OREGON AGENCY TO ALLOW OFF-DUTY MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE

HILLSBORO, Ore. - The Tualatin Valley Water District may be the first
public agency in Oregon that has agreed to allow its employees use medical
marijuana.

The policy comes with several restrictions: Employees must have a medical
marijuana card, they can't smoke on the job, and the district's 30
employees with federally issued commercial driver's licenses can't smoke at
all, because federal law still regards marijuana as a controlled illegal drug.

The law permits people to use marijuana for a variety of conditions, not
just terminal illnesses, including problems such as nausea that don't keep
them from doing their work. However, under Oregon's law, employers can
refuse to accommodate medical marijuana use by employees.

None of the water district's 85 employees uses medically prescribed marijuana.

The decision to rewrite its substance abuse policy is another sign that the
medical marijuana law, passed by Oregon voters in November 1998, is forcing
businesses across the state to re-examine their attitudes toward the drug,
The Oregonian reported.

Other agencies, such as Multnomah County and the city of Portland, are
taking a wait-and-see attitude.

But the law already is raising questions for people such as Portland
resident Larry Humphrey, who lost his job at a trucking company after he
tested positive for marijuana he uses legally.

Since May, the Health Division has issued more than 400 marijuana-use cards
to patients suffering from extreme pain and debilitating diseases.

The Health Division considering expanding the law to apply to conditions
such as anxiety, depression and sleep disorders.

The water district's board of commissioners voted unanimously last month to
allow medical marijuana to bring the company's policy in line with the new
state law. The district's human resources director suggested the district
address the issue before an employee raised it.

"We're just being proactive," said Greg DiLoreto, the district's general
manager. "All employers in Oregon will be faced with it. There's no
precedent; we're setting the standard here. If you step back from it being
marijuana, all you're dealing with is a prescription drug, and employees
will need to notify their supervisor if they're using it."

Larry Humphrey thinks the water district might be a better place to work
than his last job. A medical marijuana cardholder who smokes to relieve
arthritic pain, Humphrey lost his delivery job with the trucking company
Link Logistics in November after he tested positive for marijuana.

"I'm lost," said Humphrey, who does not have a commercial driver's license
and therefore does not fall under federal law. "I'm not sure how to make
out a legal, trustful resume. Nobody's going to hire me if I do."