Maine's medical marijuana law, endorsed by an overwhelming majority of voters in a 1999 referendum, was supposed to shield people like these from state prosecution for using an illegal drug. Yet all three men face possible fines or jail time for marijuana possession or cultivation charges. Elizabeth Beane, director of Mainers for Medical Rights, says the federal government is an impediment to the state's medical marijuana law being properly implemented. Their plights shed light on the unresolved conflicts and challenges embedded in the controversial law. Sick people say the measure imposes unrealistic conditions on their possession and cultivation of the drug.
Doctors are reluctant to recommend it to their patients because of legal or medical concerns.
And those who campaigned for the law say federal prohibitions against marijuana continue to hobble its medicinal use. Maine voters passed the medical marijuana law by a solid 61-39 percent margin, making this the ninth state that has legalized medicinal use of the drug. Under the law, a person is exempt from state prosecution if he or she is using pot for symptoms associated with cancer therapy, AIDS, glaucoma, epilepsy and diseases that cause severe muscle spasms. The condition must be diagnosed by a doctor who provides continuous care to the patient and recommends the use of marijuana in writing. Also, a patient may possess no more than 1.25 ounces of processed marijuana and six live plants.