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I don't think the state has an interest in criminalizing individuals who are combating fatal or chronic-pain illnesses. I think instead we should strive to increase the compassion in the community to help these individuals survive, or at least get through that in more control of themselves. That's what pain does -- it takes away your sense of control.

Were there experiences you had as a sheriff that led you to take this step?

There have been people in my own family who've died of cancer and who've battled with the side effects of chemotherapy. I think often when we look at those kinds of diseases, it's very easy to speak about them in an abstract way. But when you see that kind of suffering and [the] loss that occurs by the individuals -- and the significant others that are touched by their lives and eventually by their deaths -- you can't speak about that in the abstract. And if access to marijuana could ease that pain, could make that transition somehow more humane, then I felt a duty to speak out.

For me this was an ethical, a moral decision. I voted out of conscience. When you look at law enforcement, that's about making sure rules are obeyed. But justice is about finding the exceptions to those rules. I think this is a case where the citizens of Maine recognize that there should be an exception. And I support that.

Ten years ago I became vocal around the issue of gay rights in this state. I helped to establish the state's first hate crimes investigative unit. I witnessed a lot of good people die awful deaths.

Do you see this as a question of states' rights?

Absolutely. We are sovereign states. The Founders were very wise in that they always hoped there would be this tension between the federal government and the states. That's how you find the answers that make our communities better. In this instance, Maine has asserted itself as a state, and we've got to engage the federal government. I think the fact that other states are taking similar positions will begin a momentum that will ask the federal government to reevaluate its classification of marijuana.

How do you feel about the war on drugs?

I'm not here about saving a nation. I'm trying to make sure that our small piece of the country at least has the willingness and can exercise the leadership necessary to create a humanitarian cease-fire in that war.

We've got sick and dying people in our state. That's my goal right now, to make sure that those individuals are seen as someone other than criminals and can get access to the material that might enhance the quality of life that they have left.

In the attention that you've gotten over this, have you gotten any calls from Barry McCaffrey or other federal authorities?

No.

The most interesting responses have been the thank-yous from people on the street, in the community. That's what counts. The regular person who's pushing a cart in the grocery aisle, who's standing in line at the corner store, they've said thanks that someone was willing to speak common-sensically and take some leadership to help people they knew who were sick and dying.

I was really touched by elderly people in a little luncheonette who were losing friends every day to cancer. They said, "You did the right thing, sheriff." That actually counts more for me than what some public official, somewhere else, says.

This isn't about whether we won some poll. It's about: "Did we do the right thing?" And I think we did. That might upset the status quo.
salon.com | March 27, 2000

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