DEFEND MEDICAL POT USERS

"Democrats spar over medical pot for workers (Feb. 26)" was
incomplete.

I was the filing chief petitioner for the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act
in 1998. The law, ORS 475.300, begins: "Patients and doctors have
found marijuana to be an effective treatment for suffering caused by
debilitating medical conditions, and therefore, marijuana should be
treated like other medicines."

Polling shows that three out four Oregonians support medical
marijuana. Patients who use cannabis as medicine ask for the same
rights as those using medical morphine.

Professionals routinely test for impairment during patient encounters.
Some businesses use computer simulations. Moreover, blood tests are
available for THC, the chemical in cannabis that causes the high.

The U.S. Department of Transportation states that urine testing
"cannot be used by itself to prove behavioral impairment."

Sen. Rick Metsger's bill [to make it easier for employers to fire
workers who use medical marijuana] has nothing to do with impairment
but everything to do with money as he seeks to bury the Americans with
Disabilities Act. Sen. Floyd Prozanski's [opposing] bill supports
disabled Oregonians. Can compassion compete with money?

Richard Bayer, M.D.

Southwest Portland