cannabisnews.com: State Works To Put Med Marijuana Law Into Effect





State Works To Put Med Marijuana Law Into Effect
Posted by CN Staff on November 23, 2004 at 09:52:59 PT
By Richard Ecke, Tribune Staff Writer 
Source: Great Falls Tribune
Sick Montanans will be able to light up a marijuana cigarette, inhale marijuana fumes or grow their own plants under an initiative passed by voters Nov. 2.A new Montana law took effect when the initiative passed, although the law's full protections will not be in place for weeks as the state works to put the program into effect.
"I'm trying to do it as quickly as I possibly can," said Roy Kemp, chief of the state Health Facilities Licensing Bureau in the Department of Public Health and Human Services.Kemp expects his initial efforts will be wrapped up by year's end, although the program will not be fully in force until qualified Montanans with debilitating diseases receive registry identification cards protecting them from criminal prosecution.Montanans also voted to re-elect George W. Bush and to ban gay marriages in this month's election, while electing a Democratic governor and state Senate.Throw in medical marijuana, and there may not be a discernible pattern."People in Montana like to be thought of as free thinkers," said Al Recke, a Great Falls activist who opposes impaired driving.Montana's vote contained the widest margin of victory for a medical marijuana law in any state so far.Some 271,115 Montanans voted for the measure, and 167,459 voted no, or a split of 62 to 38 percent. That's not quite a 2-1 margin, but it's pretty close."I saw a lot of surprised folks," said 48-year-old Paul Befumo, a Missoula man who spearheaded the effort to pass the initiative.But Befumo expected a thumbs-up decision."I wasn't surprised at all," Befumo said. "It's really a pretty common-sense issue."Died of CancerBefumo said he has three children and does not support recreational use of marijuana.However, he wishes medical marijuana had been an option for his late father, a lifelong smoker."My dad died of cancer a few years ago," he said. "Seeing what he went through ... that should have been an option that he should have been able to try."Voters agreed. Montana became the country's 11th state to allow medical marijuana, if one counts Arizona, a state that allows prescriptions to be written for marijuana. All but two of the states, Maine and Vermont, are out West.But how exactly is this all going to work?It's the Law When the marijuana initiative passed, it became law as the Montana Medical Marijuana Act, according to Befumo."Basically, the Legislature doesn't have a role in it anymore," he said."As it was passed by the voters, that's it," agreed Kemp, who was tagged to handle implementing the law and setting up the medical marijuana program. "I'm getting quite a number of inquiries."The main job for Kemp's office in Helena is to set up a registry and print official registration cards."I'm establishing a registry for an approved patient and a caregiver," Kemp said.A physician, after closely examining a patient's medical record, can approve a patient for the registry, after deciding risks to patients from marijuana's side effects are outweighed by the potential benefit to the person who is ill.The doctor must either be a medical doctor, or M.D., and a doctor of osteopathic medicine, or D.O., Kemp noted."That cuts out all the mid-level practitioners," including chiropractors, naturopathic physicians and others, he said.Diseases covered include cancer or glaucoma, HIV or AIDS, wasting diseases, severe chronic pain, seizures and severe, persistent muscle spasms.Setting up a registry will not be complex, and initial work should be finished in December, Kemp said. But he said it may take more time to get registration cards printed and ready to go.State health agency officials are not looking to judge the voters' decision at this point."The law is now in effect," Kemp said. "We have no position whether it's a good law or a bad law." Where To Get ItDon't ask the state health agency how to get marijuana."The department is not a supply source of any kind," Kemp said flatly. "We don't know where you get seeds or any materials."Don't ask for your doctor or pharmacy to give you marijuana, either.Under federal law, marijuana "cannot be prescribed by any practitioner," Kemp noted.Doctors can place people on the registry, however, so a person would have a defense if arrested. Purchasing marijuana is still illegal, he noted.But a person on the registry who possesses six plants or less, or one ounce or less of marijuana tobacco, could show the registration card to police or the judge.While critics maintain smoking marijuana is hazardous to the body, Befumo said there is a method to take in marijuana without smoking it, using a vaporizer-like device called a Volcano. That would help prevent damage to the lungs, he said.Befumo said it might take a while for a person to grow marijuana plants, so he said ill people who qualify may need to find marijuana another way.That remains one of the confusing parts of the law, since buying and selling marijuana remains illegal, and it's not clear how people could obtain the drug."There's just an affirmative defense now" in case of an arrest, Kemp said. Skepticism RemainsCritics of the initiative, including Montana Gov. Judy Martz, said it wasn't necessary.Physicians already have the ability to write a prescription for a marijuana ingredient, Marinol, Martz noted.And she blasted initiative supporters for promoting smoking of a "crude weed" over use of prescription medicine."Simply stated, there is no compelling scientific evidence that smoking marijuana relieves the myriad of ailments that its proponents claim," Martz wrote in an opinion piece for Montana's newspapers before the election.Others joined Martz in criticism, including other public officials, law enforcement officers, physicians and addiction counselors. They warned the measure could lead to more illicit marijuana use.Befumo, however, said prescription medicine can make people nauseous, which is already a big problem for many with debilitating diseases.Inhaling marijuana with a vaporizer can nip the nausea problem in the bud, he said."Taking it in through the lungs, you don't have to take it through your stomach," Befumo said.In addition, Befumo said Marinol contains just one of marijuana's two major ingredients, THC or Tetrahydrocannabinol. He said Marinol does not contain canabidiol.Befumo said marijuana's side effects are limited."It's not been physically addictive," he said. "There's never been a death from an overdose."Critics of the new law "don't bat an eye when a physician prescribes Oxycontin or Vioxx that have serious side effects," Befumo added.Medical marijuana laws don't always see smooth sailing when they take effect, and physicians may be wary to step into the controversial area.San Francisco psychiatrist Tod Mikuriya, who has written marijuana approvals for 8,000 patients since California's law passed in 1996, clashed with the state's medical board in 2000 over inadequate paperwork, gaining him a $75,000 fine and five years of probation.Cautionary Note Recke, the Great Falls activist opposed to impaired driving, worries about the new law."Personally, I'm apprehensive," Recke said. "I think that there's other options out there to relieve pain and nausea. I'm going to be watching it really close."Recke compares marijuana to alcohol, saying both can impair driving.In the least, he said, people who are so sick they are using medical marijuana should not drive after using it.Recke said he hopes authorities will make clear that driving under the influence of marijuana, as well as alcohol, violates the law."I'd feel better," he said.The new law does specifically state medical marijuana users may not operate any motor vehicle, aircraft or motorboat under the influence of marijuana.It also says the law will not require any employer to accommodate medical marijuana use in the workplace, or for public or private health plans to pay for any of the costs.Then there is the big picture question."If you make marijuana more readily accessible, does that mean you're going to have more illegal use?" Recke asked.Recke said approval of the marijuana initiative was not so surprising, considering the state does not even have an open container law, prohibiting people from walking or driving around with open containers of beer or liquor.Such laissez-faire attitudes toward alcohol and marijuana can backfire, however. Recke notes Montana has one of the nation's highest rates of drunken-driving deaths. Sidebar: Main Points:Allowable amounts: Six plants and one ounce of usable marijuana.Debilitating medical conditions: Cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, wasting syndrome, severe or chronic pain or nausea, seizures, severe or persistent muscle spasms, or any other condition adopted by the state health agency.Complete Title: As State Works To Put New Medical Marijuana Law Into Effect, Find Out What's Legal and What Isn'tTo read the Montana Medical Marijuana Act, visit: http://www.montanacares.org/pdf/MT_Init_148_2004.pdfSource: Great Falls Tribune (MT)Author: Richard Ecke, Tribune Staff Writer Published: November 23, 2004Copyright: 2004 Great Falls TribuneContact: tribcity sofast.netWebsite: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Montana Careshttp://montanacares.org/Drugs and The Nationhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19772.shtmlMedical Marijuana Approved http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19761.shtmlVoters Pass Medical Marijuana Ballothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19758.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by E_Johnson on November 23, 2004 at 13:29:45 PT
GCW
Social change seems to be much more appealing to the taxpayers when it can find a way to pay for itself through user fees rather than the public wallet.That is my experience.
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Comment #4 posted by The GCW on November 23, 2004 at 13:00:30 PT
I'd like to see...
this registry not require money.Taking any other drug, no matter how deadly, dangerous, addictive etc. does not require it.Why should people that use cannabis have to give the state $100+?What would happen if in Colorado a doctor says it could help and gives the ok, but the person does not pay the state the $150 or so???If the doctor says use it, it is not a situation where it is only ok if You pay... it is ok because it is ok.
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Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on November 23, 2004 at 11:42:23 PT
Marijuana fumes
Perhaps that was the last thought on the minds of those who fell to the ground, experiencing the extreme pain & spasms of heart attack or stroke caused by the little yellow pills - Vioxx - their doctor gave them - "argghh!! at least they didn't make me inhale marijuana fumes, gasp!"
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on November 23, 2004 at 11:24:23 PT
goneposthole
Thank you! That is a great article.
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Comment #1 posted by goneposthole on November 23, 2004 at 11:13:22 PT
All Montanans need medical cannabis
They're all sick. They voted for Bush. George Bush 'won' the election.See for yourself (a disgruntled Republican tells us how):http://www.chuckherrin.com/rants.htm
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