PORTLAND – Prosecutors have agreed to drop their case against a Portland man charged with possessing medical marijuana without a doctor’s permission.

Charles Wynott was charged with possession of marijuana in December, but he said he needed it for medicinal purposes. Wynott, who has AIDS, produced a note from his doctor in Florida.

But Maine’s new medical marijuana law says such a letter must be from a doctor licensed in Maine.

The state gave Wynott time to find a Maine doctor willing to write him a note, and postponed prosecution a second time when Wynott had difficulty finding a doctor.

This week his own family practitioner, Dr. Owen Pickus, signed a letter on his behalf and the district attorney’s office agreed to drop the charge on Friday.

Pickus is an osteopathic doctor who specializes in cancer and AIDS.

“No doctors in the state of Maine wanted to touch the issue,” said Wynott, who helped draft the legislation that Maine voters passed in 1999.

“I’m sure every doctor in the state of Maine is guarded,” he said. Doctors have been wary to write notes for patients because marijuana is not an FDA-controlled drug and its distribution is illegal under federal law.

Marijuana, advocates say, helps reduce nausea that is often associated with drugs prescribed for AIDS, cancer and other diseases. By taking marijuana, patients can take their medication and eat.

Wynott’s doctor’s note came the same day the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that distributing marijuana, even for medical purposes, is against federal law.

Maine legislators have been considering a trial distribution system in one county.

State law allows patients with doctor permission to possess small amounts of marijuana, and to grow up to six marijuana plants for their own use.

Advocates for medical marijuana say patients should be able to buy marijuana through pharmacies or cooperatives.

“The access thing is the main thing,” said Wynott. “Now that I’m legal to get it, to have it, the fact of the matter is I can’t get it.”