AUGUSTA -- Members of a task force formed to implement the state's newly expanded medical marijuana law -- which will allow nonprofit dispensaries to distribute the drug -- are expected to begin work next week.

The 14-member group will meet for the first time Tuesday, but members have already started studying how other states have implemented similar dispensary systems, said Rep. Anne Haskell, D-Portland, House chairwoman of the Legislature's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee and task force member.

Haskell sponsored the state's first medical marijuana law in 1992, which passed the House and Senate but was vetoed by Gov. John McKernan.

At the time, she wanted to help her daughter and others with cancer.

"If you've watched your child -- she was 27 at the time but she was still my child -- go through very rigorous chemo, you have a feeling from your gut, not just your head," she said.

Voters approved a medical marijuana law seven years later and, this November, voted to expand it to allow physicians to recommend its use for more conditions and to allow nonprofit dispensaries to open across the state. Gov. John Baldacci then created a task force to provide guidance on how to implement the law.

Haskell said that, with only one month to do the work, the committee will need to get off to a fast start.

"I think we have to dive right in," she said. "We've certainly got a lot of considerations."

Maine is one of 13 states to allow the use of medical marijuana and is one of five to permit dispensaries. Other states with dispensaries either operating or planned are California, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Colorado.

Jonathan Leavitt, who led the citizen initiative to expand the law, said he's been "swamped" by requests from patients who want to know how to get legal access to marijuana. He's also heard from doctors and from those who want to know how to open a dispensary.

Leavitt said he hopes dispensaries will be able to open by late May and said there are timelines in the law to require the state to act. The law goes into effect 45 days after the Legislature convenes, which puts the effective date at Feb. 21.

Then after that, the state has 120 days to create rules to govern the dispensaries.

Leavitt, who is not on the task force but is represented by others, said Maine can look to other states for guidance.

"They don't need to recreate anything," he said. "They need to see what the appropriate fit is for Maine."

Task force member Gordon Smith, executive vice president of the Maine Medical Association, said he will need to balance the concerns of physicians in Maine with those who regularly issue certificates to patients for marijuana use.

Smith, who is a lawyer, said he will ask physicians to lend their advice to the task force when needed. The association opposed the initial medical marijuana law in 1999 and took no stance on the expansion that was approved by voters in November.

He said that, despite assurances from the federal government that it will not actively interfere with medical marijuana dispensaries, the fact remains that marijuana is an illegal drug.

"There are genuine concerns in law enforcement that the medical use of marijuana, if not tightly regulated, will lead to increased recreational use," he said.

Also, some doctors are concerned that the law contains language that greatly expands the number of conditions for which the drug can be authorized. Physicians will want clarification on the proper guidelines, he said.

"I will sit there with an open mind, feeling we have an obligation as a task force to make this work," he said.

Susan Cover -- 620-7015

scover@centralmaine.com