ANSON — Maine VOCALS founder and pot advocate Don Christen said Wednesday that his effort to legalize the medical use of marijuana in Maine “is going very, very well.” Christen and 120 supporters have been hitting the streets of Maine’s major communities this summer, gathering petition signatures to force a referendum on the issue.

Christen’s petition proposes a new bill, “An Act to Legalize Marijuana for Medical Purposes,” that he hopes to place on the 1998 ballot. He emphasized that the law doesn’t replace any of the existing illegal possession laws, but adds to them a definition for medical use; clarifies the diagnosis or physician recommendation; and establishes a committee to devise a distribution system for medical marijuana.

Christen, who founded Maine VOCALS — a marijuana lobbying group — a decade ago, needs 52,000 signatures of registered voters to force a ballot vote. After the Legislature rejected a medical use bill this past session, submitted by Sen. Anne Rand, D-Portland, Christen said, “It is time to let the people of Maine decide.”

Members of Maine VOCALS and Maine Citizens for Medical Marijuana were collecting signatures Tuesday in Bar Harbor, Wednesday in Ellsworth and plan to be in Bucksport today, Belfast on Friday and Bangor on Saturday. Christen said his booth, with literature and petitions, will be set up in downtown areas from noon to 8 p.m. daily.

“Young and old alike have been signing the petition,” said the organizer. “A lot of people see our table and want to know what we are all about. They ask us a lot of questions and many times come away with a new perspective.”

Many of those signing the petitions express the opinion that legal drugs, such as tobacco and alcohol, are far more dangerous than pot, he said.

Christen said because so many people are gathering signatures, he doesn’t know exactly how many have been obtained yet.

“We know we are having a good response, an excellent response,” he said.

In 1995, Christen’s attempt to gather enough signatures was unsuccessful, but he said he is confident that new scientific data and public opinion regarding medical use of marijuana will help his effort.