MARIJUANA LAW IS PROVING TO BE A PAIN

Sufferers who want to try Oregon's new program find it hard to get a
doctor's approval or the drug

Lil Dunham will try just about anything to make the pain go
away.

During the past few years, the discs that cushion the bones in her
spine have collapsed. Now those bones feel as though they're scraping
each other. And the pain is excruciating.

Dunham says neither her primary physician nor a pain specialist has
been able to bring her much comfort.

"My life is just kind of miserable," she said.

Dunham, who loves to garden, hasn't been able to get out of her tidy
mobile home much in the past three years.

The 80-year-old Newberg woman said she's even ready to try smoking
marijuana if that would help. After all, a new Oregon law allows her
to use the drug.

But she's run into two big problems:

She can't find a doctor who'll approve marijuana as a treatment.
The law requires a doctor's permission for a patient to join the program.

She doesn't have any idea where to get marijuana.

Those two difficulties are proving to be a brick wall for many
Oregonians who would like to join the state's medical marijuana
program. Dunham is one of more than 250 people who have telephoned the
Oregon Health Division's Medical Marijuana Program since it officially
opened for business on Monday.

Kelly Paige, who manages the program, is stunned by the volume of
calls. "It takes me two hours every day just to collect the voice-mail
messages," she said.

Paige said Dunham's complaints are common to many.

"Some people are having difficulty finding a physician to work with,"
she said. "Some ask, 'Where do I get the seeds to start growing
marijuana?' "

Paige's hands are tied. Her office doesn't keep a list of doctors who
would authorize marijuana for patients. And as for finding the
marijuana, patients are on their own.

Under Oregon law, medicinal marijuana users face a kind of Catch-22.
On one hand, state law permits people who have debilitating medical
conditions to use marijuana. On the other, it bans the sale of marijuana.

Supporters of the medicinal marijuana law have said they expect that
people who previously used marijuana illegally will give plants to
patients free of charge.

But Dunham, who's smoked cigarettes, says she's never used marijuana
before and doesn't know anybody who does -- either legally or illegally.

New guidelines may help Dr. Rick Bayer, a physician who was a
principal sponsor of the medical marijuana act, said he thinks doctors
will become more willing to participate when they learn about the
guidelines issued by the Oregon Medical Association.

The association published guidelines in late April outlining ways that
doctors can help patients participate in the law without running afoul
of federal drug regulations.

Bayer also expects that it will become easier in the future for
patients to obtain marijuana by joining support groups for cancer and
pain.

Jim Kronenberg, associate executive director of the OMA, said even
doctors who think marijuana might be beneficial will be cautious in
recommending its use. While using medicinal marijuana is legal under
Oregon law, it's still illegal under federal law. And the federal
government, through the Drug Enforcement Administration, regulates
doctors' prescription privileges.

Doctors can't prescribe it Under the new law, doctors don't prescribe
marijuana. They only note on a patient's chart that marijuana might
help the symptoms.

Patients like Dunham are left to fend for themselves. And while Paige
is sympathetic, she can't help.

"Your heart goes out to them," Paige said. "They've been on every
painkiller there is, and none of them work."

Callers who leave their names and addresses on Paige's answering
machine will receive an application packet with a copy of the medical
marijuana act, the Health Division's rules, application forms and the
guidelines for filling them out.

Callers are from all walks of life, Paige said. "Some people are still
able to work, some are disabled completely. Some are people who
thought they'd never get involved with this (marijuana) -- law
enforcement and corrections officers and people who have been in the
military."

Patients at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center face a
special barrier. Because the federal government views marijuana as an
illegal drug, doctors there can't approve its use.

Meanwhile, Dunham questions the hurdles put up by the
law.

"It's not fair," Dunham said. "I want it for pain. I don't want it for
enjoyment like the young people do. Doctors are so fussy about your
getting addicted. And so what if I did, at 80 years old?"