Late Tuesday, Gov. John Baldacci announced his appointments to a 14-member task force that's supposed to keep Maine's newly approved Medical Marijuana Act from devolving into a modern-day Cheech and Chong movie.

Between now and Dec. 31, the group will look at how medical marijuana works (or, in the case of California, doesn't) in the 15 other states that have approved its use.

They'll grapple with the thorny issues surrounding the nonprofit dispensaries that are designed to get marijuana into patients' hands without lining the pockets of drug dealers.

They'll come up with an identification card system for users and caregivers, an annual reporting process to keep track of who's getting high and why, and a bevy of other proposed rules, regulations and adjustments to the law itself to make it more workable.

Then will come the truly hard part – at least for patients with debilitating medical conditions: persuading doctors to actually sign prescriptions.

"There are thousands and thousands and thousands of people out there in the state of Maine, all legally qualified patients, who need to find doctors who are accepting of this," said Jonathan Leavitt, director of the Maine Marijuana Policy Initiative.

And that, despite the 59 percent majority of voters who approved the marijuana initiative two weeks ago, may still be easier said than done.

"I think we are witnessing an evolution – not a revolution, but an evolution – of thought within the medical community on this," said Andrew MacLean, executive vice president of the Maine Medical Association.

That said, MacLean added, the association (which neither supported nor opposed the new law) still has several "areas of concern" when it comes to a doctor's direct involvement in medical marijuana dispensing.

For one, MacLean noted, Maine's new law (along with the 1998 statute that legalized the use of medical marijuana but was silent on how to get it) remains in conflict with federal drug laws – although that worry has diminished since Attorney General Eric Holder announced last month that the feds have no interest in arresting anyone who stays within the bounds of state-authorized use.

Also, MacLean said, the notion of actually prescribing marijuana – which is neither regulated nor approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – makes many physicians fear that their FDA licenses to prescribe more traditional medicines might be jeopardized.

Hence the "certification of eligibility" form the Maine Medical Association devised for its members as an alternative to a prescription. If doctors use the form rather than a prescription pad, MacLean said, the marijuana use is "framed as a matter of patient choice."

Having a form, however, is one thing. Filling it out and signing it is quite another.

Dr. Douglas Jorgensen, immediate past president of the Maine Osteopathic Association (which also took a neutral stance on this fall's referendum), said physicians at his practice in Manchester are prohibited from prescribing medical marijuana – although it's no secret that some patients use it on the side.

"I have patients with multiple sclerosis and I have cancer patients who I know benefit from using marijuana," Jorgensen said. Still, he added, "We have to move forward with caution. We need to make sure the benefits outweigh the risks."

Dr. Daniel Hayes, president of the Maine Center for Cancer Medicine and Blood Disorders (where, in the interest of full disclosure, I've been a patient for the past six years), said the center has no policy regarding medical marijuana. Nor, he said, has there been "a lot of organized thought put into this."

"Life and culture changes," Hayes said. "So if there is a market and a movement for that, now that it's legitimized, it will probably happen. But the infrastructure within the medical profession...