BY DAVID HENCH

Portland Press Herald

A proposal to expand the availability of medical marijuana in Maine was headed for passage late Tuesday night.

Question 5 would expand Maine's medical marijuana law to permit marijuana to be used for treatment of many more conditions, and to create a system in which patients can get the drug from nonprofit dispensaries.

With 136 precincts reporting statewide, 22 percent, the proposal was leading 71,620 to 43,244 -- a 62 percent to 38 percent edge.

"I think we're going to come out on top," said Jonathan Leavitt of Maine Citizens for Patients' Rights. "It's a good thing, because you have a law that's not working right now and passage of Question 5 will guarantee patients have access to their medicine."

Police worry that the change could lead to diversion of the drug.

Maine is one of 13 states that allow the use of medical marijuana, a group that includes Montana, Hawaii, Rhode Island and California.

In 1999, Maine voters approved a citizen initiative that allows patients to grow their own medical marijuana or appoint a designated care-giver to grow it for them.

The law allows doctors to recommend use of marijuana for conditions including "persistent nausea, vomiting, wasting syndrome or loss of appetite" caused by AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, epilepsy or multiple sclerosis.

It allows patients to grow as many as six plants so they can supply their own marijuana.

Supporters of Question 5 said it is impractical to require people who are sick and in severe pain to grow their own marijuana.

National groups that advocate access to medical marijuana were watching Maine's vote, the first since the Obama administration said it would not federally prosecute patients who use marijuana medicinally, even though the federal law prohibits it.

"It's great to see Maine leapfrog other states in adopting cutting-edge medical marijuana legislation," said Jill Harris, managing director of public policy for the Drug Policy Alliance, anticipating victory for Question 5.

The proposal was opposed by many in the criminal justice system and some treatment professionals. The Maine Prosecutors Association and Maine Chiefs of Police Association urged a "no" vote, saying the law would create dispensaries that are largely unregulated.

"Under Question 5, there is no meaningful oversight of the dispensaries, distributors or the people allowed to consume substantial quantities of marijuana," said the prosecutors.