Medical marijuana has been legal in Maine since 1999. Ten years later, we passed a law allowing dispensaries. And now that these dispensaries are being implemented, we are running into trouble. While state law allows for doctors to prescribe this drug, federal law still prohibits its use and sale.
The Portland Press Herald did an editorial this morning explaining the dilemma. U.S. Attorney Thomas Delahanty recently tried to clarify the federal position, in that sick patients that use medical marijuana will not be the focus of drug enforcement agents but “the feds still may go after individuals and groups who engage in ‘unlawful manufacturing and distribution’ of pot, even if those activities are legal under state law.”
We have clearly reached an impasse, which is why the national ACLU issued a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder asking him to not focus on those individuals who are in compliance with state laws and regulations.
According to the ACLU blog, since recent polling shows “as much as 81 percent of the American public in support of medical marijuana laws, it'd not only be the right thing to do, it'd also be a triumph of states' right to take innovative steps to promote public health while preserving public safety.”
May 20, 2011 - 5:25pm
