considered an “extraordinary right”. Is it a “nightmare” that my father is allowed to take one of his Vicodin while walking through the shopping mall? Do diabetics self-administering their insulin shots lead to “unnecessary litigation”? It seems to me that everybody who uses any medicine other than marijuana has this “extraordinary right” to take their medicine anywhere at anytime.
Now of course I understand that using medical marijuana, if smoked, does infringe on others nearby if they dislike the secondhand smoke and smell. I’m not asking for medical marijuana patients to be allowed to blaze up in typically non-smoking areas. I am asking that they get as much consideration for their medical use of marijuana as we give nicotine addicts for the recreational use of tobacco. Anywhere tobacco smoking is allowed, medical marijuana smoking should be allowed.
