Pubdate: Mon, 14 Jun 2010
Source: Kennebec Journal (Augusta, ME)
Copyright: 2010 MaineToday Media, Inc.
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Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1405
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/topic/Dispensaries
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

POT DISPENSARY MORATORIUM IN PORTLAND UPSETS ADVOCATES

PORTLAND -- Portland may soon become one of dozens of  Maine 
communities to temporarily ban medical marijuana  dispensaries slated 
to open around the state later this  year.

But when it comes to getting marijuana into the hands  of suffering 
patients, advocates say Maine's largest  city is the last place where 
local officials should  stand in the way.

"Portland is really a service center. It's a place  where people have 
access to public transportation in a  state with very little public 
transportation," said  Alysia Melnick, an attorney with the Maine 
Civil  Liberties Union. "That makes it even more important  that 
Portland not put up barriers to access."

Portland's City Council plans to hold a public hearing  on June 21 
before deciding whether to adopt a six-month  moratorium. It's 
already clear the high stakes of  Portland's decision will bring out 
strong opposition.

Maine's Department of Health and Human Services plans  to select the 
operators of the state's first eight  dispensaries by July 9. The 
not-for-profit suppliers  could open shop within weeks of getting a 
license,  depending partly on how quickly they could grow 
and  process the drug and set up the security and tracking  systems 
required by the state. Each dispensary will be  in a different 
region, and there will be one each in  York County and Cumberland County.

Portland's ban would provide time to write new city  rules for 
operating and siting a dispensary, just as  other communities have 
done, according to the city  attorney. "There's all sorts of control 
mechanisms that  might be appropriate," said Gary Wood.

While Portland officials have not yet discussed such  rules, other 
communities have created zoning guidelines  and setbacks from 
schools, among other things.

Wood said he prepared the moratorium language so  councilors could 
consider the need for rules, not  because anyone wants to keep 
medical marijuana out of  the city. Officials have already heard from 
potential  dispensary operators and others worried about the  effects 
of the ban, however

"City staff is going to meet with some proponents to  make sure the 
moratorium doesn't unintentionally  interfere with their ability to 
apply for the  dispensary license," Wood said. "I am aware and the 
council is aware, too, of the very legitimate design  and purpose of 
the law" to help ill and disabled  patients. "We're going to keep 
their best interests and  concerns right at the forefront of the discussion."

The moratorium would probably not last the full six  months because 
rules and siting standards could be  completed sooner, according to 
Wood. He said he waited  longer than other communities to draft the 
moratorium  because he first wanted to see the state's proposed 
rules, which were made public last month.

State rules for dispensaries already include a 500-foot  setback from 
schools, security standards and criminal  background checks, among 
other things. Dispensaries can  grow the marijuana on site or at 
separate locations  under similar rules.

It makes perfect sense for Portland and other  communities to 
consider their own additional operating  and siting standards, 
according to medical marijuana  advocates. But, they said, there's no 
need to delay the  opening of what will likely be the state's 
largest  dispensary.

"We don't oppose the idea that businesses might fall  under specific 
zoning provisions. But we don't think a  six-month moratorium is the 
way to go about doing  that," Melnick said. "For us, it's about 
access and the  ability to get dispensaries up and running. ... 
We  believe that the proposed moratorium endangers patient  health."

Brendan McGann of South Portland is director of the  Maine Wellness 
Group, which hopes to operate a  dispensary in Portland. The group's 
application will  include several alternative sites, in part because 
of  the uncertainty about future guidelines in the city.

But, McGann said, it is really the patients who who  will suffer if 
Portland delays the opening of a  dispensary here. "It isn't a 
moratorium on  dispensaries. It's a moratorium on health care for 
sick people," he said.

As a care provider under Maine's established laws,  McGann already 
grows marijuana for as many as five  patients and said he has seen it 
save lives, such as by  making it possible for MS or cancer patients 
to eat  food and maintain their strength.

Some would-be dispensary operators see Portland as "the  golden 
goose" of Maine's medical marijuana program  because of the potential 
market here, McGann said.  Having helped patients with chronic pain 
or with terminal illnesses, he said, he sees a city-based  dispensary 
as the best way to help tens of thousands of  disabled and ill Mainers.

"This is the place it should be because that's where  the people who 
need the help are."

NUGGET 1

Medical marijuana patients in Maine must have a  doctor's 
recommendation and suffer from a list of  conditions, including 
cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS,  Hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral 
sclerosis, Crohn's  disease, Alzheimer's disease, Nail-patella 
syndrome,  wasting syndrome, severe nausea, epilepsy and other 
seizure disorders, severe and persistent muscle spasms  such as from 
MS or other conditions approved by the  commissioner of DHHS.

For more information about medical marijuana in Maine,  go to 
http://maine.gov/dhhs/dlrs/

NUGGET 2

Maine's new medical marijuana law sets up a network of  eight 
not-fot-profit dispensaries that will be licensed  and regulated by 
the state. It also requires patients  who qualify for access under 
the law to register with  the state. Patients and caregivers can 
continue to grow  their own medicine as they do under the previous law.

Here is how the new system will be rolled out.

June 25 -- Applications are due from those who want to  operate the 
dispensaries.

July 9 -- The Maine Department of Health and Human  Services plans to 
name the selected operators, which  could open for business by fall.

Jan. 1 -- Medical marijuana patients who now need only  a doctor's 
recommendation will have to be registered  with the state to use the 
drug legally.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom