MEASURE EXPANDS MEDICAL MARIJUANA

If Measure 33 Is Approved, Patients Could Have More

A vote to expand Oregon's medical marijuana program will bring relief to
seriously ill Oregonians or it will bring the state one step closer to
legalizing the drug.

It depends who you ask.

Measure 33 on the Nov. 2 ballot would increase the amount of cannabis a
pa-tient can possess and expand the types of medical professionals who can
prescribe it. It also would authorize licensed dispensaries that would be
allowed to distribute marijuana.

Greg Byers, a user and grower of medical marijuana, said Measure 33 is a
humane at-tempt to help sick people who cannot grow marijuana themselves or
get it.

"Doctors are finding that patients are thriving without as many or as
strong a dose of pharma-type drugs," the 52-year-old Salem man said. "Crime
has not skyrocketed."

But the nation's drug czar, who was in Salem last week, blasted the measure
and said it represents what officials feared when the original 1998 medical
marijuana law was approved by voters.

"We're not bigoted; we want medicine that is safe and effective," said John
Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. "They have
failed to demonstrate safety and efficacy."

Walters said it is "vile and immoral" to showcase seriously ill people in
commercials talking about how much better they feel after using marijuana
and offering support for Measure 33.

"If these same people took a hit of meth or crack, they'd feel better,
too," Walters said.

Byers dismisses comments by Walters and said Measure 33 simply corrects
oversights of the original law, such as the limited amount of marijuana a
patient can possess.

Cannabis is not a low-maintenance plant. It can take between three and six
months to grow and prepare, he said.

"Passing Measure 33 will update the OMMA and ensure a safe, secure,
sufficient supply of medicine," Byers said. "The sky will not fall." Oregon
is one of nine states to allow medical marijuana. The others are Alaska,
California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Vermont and Washington.

Under current state law, authorized patients can grow and use marijuana
with a doctor's permission.

Measure 33 would increase the amount of marijuana a patient can possess to
one pound from the current one ounce and create licensed, non-profit
dispensaries regulated by the Oregon Department of Human Services. The
dispensaries would pay license fees, keep records, submit monthly reports
and pay 10 percent to 20 percent of their revenue to the Oregon Medical
Marijuana Program.

Supporters say that would offset most of the estimated $340,000 to $560,000
in administrative costs for the expanded program.

Oregon has issued medical marijuana cards to 9,768 patients and 5,013
caregivers, according to the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. And there
are 1,496 physicians with applications to prescribe marijuana.

Under Measure 33, naturopaths and nurse practitioners would be included in
the definition of "attending physician" allowed to prescribe marijuana.

The definition of "debilitating medical condition" would expand to include
"any other medical condition for which the use of marijuana would benefit
the patient as determined by the attending physician."

One of the most significant components of the measure for Byers is the
requirement that law enforcement agencies contact the state before getting
a search warrant in a marijuana investigation.

Last month, Byers got a visit from police officers who asked about his plants.

Byers, who grows marijuana for five patients, said "it was an interesting
and unnerving encounter."

After he showed the officers his medical marijuana card, they left, but
Byers doesn't think anyone should have to go through such an experience.

By making a call to verify participation in the program, police could focus
on important matters and not upset or inconvenience patients or caregivers,
Byers said.

Not all of the people he supplies marijuana for are smoking it, Byers
explained. Some prefer to ingest it in capsule form or drink it in an oil
or butter elixir.

He said he knows firsthand the benefits of the herb. The pain of his
osteoarthritis and irritable bowl syndrome ease significantly when he uses
the drug, Byers said.

"I'd lost tolerance to most medications," he said of prescription pain
killers he used to take.

Others disagree with Byers' position.

The Libertarian Party of Oregon often has pushed for more liberal drug
policies, but it opposes Measure 33.

"For all the good intentions the measure represents and for all the goals
it tries to achieve, Measure 33 falls short of bringing true drug policy
reform to Oregon," according to the Libertarians' voters' pamphlet
statement written by Richard P. Burke, the party's executive director

Libertarians maintain the measure would impose excessive government
regulation on patients and doctors.

"(The) requirement that the medical records of individual patients be kept
and maintained is alone enough to reject this measure," according to
Burke's statement. "It is a violation of patient privacy and personal
choice -- no place for government to tread."

Not surprisingly, local law enforcement officers are worried about any
expansion of the pool of marijuana users.

Patients without their cards or people with counterfeit medical marijuana
cards would require police to spend more time investigating people detained
for possession of marijuana, said Lt. Dan Deitz, of the Salem Police
Department's Special Operations Section.

"It's very confusing," he said "How do you make something illegal partially
legal?"

Measure 33 supporters discount such concerns.

Dr. Rick Bayer of Portland, a chief petitioner of the 1998 Oregon Medical
Marijuana Act and of Measure 33, said his biggest challenge is delivering
the message despite fears of legalizing drugs or a federal shutdown of the
program all together.

"I don't understand why that fear is there," he said. "I think it's totally
groundless."

Bayer said the worst that could happen, if the measure passes, would be a
court injunction preventing the opening of dispensaries while courts review
the proposal.

"The position that the Marines are going to come in is not going to
happen," Bayer said.

Still, the success of the 1998 measure could present a problem among
voters, because 80 percent of Oregonians polled say they like the medical
marijuana program as is.

Asking Oregonians to amend a program that they're pretty content with is
tough, Bayer said.

"It's going to be very close," he predicted. "But it's the best chance
we're going to have at any progress for many, many years."

[sidebar]

BALLOT MEASURES

Measure 31: Would amend state Constitution to authorize state law to
postpone the election when a nominee dies in office shortly before Election
Day.

Measure 32: Would drop reference in the Constitution to mobile homes from
the 1980 requirement that motor vehicle taxes and fees be spent on road and
bridge work.

Measure 33: Would change medical-marijuana law that voters approved in 1998
to increase the amounts that patients can possess, expand the categories of
professionals who can prescribe the drug, and allow licensed dispensaries
to supply it.

Measure 34: Would reserve half of Tillamook and Clatsop state forests in
northwest Oregon for restoration; the rest would be open to timber production.

Measure 35: Would amend Constitution to cap noneconomic
"pain-and-suffering" damages in medical malpractice suits to $500,000.

Measure 36: Would amend Constitution to define marriage as union between
one man and one woman.

Measure 37: Would require government to either compensate property owners
for land use restrictions that reduce property values or waive regulations.

Measure 38: Would abolish SAIF Corp., the state-owned workers' compensation
insurance company, and distribute potential surplus to specified purposes.

[Online Only Sidebar from above Webpage]

Need more information before you vote? Go to our election special section.

Measure 33

Ballot title: Amends Medical Marijuana Act; requires marijuana dispensaries
for supplying patients/caregivers; raises patients' possession limit.

Type: Statutory

What measure would do: Patients registered with the state could grow 10
plants, up from seven, and possess up to one pound instead of one ounce.
The measure also would authorize licensed dispensaries that would be
allowed to distribute marijuana and expand categories of professionals who
can prescribe the drug.

Likely effects: The supply of marijuana for medicinal purposes would increase.

Argument for: Passage would fix some problems with the original 1998 ballot
measure, which allows use of marijuana but restricts supply.

Argument against: Passage would constitute a step toward legalization of
the drug and is more likely to put Oregon into conflict with federal
regulations, which hold that marijuana has no medicinal use.

Supporters: Include patients and individual physicians and a Life with
Dignity Committee, (800) 669-3037 or www.Yeson33.org

Opponents: Include law enforcement officials, the White House, the Oregon
Medical Association and Libertarian Party of Oregon.