cannabisnews.com: Measure Expands Medical Marijuana





Measure Expands Medical Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on October 15, 2004 at 07:29:34 PT
By Gabriela Rico, Statesman Journal
Source: Statesman Journal 
A vote to expand Oregon’s medical marijuana program will bring relief to seriously ill Oregonians or it will bring the state one step closer to legalizing the drug. It depends who you ask.Measure 33 on the Nov. 2 ballot would increase the amount of cannabis a patient can possess and expand the types of medical professionals who can prescribe it. It also would authorize licensed dispensaries that would be allowed to distribute marijuana.
Greg Byers, a user and grower of medical marijuana, said Measure 33 is a humane at-tempt to help sick people who cannot grow marijuana themselves or get it.“Doctors are finding that patients are thriving without as many or as strong a dose of pharma-type drugs,” the 52-year-old Salem man said. “Crime has not skyrocketed.”But the nation’s drug czar, who was in Salem last week, blasted the measure and said it represents what officials feared when the original 1998 medical marijuana law was approved by voters.“We’re not bigoted; we want medicine that is safe and effective,” said John Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. “They have failed to demonstrate safety and efficacy.”Walters said it is “vile and immoral” to showcase seriously ill people in commercials talking about how much better they feel after using marijuana and offering support for Measure 33.“If these same people took a hit of meth or crack, they’d feel better, too,” Walters said.Byers dismisses comments by Walters and said Measure 33 simply corrects oversights of the original law, such as the limited amount of marijuana a patient can possess.Cannabis is not a low-maintenance plant. It can take between three and six months to grow and prepare, he said.“Passing Measure 33 will update the OMMA and ensure a safe, secure, sufficient supply of medicine,” Byers said. “The sky will not fall.” Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/expands.htmSource: Statesman Journal (OR)Author: Gabriela Rico, Statesman JournalPublished: October 15, 2004Copyright: 2004 Statesman JournalContact: letters statesmanjournal.comWebsite: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Voter Power Foundation http://www.voterpower.org/Clearing The Smoke http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19637.shtmlMeasure 33 Would Improve Marijuana Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19632.shtmlEase Up on Marijuana, Tighten Up on Meth http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19625.shtmlDeputy Drug Czar Opposes Legalizing Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19612.shtml 
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on October 17, 2004 at 19:59:32 PT
BGreen
Oh My! I don't know what to say but Oh My!
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Comment #3 posted by BGreen on October 17, 2004 at 19:22:18 PT
Who's Using The MMJ Patients?????!
From MichaelMoore.comMany students in Florida seem to have been re-registered as Republicans even though they are not Republicans and don't particularly want to be Republicans. Here is a first hand account sent in from Jake in Florida:"I just received word that I am now a Republican. This came as quite a shock to me as I have been a Democrat since the day I registered almost 10 years ago. It turns out that when I signed a petition at the college I attend, my party affiliation was changed without my consent. I went to the Supervisor of Elections office to see what happened and I was shown the form I "filled out". I informed them that this was not my handwriting on the form and they said they suspected that. Apparently, the same thing has happened to many college students here, including the Supervisor of Election's son. Our local Sheriff's Office is opening an official investigation into the matter, as it is not only a form of vote tampering, but also forgery. (None of the people affected actually signed the form that was shown to us. It was our names, but not our exact signature...) It looks like the person doing it was a student worker for the college as he was able to get the last four digits of my social security number. The only way to find all my information was to look at my student files in the Business office. The petition was supposedly for the legalization of medicinal marijuana, but apparently there was some other kind of smoke going up. This is the kind of thing that sickens me about the Republican party. This could cause people going to vote to think that they have been purged, as they aren't on the list they should be on. Not to mention that I live in the "grand" state of FLORIDA."Interestingly, another first hand account was sent to the Must Read from an 18 year old at Montgomery Community College in Pennsylvania--and the similarities are so striking it almost smells like a national GOP policy:"A few weeks ago at school, I registered as a Democrat for the upcoming election. About two weeks after that, I came out of school and there were men standing around outside with petitions to "legalize medical marijuana" and there was a man who told of his brother, who had cancer, and could we please do whatever we could to help him out, etc. So I signed it because I figured, you know, I'm down with the cause. For when the chemo gets you down, you know? Well a couple of days ago in the mail I received my Voter Registration card and it said 'Party Enrollment: Republican.' I called the Voters Service Office to see what happened, and basically she told me that there had been a fraud incident where people had taken Voting Registration forms, and gotten people to sign them as if they were petitions. After getting someone's name and address on the form, they would fill out the rest as a Republican registration and send it off. This has happened to at least 5 of my friends, and now we can't re-register until after the election in November. I just feel that this is a perfect example of the deceptive tactics that people are resorting to."
MichaelMoore.com
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Comment #2 posted by afterburner on October 17, 2004 at 17:03:01 PT
Ontario Is Planning to Ban Pit Bulls
John Walters is lucky he doesn't live in Ontario. What studies have been done on meth or crack to test their ability to relieve pain? What a maroon!
Ban proposal sparks strong reaction 2004-10-15 [News]
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Comment #1 posted by waynerson on October 17, 2004 at 13:02:28 PT:
I Pray That # 33 Passes!
As the saying goes,We need to over grow the government,Especially when it comes to this Important Medicine.Every one in Oregon!!!!!Please Vote Yes!!!!
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