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Medical marijuana users fly under campus radar

Student reports Cutler OK for pot, another grows for patients at home

Posted on Oct. 02, 2011, at 9:44 p.m.

In response to a monumental shift in Maine policy since 2009, medical marijuana is on the University of Maine campus.

However, university officials haven’t seen that firsthand. Police and the person charged with managing disability accommodations say they haven’t been approached to deal with any conflicts regarding the federally illegal, state-authorized plant that is used to treat medical conditions.

Dr. Glenn Rampe, the medical director of the only on-campus health provider, Cutler Health Center, said he isn’t convinced that benefits from medical marijuana are better than prescription methods.

But, he also said decisions to recommend medical marijuana are up to the individual provider.

One UMaine student said she got a recommendation from a Cutler doctor in January to treat Crohn’s disease.

“My doctor on campus knows I have it,” the female student said. “Doctors are starting to come around.”

Another student said he got a recommendation for chronic pain through one of the state’s most sought-after doctors recommending medical marijuana — Dr. Dustin Sulak of Manchester, an integrative health specialist who practices in Hallowell and Falmouth.

Both students declined to be identified due to a perceived stigma surrounding the use of medical marijuana.

Medical marijuana has been legal in Maine since 1999, but it was 2009 when the Maine Legislature sent a law to referendum to authorize eight state-licensed dispensaries to distribute the product to patients with qualifying conditions.

Right now, patients with cancer, HIV, severe nausea, chronic pain or 10 other approved conditions and symptoms are allowed to receive 5 ounces of marijuana per month from a dispensary or “caregiver” — a person designated to grow and provide medical marijuana.

The male student is an authorized caregiver and has a 14-plant hydroponic growing operation in his off-campus residence. He didn’t want the location revealed, even generally, for fear of robbery. That operation serves him and three other patients. He is allowed under state law to have six mature plants growing for every patient.

Until last week, patients had to first have a doctor write a recommendation for marijuana before the Maine Department of Health and Human Services would vet the recommendation and issue an authorization card to the patient if all checked out.

LD 1296, a bill signed into law by Gov. Paul LePage in July, liberalized medical marijuana patients’ rights significantly — most notably abolishing the requirement for patients to register with the state, making it optional to appear on a state registry. That law went into effect Sept. 27.

State law protects patients from being charged for possession of marijuana or for sale or use of drug paraphernalia, both common charges issued to UMaine students. LD 1296 also prohibits law enforcement seizures of medical marijuana lawfully possessed. If seized, such marijuana must be returned in seven days or patients can file a claim in any Maine district court for its return.

The male student said he often smokes medical marijuana in certain spots on campus. He called himself “a walking billboard,” mostly wearing clothing made from hemp.

He said he keeps to himself but is honest if asked about marijuana.

“I’m not lazy, I don’t drink, and I’m not stupid,” he said. “I use cannabis, and I’m honest about it.”

The female student is more hesitant. She says some friends and family members know, but she will not use on campus.

“I’m legal, but I don’t like to flaunt it,” she said. “I look for jobs that don’t require a drug test because it’s a hassle.”

The female student said she has a good rapport with her Cutler doctor.

But that doctor’s boss, Rampe, isn’t convinced of marijuana’s benefit.

“I doubt many students will get recommendations from a Cutler Provider to use medical marijuana,” he wrote in a Saturday email, “but the decision is a medical one that is up to the individual Provider.”

University of Maine Police Department Chief Roland LaCroix said his department hasn’t had to deal with any conflicts between medical marijuana and existing state laws. Federal laws deem marijuana completely illegal.

He said the only possible action police could take is reminding anyone using medical marijuana of UMaine’s Tobacco-Free Campus policy.

“If we came across someone who was ingesting it, I don’t think we would do anything,” LaCroix said. “If we caught them on campus, we’d have to remind them — ‘smoke-free campus.’”

He said there is no benchmark for handling medical marijuana at UMaine, so instances would be handled “on a case-by-case basis,” in cooperation with Ann Smith, UMaine’s Director of Disability Support Services.

Smith makes customized disability accommodations for students and staff at UMaine, but she said she has not seen medical marijuana pop up on campus.

“I have not been approached with a medical marijuana request yet,” Smith wrote in a Friday email.

Police chiefs in other parts of the state have been critical of medical marijuana laws, saying they muddle the fine line police must toe when enforcing marijuana laws.

LaCroix isn’t one of them.

“The law’s the law,” he said. “Whatever the law says, I have to enforce.”

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 2nd, 2011, 9:44 pm. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.