OREGON STIFFENS MEDICAL-MARIJUANA RULES

Oregon officials yesterday tightened rules doctors must follow under the
state's medical-marijuana law, responding to discovery that a single doctor
has signed 40 percent of the state's marijuana applications.

The founder of a group that pushed for Oregon's medical-marijuana law
welcomed the new rules, saying they will help prevent misuse of the
program. "It's something that needs to happen," said Stormy Ray, founder of
the Stormy Ray Foundation.

But the doctor who is apparently the target of the new rules -- 77-year-old
Phillip Leveque -- said he thinks they will make it harder for patients to
qualify for medical marijuana.

"If they want to close down the medical-marijuana program this is the way
to do it," Leveque said.

Under the new rules, a physician who signs a written statement on behalf of
an applicant must maintain an up-to-date medical file for the patient,
perform a physical and create a treatment plan. Those who monitor the
marijuana program would be allowed to examine a patient's original file or
require a copy of the file from the physician.

If a doctor does not perform all those tasks, a patient's application will
be denied, said Mac Prichard, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Human
Services.

The stricter regulations will apply only to pending and future
applications, he said.

The new rules are meant to ensure that doctors and patients are complying
with Oregon's Medical Marijuana Law, approved by voters in 1998, said Grant
Higginson, state health officer with the Human Services Department.

The new rules are in effect for up to 180 days. A public hearing to
establish permanent rules will be held this fall.

Oregon is among nine states with medical-marijuana laws. Its law requires
patients to submit a statement from an attending physician confirming that
the patient has a debilitating condition such as cancer, glaucoma, AIDS or
seizures that would be eased through use of marijuana.

Once a doctor signs the statement, the patient can legally grow marijuana
at home for medical use or can designate a caregiver to grow the plants.

Leveque has signed 935 of the state's 2,351 approved applications for
medical marijuana. The doctor who comes in second has filed 71, Leveque said.

Higginson, who cannot confirm that Leveque is the doctor in question
because of confidentiality laws, said the large number of cases "makes us
question whether this person could truly qualify as the attending physician
for all of these patients."

Leveque said patients sometimes send him their medical files, but he does
not require them.

The patients often contact him by telephone, describe their ailments and
send him their application, which he then gives to the state for approval,
he said.

Leveque says he fills a need for desperate patients, almost all of whom
come to him after seeking help in vain from other doctors.

Program officials recently discovered seven cases in which patients
apparently forged the signature of Leveque, an osteopath.

Leveque is under investigation by the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners for
alleged inattention to at least one patient, a teenager from Brookings. The
board notified Leveque by letter last month that it was investigating
allegations that "you authorized this patient to receive a
medical-marijuana card without first examining her, diagnosing her
condition, charting your care or conferring with any of her other providers."

Leveque says the patient told him she suffered from a painful "severe sinus
dysfunction" that was unrelieved by surgery or medication. Only marijuana
provided help, the patient told him.

Ray, of the Stormy Ray Foundation, said Leveque might have kept less than
exact records but is a fine doctor. "Dr. Leveque fills a very needed
service. I don't want people to think of him as a big bad doctor," she said.

Under current state law, approved users or the designated caregiver may
grow three mature plants, four immature plants and possess 3 ounces of
dried plant and flowers at one time. A doctor cannot prescribe marijuana
but can suggest it to patients who might benefit.

Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado
and Maine have medical-marijuana laws.