cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Harder To Obtain for Some Medical Marijuana Harder To Obtain for Some Posted by CN Staff on May 24, 2002 at 07:19:10 PT Local News Source: KATU.com Medical marijuana is getting harder to come by for patients of an Oregon doctor. KATU's Corinna Allen spoke with Dr. Phillip Leveque and his patients at a conference aimed at legalizing marijuana.Leveque lost his medical license this month, and now, he says, the state is making it harder for his patients to get the medication they need. Amy Pinkus Merwin is a video journalist who says severe nausea interferes with her job. Getting the medical marijuana she needs is now getting tougher, because the doctor who authorized it has had his license suspended.Leveque lost his license for signing marijuana applications for patients he didn't examine. Now the patients who need to renew are getting a nasty surprise in the mail."A hundred and 132 of Dr. Leveque's patients got a letter from the state telling them they were due to renew their medical marijuana card, but to do that, they had to find a new doctor," said Mary Leverette, Oregon Medical Marijuana Program coordinator.Leverette sent those letters. She says the decision was simple."He was suspended. He was not allowed to practice medicine. He is not allowed to practice from May to July," said Leverette. The state did give patients an extra 30 days to renew their cards, but patients say it will still be next to impossible to find a new doctor in time, if at all. "There are economic challenges, there are functional challenges, just being able to get to the doctor, they put money out, only to find out that they can't get what they need," said Merwin.Dr. Leveque says his suspension will just make it toughter to get other doctors involved."Many doctors say, 'I don't want to be a marijunana magnet,' well that's terrible, because there are a few doctors who say they've signed as many as 60 applications, but they don't want their names out there either," said Leveque.Merwin was able to get her card renewed, but others who couldn't didn't want to speak with us on camera. for fear they'll be targeted by law enforcement. Source: KATU.com (OR)Published: May 23, 2002Copyright: 2002 Fisher Communications, Inc. Website: http://www.katu.com/Contact: http://www.katu2.com/cgi-bin/mail/main_form.cfmWindows Media: http://easylink.playstream.com/katu/020523marijuana.wvxRelated Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmConference on Cannabis Therapeutics http://www.medicalcannabis.com/Portland/Hurting Dr. Feelgood http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12761.shtmlProbation, $5,000 Fine Formally Imposed http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12591.shtml`Marijuana Doctor' Gets Probation, $5,000 Fine http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12516.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by FoM on May 24, 2002 at 10:25:18 PT Jose I had to remove your post because it was causing problems with the coding. Here is the link to the article you posted.Canadian government sued for end to prohibition http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/2435.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on May 24, 2002 at 09:38:31 PT: The Latest on Robin Prosser http://missoulian.com/display/inn_news/news09.txtI say it is time for cannabis prohibition to retire. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment