DRUG ARREST STIRS QUESTION

A Clackamas County drug arrest last week will give the district attorney's
office its first chance to interpret how hashish should be treated under
the state's medical marijuana law.

David Thomas Howard, 50, who holds a state medical marijuana card, was
arrested May 25 after investigators found hashish, a potent extract of
marijuana, in his belongings. The discovery came during the seizure of more
than 100 marijuana plants at a Woodburn-area greenhouse.

Investigators interpreted the state's medical marijuana law to bar
possession of hashish, said Deputy Angela Brandenburg, a Clackamas County
Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.

Medical marijuana advocates, including grower Shawn Flury of Oregon Green
Cross, which ran the Woodburn greenhouse, insist the law allows hashish.

"This is one of those that's kind of an interpretation," said Lt. Craig
Durbin, who heads the Oregon State Police drug unit. The law defines usable
marijuana as the dried leaves and flowers of the cannabis plant or "any
mixture or preparation thereof."

Steven Griffin, a Clackamas County deputy district attorney, said he hadn't
seen the details of Howard's case and didn't know whether it would be
prosecuted. In general, Griffin's research shows that hashish and marijuana
are the same thing, and it's his opinion that hashish likely is allowed for
medical use.