cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Program Changes Go Too Far Medical Marijuana Program Changes Go Too Far Posted by CN Staff on September 29, 2004 at 12:55:33 PT A Register-Guard Editorial Source: Register-Guard With more than 10,000 registered cardholders - 1,300 in Lane County - Oregon's 6-year-old medical marijuana program is one of the most popular in the nation. The ballot measure establishing the program sailed to victory in 1998 with a margin of more than 100,000 votes. Proponents of Ballot Measure 33, called the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act 2, are hoping that the popularity and success of the original initiative will ensure a similar outcome on Nov. 2. But while Measure 33 purports to address deficiencies in the medical marijuana program, it overreaches in ways that could threaten rather than enhance Oregonians' access to medical marijuana. More than 1,400 physicians have signed applications for medical marijuana cards under Oregon's program. Despite the high-profile sanctions leveled against one physician who signed applications for nearly 2,000 patients - Dr. Phillip Leveque, a 77-year-old osteopath from Molalla - no significant law-enforcement problems have materialized. Unlike California, one of nine states with similar medical marijuana programs, Oregon has not seen a single medical marijuana patient or doctor prosecuted by the federal government. That's no small achievement, given the antipathy Attorney General John Ashcroft's Justice Department feels toward all medical marijuana programs. While it legalizes possession and use for qualified patients, one big reason Oregon's program doesn't attract more negative law enforcement attention is because it prohibits buying or selling marijuana. But federal authorities' benign neglect almost certainly would end with the passage of Measure 33. White House drug czar John Walters called the proposal a stealth effort to legalize marijuana, and said it would turn Oregon into a "safe haven for drug trafficking." Added to the strong opposition from the Oregon District Attorneys Association and the Oregon Medical Association, the unwelcome federal interest in Measure 33 doesn't bode well for Oregon's patients. As successful as Oregon's program has been so far, it has one glaring problem: The law provides no legal mechanism for distribution of medical marijuana. Qualified patients are allowed to grow their own marijuana. If a patient is too sick to handle cultivation, a personal caregiver is allowed to manage that task. Unfortunately, growing marijuana can be difficult and expensive. Some patients lack the space or horticultural skills to cultivate a consistent supply. As a result, patient advocates claim that many qualified patients don't have access to a steady supply of marijuana. When home-grown pot isn't available, the only alternative is the criminal market. Measure 33 ended up in Walters' crosshairs because it proposes dramatic changes in Oregon's medical marijuana program. The measure would establish a system of state-regulated marijuana dispensaries authorized to sell up to 6 pounds of marijuana per year to qualified patients, although they could possess only 1 pound at any given time. The current possession limit is 3 ounces, an amount that Measure 33 proponents say is too small. The measure also requires the dispensaries to offer free marijuana to indigent patients, lowers program enrollment fees to $20 from the current $150 and adds nurse practitioners and naturopaths to the list of health care providers who could approve marijuana cards. Some of the most telling opposition to Measure 33 has come from Stormy Ray, the 48-year-old multiple sclerosis patient who campaigned so effectively for the 1998 measure. Ray believes Measure 33's for-pay dispensaries would destroy a cooperative, cash-free, patient-based system. In its place would be a program that would allow anyone 18 or older to grow, own and sell marijuana. Measure 33's supporters have identified areas where Oregon's law could be made even better, but the measure goes too far. The huge increases in the amount of marijuana a patient could possess, coupled with a new cash-based distribution scheme, are certain to attract relentless federal intervention. It's the last thing Oregon's medical marijuana patients need. Complete Title: Measure 33: No: Medical Marijuana Program Changes Go Too FarSource: Register-Guard, The (OR)Published: September 29, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Register-GuardContact: rgletters guardnet.comWebsite: http://www.registerguard.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Voter Power Foundation http://www.voterpower.org/Marijuana Initiative Revisits Notions About Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19550.shtmlPot Measure Steams Drug Czarhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19473.shtmlYes on 33: MMJ from a Patients Perspectivehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19427.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by FoM on September 29, 2004 at 14:36:26 PT ASA: Government Must Correct MMJ Misinformation ASA: Government Must Correct Medical Marijuana Misinformation, Petition Says NEWS ADVISORY from AMERICANS FOR SAFE ACCESS – CONTACT: William Dolphin (510) 919-1498 Health and Human Services is Target of Patient-Group Action Under Data Quality Act Press Conference Noon Monday with Doctors and Patients at the National Press Club(Washington, D.C.) Wednesday, September 29 – When the government says there is no medical use for marijuana, it’s just plain wrong, according to a petition being filed Monday under the Data Quality Act, a little-known law that requires federal agencies to rely on sound science. If the patient-advocacy group filing the claim prevails, the Department of Health and Human Services will have to change its tune on medical marijuana and publicly admit that the drug is now routinely used for medical treatment. Americans for Safe Access, the national medical-marijuana advocacy group responsible for the petition, will hold a noon press conference at the National Press Club. Reporters will enjoy a light lunch and hear from leading physicians, research scientists, medical marijuana patients, and representatives from some of the dozens of professional health organizations that have endorsed changing federal rules to allow medical use of marijuana, including the American Public Health Association and the American Nurses Association.At issue is the government’s insistence that “marijuana has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States,” a conclusion Health and Human Services reached in 2001 after a Food and Drug Administration review. According to the petition, established research, federal reports and patient experience all show marijuana works for pain, nausea, loss of appetite, anxiety, and spasticity, the severe muscle spasms associated with Multiple Sclerosis, spinal injury and other conditions. Admitting marijuana has medical use would clear the way to allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients. Currently, nine states have laws permitting patients to legally use it with a doctor’s recommendation, but those laws are at odds with the federal prohibition that ranks marijuana as more dangerous than cocaine or amphetamines. A U.S. Court of Appeals ruling in favor of Dr. Marcus Conant, who will appear at the press conference, prevents the government from sanctioning doctors who make those recommendations. The Supreme Court will soon review another appellate decision that found certain California medical marijuana patients and their caregivers to be exempt from the federal prohibition.WHAT: Press conference on correcting government statements on medical marijuana. Lunch provided.WHO: Prominent physicians, medical marijuana patients, and advocates, including: Marcus Conant, MD, leading HIV/AIDS clinician and researcher whose suit against the government established the right of physicians to recommend marijuana to their patients; Denis Petro, MD, chief of neurology, Malcolm Grow Medical Center of Andrews Air Force Base, a leading researcher in treating Multiple Sclerosis with marijuana and its cannabinoid components; Robert Melamede, PhD, chair of the biology department, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, where he researches and teaches on the role of cannabinoids in health and disease.WHEN: Noon, Monday, October 4, 2004.WHERE: National Press Club, Edwin R. Murrow Room, 13th Floor, 14th and F Sts. NW, Washington, D.C. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on September 29, 2004 at 13:25:16 PT Fed fear What if feds decided that 25 life-saving prescription drugs could no longer be bought and sold - would this paper support banning them as well? The bottom line is, cannabis is medicine that is badly needed by many sick people. It is immoral to deny them the medicine - threats from government officials in Washington or anywhere else don't change that one bit. It just makes the Oregon government and media a bunch of cowards.Another question along this paper's line of reasoning - if we can't properly supply cannabis to the sick and dying because John Walters said so, then what the hell do we need state government for? Why pay all the taxes & have all the bureaucracy? Just let the feds run everything & save us the hassle and tax money.No. One of the most important reasons for state government is THIS VERY SITUATION. The state government needs to stand up & protect the citizens it's supposed to represent. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment