cannabisnews.com: America Votes 2004: A Growing Debate





America Votes 2004: A Growing Debate
Posted by CN Staff on October 25, 2004 at 09:38:35 PT
By Meghann Cuniff, News Reporter
Source: Oregon Daily Emerald 
Marijuana was legalized for medicinal purposes in Oregon with the approval of Measure 67 in 1998, igniting a debate that has been further inflamed this election year by ballot Measure 33. The measure would amend the current medical marijuana laws by requiring marijuana dispensaries throughout the state and increasing a patient's possession limit. Many opposed to the measure are concerned it is a disguised attempt to legalize marijuana for all purposes and would harm the current medical marijuana laws that have helped many patients get the medicine they need.
But supporters of the measure say this view stems from a general misunderstanding of what measure 33 actually intends to do. Jackie Lamont, general manager of the Compassion Center in Eugene, said most of the opposition toward the measure is unfounded. "It was written to make the existing law work better," she said. Though the center, which provides education and services to medical marijuana patients, is prohibited from taking an official stance on political issues like Measure 33 because it is a non-profit organization, Lamont said everyone working at the center supports the measure. But John Horton, associate deputy director for state and local affairs of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said there is "absolutely no question" that the measure is an attempt to legalize marijuana in Oregon. "Oregonians have a right to know what this is really all about," he said. Horton said it was a mistake to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes in the first place because it is simply not a medicine. "To suggest that it is, is just like selling snake oil," Horton said. Passing the measure would only continue leading Oregonians down a path of illicit substance injustice, Horton said. "People need to be told the truth about marijuana not being medicine," he said. Elvy Musikka, the first woman to receive medical marijuana from the federal government, said smoking marijuana regularly has been the only way to maintain eyesight since being diagnosed with glaucoma in 1975. Though Musikka lives in Northern California, she has been very involved in the "yes on 33" efforts, citing a need to do everything possible to make marijuana safely available to those who need it and challenge the existing marijuana laws. "When a man-made law is contrary to the law of nature it really hurts it validity," Musikka said. If Measure 33 passes, Musikka said it will make it safer and easier for medical marijuana patients to legally obtain marijuana by adding state-regulated dispensaries and making it legal for a caregiver to tend to a patient's marijuana plants. But Stormy Ray, chief petitioner for Oregon's original medical marijuana measure in 1998, said the presence of a caregiver is what worries some of those opposed to the measure because the measure would make a patient's plants the property of the caregiver. "That would take that caring and sharing away by putting a price tag on it," Ray said, citing a history of scandalous practices by caregivers. Ray said caregivers are too often concerned with making money and said she is worried the measure will make it legal for caregivers to sell their patients' crops for profit. "We would take those bad caregiver practices today and make them legal for them to do it to the patient's tomorrow," Ray said. However, Lamont said concerns about the motives of caregivers can easily be quelled if the patient takes the caregiver's role seriously and works to establish an open and honest relationship between himself or herself and the caregiver. "One would assume you've had conversation with this person prior to the arrangement," she said. Ray also cited concerns that the measure is an attempt to legalize marijuana, saying though she isn't opposed to the idea she wants it to be presented to voters in an honest way. Measure 33 would raise a patient's possession limit from one ounce and four plants to one pound and 10 plants. If a patient can prove he or she is only growing one crop per year the limit is increased to six pounds. Lamont and Musikka both said the increase is to ensure that patients are never without medicine when they need it and to ensure that dispensaries can remain adequately stocked. But Horton said the new proposed limits are unreasonable and evidence of the measure's true intentions. He said the increase amounts to "more than anyone possibly could need." To even make a dent in that amount of marijuana "you would have to smoke numerous joints every day," he said. Many opposed to the measure worry it would attract attention from the federal government and jeopardize the current medical marijuana laws in Oregon, something Musikka said should be accepted if patients and medial marijuana advocates hope to continue making progress in their introduction of medical marijuana into mainstream society. "We need to face it," Musikka said. "You have to have courage; if you don't have that you won't have freedom for long." But Horton said many people suffer from a lack of adequate information regarding the medicinal purposes of marijuana and how increasing the possession limit and mandating marijuana dispensaries in every county will affect tax payers. The mandatory dispensaries would be funded by tax payers, which makes it even more vital that voters know all the information, Horton said. "Bills like these tend to fail when people are told the truth about marijuana," Horton said. As of April 2004 Lamont said there were 8,975 cardholding medical marijuana patients and 4,822 cardholding caregivers in Oregon; 1,111 of them are Lane County residents.Note: Measure 33: Improving Oregon's medical marijuana program or crossing the line? Related Article: Emerald Columnists Opinions Travis Willse -- NO Marijuana should be legalized. Alcohol is certainly a more damaging drug socially: It's a factor in about 40 percent of violent crimes. There's much less reason, by contrast, to impose prior restraint on marijuana users, but marijuana prohibition costs the nation $7 billion annually, and more than 130,000 people are in prison for felony marijuana offenses. Marijuana legalization is good news for taxpayers, law enforcement officials, civil libertarians and, ostensibly, medical patients.That said, Measure 33 is simply the wrong way to reform Oregon's drug policy: It requires residents to register with the state to receive special benefits (the government approves prescription drugs but generally does not interfere in the prescription process). Worse, those rights would be applied unequally. Moreover, the ballot measure forces the government between the health care professional and the patient. This proposition is unwarranted and costly, as the act would incur annual costs of up to $560,000. Vote no on ballot Measure 33. Ailee Slater -- YES In the coming weeks, there is one overwhelming question being asked of almost every Oregon citizen. Left or right? No, it's not a political query. We're trying to decide which way the bowl goes. With the issue of medical cannabis, and cannabis policy in general, the main problem seems to be that fear exists not of the drug itself but of the drug's image. For many, marijuana may conjure images of college kids gathering in dingy laundry rooms for one more bong rip, rather than AIDS patients desperately seeking the one medicine that can calm their stomachs, allow them to eat and possibly save their lives. So, come this election, remember that voting yes on Measure 33 simply lets already qualified patients receive more of the medicine that they need. Don't vote with stereotypes, vote with your right hand. Because everyone knows that you pass with your left. Chuck Slothower -- NO Only in the state that hosts the Oregon Country Fair would the people propose a ballot measure that would allow convicted drug dealers to become a "dispensary" and distribute marijuana legally. Marijuana doesn't pose a great enough danger to public health to override the individual's right to live the way he or she chooses, so I support legalization. But Measure 33 isn't the way to do it. It should give voters pause that the chief petitioner of the 1998 measure that started Oregon's medical marijuana program opposes Measure 33, believing it would interfere with the current patient-based program. Measure 33 would also allow individual users to possess up to a pound of marijuana. A friggin' pound! To those of you who haven't lived in Eugene long enough, a pound is an enormous amount of pot. Allowing users to possess that much, I believe, would lead to a lot of illicit dealing. Jennifer McBride -- YES The Oregon voters have decided that marijuana is a legitimate medical treatment. However, some sufferers are unable to have access to any cure because of their condition. There is no reason mobile people should have access to one drug and immobile people another; that is discrimination on the basis of illness and it is wrong. By current law, the people who need it most are excluded from treatment when they should be helped. The arguments against the measure -- that this is a step towards legalization -- are fallacious at best. Medical marijuana is already legal, creating distribution won't increase chances of legalization, it will only increase access. There's still a long way to go between that and decriminalization. Finally, I think we have a moral imperative to relieve suffering whenever possible. The government should not stand idly by when it could help its own people.Source: Oregon Daily Emerald (U of Oregon, OR Edu)Author: Meghann Cuniff, News ReporterPublished: October 25, 2004Copyright: 2004 Oregon Daily EmeraldContact: ode oregon.uoregon.eduWebsite: http://www.dailyemerald.com/Related Articles & Web Sites: Voter Power Foundation http://www.voterpower.org/Stormy Ray Foundationhttp://www.stormyray.org/Free Weed for Those in Need? http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19673.shtmlMeasure Expands Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19646.shtmlEase Up on Marijuana, Tighten Up on Meth http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19625.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 25, 2004 at 10:00:37 PT
Press Release from The Marijuana Policy Project
Marijuana Arrests Set New RecordVoters Nationwide Will Decide on Reforms Nov. 2  
WASHINGTON -- October 25 -- The FBI reported today that there were an all-time record 755,186 arrests for marijuana in 2003 -- vastly exceeding the 597,026 arrests for all violent crimes combined. As in past years, the vast majority-88 percent-of marijuana arrests were for simple possession, not sale or manufacture.The new arrest report comes eight days before voters across the U.S. will consider a variety of measures to reform marijuana laws."With marijuana arrests exceeding 750,000 a year, it's safe to say that the drug war isn't preventing people from using marijuana," said Robert Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "It's time to acknowledge this reality by taxing and regulating marijuana. A responsible system of regulation will do a 
better job of keeping marijuana away from kids and end the pointless persecution of adults who use marijuana responsibly." Kampia noted that, while failing to curb marijuana use, prohibition continues to cause tragedies like the death of Jonathan Magbie, a quadriplegic medical marijuana patient who died last month in a Washington, D.C., jail while serving a 10-day sentence for marijuana possession.Voters across the country will consider a variety of marijuana policy reforms on November 2. A medical marijuana proposal is on the ballot in Montana, while Oregonians will consider broadening their existing medical marijuana law to allow patients to obtain their medicine from state-regulated dispensaries. Alaskans will vote on 
replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation.Oakland, California, voters will also decide whether to endorse taxation and regulation while making private, adult marijuana offenses the lowest priority for local law enforcement. An assortment of other marijuana reform proposals are on local ballots in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Columbia, Missouri, as well as in 12 legislative districts in Massachusetts.With more than 16,000 members and 150,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana-both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that are intended to prohibit such use. MPP believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is imprisonment. For more information, please visit: http://www.marijuanapolicy.org/ http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/1025-10.htm
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