[420 Girl]

Dr. Dora Ann Mills, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said that, "There are no valid studies that show marijuana effectively treats the many conditions most proponents purport."

But over the past 10 years, 23 studies have appeared in peer-reviewed journals demonstrating the efficacy of marijuana as a treatment for conditions ranging from neuropathic pain in HIV patients to bladder dysfunction in advanced multiple sclerosis.

Even if Mills disagrees with the conclusions of these studies, she should respect the ability of other physicians to make their own informed choices about the best ways to treat patients suffering from debilitating diseases.

The people of Maine voted in 1999 to allow seriously ill patients to have legal access to marijuana if their doctors believe it will help them. The question before us now is how to provide those patients with access to their medicine in the safest and most reliable way possible.

Maine's public health officer should be working to achieve that goal -- not using her position to disseminate a personal opinion with no scientific basis.

Question 5 on November's ballot would provide for the establishment of a system of tightly regulated non-profit dispensaries to provide qualified patients with access to marijuana for the medicinal purposes.

People with diseases like cancer and multiple sclerosis shouldn't have to rely on the black market for the medicine that will ease their suffering. Vote "yes" on Question 5.

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