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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.
The Register Guard
September 29, 2004
Copyright 2004 The Register-Guard
https://www.registerguard.com/news/2004/09/29/ed.edit.m33.0929.html
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.
The Register Guard
September 29, 2004
Copyright 2004 The Register-Guard
https://www.registerguard.com/news/2004/09/29/ed.edit.m33.0929.html
