cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Initiative Revisits Notions About Law





Marijuana Initiative Revisits Notions About Law
Posted by CN Staff on September 27, 2004 at 07:13:45 PT
By Don Colburn
Source: Oregonian
The debate over Measure 33, which would make it easier for patients to get medical marijuana and allow them to have more, turns on whether voters think Oregon's 6-year-old law works or is needlessly restrictive. Proponents and opponents worry that the Measure 33 campaign, which hasn't attracted large amounts of money on either side, might get lost among higher-profile measures dealing with gay marriage, medical malpractice and land use.
Proponents say the issue is about access: Because patients can only grow their own or get it from a caregiver, they say, many are going without. "Current limits on possession of medical marijuana and plants are so restrictive that virtually every qualified Oregon patient goes without medicine at some point," says chief petitioner John Sajo, who heads Voter Power, an advocacy group for patients. "A law that forces patients to run out of medicine needs an amendment like Measure 33." But an unlikely coalition of opponents -- including a chief backer of the original initiative, the Bush administration, law enforcement officials, the Libertarian Party and the Oregon Medical Association -- have lined up against it. Some see the measure as a "backdoor" effort at legalizing marijuana. But Libertarians oppose it for the opposite reason, saying it does not go far enough toward legalization. "This isn't medicine," says Jennifer de Vallance, spokeswoman for the White House drug policy office. "This is essentially legalizing drug trafficking in Oregon." Oregon is one of nine states where use of medical marijuana is legal. More than 10,000 Oregonians have cards that allow them to use small amounts of marijuana for medical reasons. Patients must grow their own plants or find a caregiver to do it for them. Complete Title: Marijuana Initiative Revisits Notions About Existing Law Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/notions.htmSource: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)Author: Don ColburnPublished: Monday, September 27, 2004Copyright: 2004 The OregonianContact: letters news.oregonian.comWebsite: http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/Related Articles & Web Site:Voter Power Foundation http://www.voterpower.org/Medical Pot Measure Ignites Opposition http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19482.shtmlPot Measure Steams Drug Czarhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19473.shtmlYes on 33: MMJ from a Patients Perspectivehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19427.shtmlOregon To Vote on Easing Medical Marijuana Use http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19124.shtml 
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on September 28, 2004 at 12:14:52 PT
One More Related Article from Snipped Source
Measure 33 - Medical Marijuana: Vote Yes: http://www.oregonlive.com/commentary/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1096372519272560.xml
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on September 28, 2004 at 11:50:10 PT
Two Related Articles from Snipped Source
Measure 33 - Medical Marijuana:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1096286194262510.xmlMeasure 33 - Medical Marijuana: Vote No: http://www.oregonlive.com/commentary/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1096372515272560.xml
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Comment #5 posted by VitaminT on September 27, 2004 at 12:37:28 PT
dongenero
right you are! The average marijuana "cigarette" as supplied by the Feds is 800-900 mg. Thus 300cigs.x12mo. comes to somewhere between 6.4 and 7.2 pounds!So who can argue that 6 pounds is excessive?
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Comment #4 posted by dongenero on September 27, 2004 at 11:34:10 PT
year supply? Isn't that the point?
"A patient legally could keep as much as 6 pounds of marijuana — a year’s supply — at one time. A licensed marijuana dispensary could have far more on hand."I think that is the point isn't it? If you have only one growing season per year, it seems perfectly reasonable that you would need to have a year's supply after harvest.
Do the detractors propose that these people buy from the black market?Furthermore, I believe that 6 pounds is precisely the amount the US Government supplies to patients as pre-rolled cigarettes in their own long standing program.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on September 27, 2004 at 08:15:39 PT
Related Opinion from Snipped Source
Measure 33 is Wrong Prescription on MarijuanaStatesman JournalSeptember 27, 2004Medical-marijuana advocates wrote a lousy law six years ago and talked Oregon voters into passing it. Measure 33 would only make that law worse.About 10,000 Oregonians now use marijuana with a doctor’s prescription to ease pain, nausea and conditions such as glaucoma and muscle spasms. Many say marijuana has allowed them to live comfortably with far less medication than before.That news is encouraging; however, public policy should be based on scientific research, not anecdotes. Until we know more, it doesn’t make sense to vastly expand this program.Under current law, registered patients legally can get a limited amount of marijuana by either growing it themselves or having a caregiver grow it for them for free. Measure 33’s backers say that’s a hardship for seriously ill people, and some patients wind up buying marijuana on the black market.Measure 33 would “fix” that by multiplying the number of people eligible to get prescriptions, the number of places they can get marijuana, the amount of marijuana they and their caregivers can keep on hand — and who can prescribe the drug.Marijuana could be prescribed for any “debilitating medical condition.” Meanwhile, a commission would be created with the power to overrule marijuana-related decisions by the State Department of Human Services.The potential danger is that virtually anyone could get the OK to plant a plot and play medical-marijuana pharmacist under the guise of being a dispensary. A patient legally could keep as much as 6 pounds of marijuana — a year’s supply — at one time. A licensed marijuana dispensary could have far more on hand.Copyright: 2004 Statesman JournalSnipped:Complete Article: http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=87393
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Comment #2 posted by sam adams on September 27, 2004 at 08:07:25 PT
Libertarians?
The libertarians are against it? Nice work guys, that will really help you move up and challenge the Dems. and Republicans. Way to pull together!Let's put this in perspective: 6 million children in the US are on prescription drugs that are either speed/cocaine type drugs, or "anti-depressants" (these are fine, as long as you don't mind losing a few hundred kids here & there to suicide).  But allowing nurse practitioners (not RN's, mind you) to help adults get a natural herb is dangerous! DANGER says the doctor with the lethal prescription pad. Go write some more NSAID prescriptions pal, you guys only killed 13,500 with bleeding ulcers last year, let's try for 15,000 this year!
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Comment #1 posted by Truth on September 27, 2004 at 07:52:19 PT
sure
"Current limits on possession of medical marijuana and plants are so restrictive that virtually every qualified Oregon patient goes without medicine at some point," says chief petitioner John SajoProhibiting one's freedom can be harmful. They have their nerve to prohibit one from medication, then lie about being "the land of the free"We are not yet free.
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