cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Users Sign Registry





Medical Marijuana Users Sign Registry
Posted by FoM on July 11, 2000 at 07:57:02 PT
Buying & Selling Drug Still Illegal
Source: Anchorage Daily News
About 160 Alaskans have registered with the state to use marijuana to treat medical problems, a state health official said.The registry was set up a year ago after Alaskans voted in November 1998 to make it legal to use marijuana for medical purposes. Lawmakers amended the voter-approved law to require users to sign up on a state registry and provide a doctor's recommendations. 
"We were actually expecting somewhere between 150 and 200," said Al Zangri, chief of the state's Bureau of Vital Statistics. "It's certainly within the range." Alaskans for Medical Rights, which supported the original initiative but opposed the amended version, said the registry appears to be working relatively well. The registry is required by law to be confidential, with information released only in limited cases to peace officers and authorized employees of local and state law enforcement agencies. The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Loren Leman, an Anchorage Republican. Leman's office hasn't heard any complaints about how the registry is working, said aide Mike Pauley. Alaska's law allows a registered patient to possess up to one ounce of marijuana in usable form and six plants, of which only three can be flowering at one time. Buying and selling the drug is illegal. Jim Welch of Eagle River, who uses marijuana to treat multiple sclerosis spasms, said the process of registering was simple. His doctor agreed to make the recommendation and the state agency was "nothing but accommodating and easy to work with." He had to overcome his own initial reluctance, however. "I had some real hesitation at the beginning because I didn't like the idea of having to essentially formally declare that I was committing a federal crime," he said. Others have refused to register. Bill Kozlowski of Juneau has hemophilia and uses marijuana to control pain caused by internal bleeding. He hasn't signed up and said he knows others who haven't either. "I really believe that it's still too shady between the federal government and the state government for me to go put my name on a government list," Kozlowski said. "I know it sounds paranoid, but the reality is there's still a drug war." Under the law a patient must have a debilitating medical condition, such as cancer, glaucoma, AIDS or an illness that produces severe pain, nausea, seizures, muscle spasms or wasting, to legally use marijuana. People can petition to have conditions added to the list, but no one has done that so far, Zangri said. Juneau, Alaska Published: July 11, 2000Copyright © 2000 The Anchorage Daily News Related Article:Medical Marijuana List Tops Out at 17 Registrationhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread2323.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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