Pubdate: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 Source: Associated Press Author: Jerry Harkavy COURT DENIES APPEAL BY ADVOCATES OF MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Activists seeking to legalize the use of marijuana for limited medical purposes vowed Tuesday to press ahead with plans for a 1999 referendum after Maine's highest court rejected an appeal that would have put the measure on the ballot this November. Mainers for Medical Rights had challenged the state's constitutional requirements that circulators of initiative petitions be residents and registered voters in Maine. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday upheld rulings by a lower court and the secretary of state that the group failed to collect enough valid voter signatures to force a referendum this year. In its unanimous opinion, the supreme court concluded that the residency provision was justified and did not violate the right to free speech guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. ``Residence enhances the integrity of the initiative process by ensuring that citizens initiatives are brought by citizens of Maine,'' the opinion stated. ``Because the circulators are the persons who verify that the signature and residence of petitioners are accurate, the residency requirement provides the state with jurisdiction over the circulators and makes the circulators easier to locate if there is a question as to the validity of the signatures collected.'' Noting that the petitioners were given three years to gather the required signatures, the justices said they failed to demonstrate any need to employ nonresidents as circulators. Because the number of signatures invalidated on the basis of the circulators' residency was sufficient to keep the question off the ballot, the court did not address the voter registration requirement. Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky hailed the decision as a step toward ensuring that the initiative process is carried out by Maine residents rather than out-of-staters. ``The trend in other states has been for national organizations to come in and spend an enormous amount of money to gather signatures to place an issue on the ballot,'' he said, noting that Mainers for Marijuana Rights received $250,000 from a California-based organization. Stephanie Hart of Readfield, director of Mainers for Medical Rights, expressed disappointment at the court's ruling. Hart said only three of the 250 people who circulated petitions were found to be nonresidents: a University of Maine student, a sailor at the Brunswick Naval Air Station and someone who had recently moved to Maine and planned to permanently settle in the state. ``We still believe that the signatures of Maine voters collected by these three circulators should have counted,'' Hart said. Mainers for Medical Rights submitted petitions containing 68,330 signatures, but a review by the secretary of state found that 22,507 were invalid. That left the group with 5,308 fewer signatures than the 51,131 needed. Its court challenge focused on the 1,033 signatures struck down because circulators were not Maine residents and the 4,347 signatures deemed invalid because circulators were not registered to vote. State officials said referendum organizers could continue to collect signatures in hopes of placing their question on the ballot in 1999. Hart said petitioners planned to resume the campaign and collect the remaining signatures needed to force a referendum. - --- Checked-by: Melodi Cornett