Montana, Oregon voters consider medical marijuana initiatives

Voters in Montana and Oregon on Tuesday, November 2, will vote on ballot initiatives that address medical marijuana use, while Alaska voters will consider making marijuana possession legal for any person age 21 or older, USA Today reports. The Montana ballot initiative would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to seriously ill patients, including those with HIV or cancer. Polls show most voters in the state support the ballot initiative. In Oregon a ballot initiative would change the state's medical marijuana law that was passed in 1998 to allow ill state residents to possess up to one pound of the drug or to grow up to 10 marijuana plants. The initiative also would require nonprofit groups that distribute medical marijuana to obtain licenses from the state. The ballot measure is opposed by the Bush administration, district attorneys in the state, and the Oregon Medical Association. Currently nine states have laws permitting medical marijuana use--Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.