MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL GAINING APPROVAL

Oregon appeared likely Tuesday to join the pack of states opting to
legalize marijuana for medical uses.

Oregon's Measure 67 was passing 55 percent to 45 percent in early returns -
a closer race than advocates expected.

But a measure to increase the legal penalty for pot possession was failing
by about a 2-to-1 ratio.

"We're going to make sure that dying and suffering patients get the
medicine they need," said Geoff Sugerman, spokesman for the medical
marijuana campaign.

In Lane County, more than 64 percent of voters had approved medical
marijuana in early returns

Opponents acknowledged that the image of suffering patients was a powerful
force in the campaign. "Voters are reluctant to vote against anything that
calls upon their compassion, that plays upon their emotions the way our
opponents did in this campaign," said Jennifer Hudson of Oregonians Against
Dangerous Drugs. "But we think Oregonians will regret this measure if it
does pass," she said.

Under the Oregon measure, patients with written permission from a licensed
physician could obtain a registry card from the state Health Division to
grow marijuana for treating "debilitating" medical conditions. Registered
users can grow up to three mature marijuana plants and four immature
plants. They could carry an ounce of marijuana with them and keep one ounce
per mature plant at home.

Medical use measures appeared to be passing Tuesday in at least three
states: Nevada, Washington and Arizona, where voters restored a 1996
medical-use initiative that state lawmakers tried to suppress.

"More than two-thirds of all Americans support medical access to marijuana.
We've just reached out and tried to harvest support that's already out
there," said Dave Fratello, spokesman for Americans for Medical Rights. The
Santa Monica, Calif.-based group was the major financial backer of the
marijuana measures.

The cost of carrying out the measure in Oregon is estimated at $140,000 to
$295,000 per year, depending on the level of oversight. The calculation by
the state Health Division assumes that about 500 people at any given time
will be registered.

Californians legalized medical marijuana in 1996, but it has been kept in
check by federal lawsuits and threats by Congress to enact a law that would
allow the Drug Enforcement Administration to revoke the
prescription-writing permit of any physician who dispensed marijuana.

Rick Bayer, a 43-year-old Portland doctor, led the campaign to legalize the
use of marijuana in Oregon. Measure 67, he said, allows people with cancer,
AIDS and other conditions to use marijuana without fear of going to jail or
losing their homes.

But can the law allow compassionate use without worsening the problem of
abuse? Some law enforcement authorities said absolutely not.

"We hope the Legislature will come through for Oregonians and their
children and their future, and take care of all the problems, all the
loopholes in this measure," Hudson said.

Oregon's other marijuana-related measure, Ballot Measure 57, would make
possession of less than an ounce of marijuana a Class C misdemeanor
punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Its likely defeat -
the measure was failing, 67 percent to 33 percent - means possession will
remain a violation, with a fine of $500 to $1,000 and no possibility of a
jail sentence.

Opponents said voters appeared to doubt that drug abuse can be prevented by
the threat of jail.

"This vote tells me that they want to see more money going to education,
prevention and treatment, not incarceration of young people for this type
of offense," said Rep. Floyd Prozanski, a Eugene Democrat.

Rob Elkins, of Oregon Police Chiefs for Safer Communities, complained that
Prozanski and other opponents "led a campaign of deception and scare
tactics."

"This bill was drafted with help of law enforcement and treatment
professionals," he said. "We were trying to create a hammer that would
drive people into treatment early on."