MEDICAL MARIJUANA DEBATE

Bill Would Turn Cultivation Rights Over To The State

For about nine years Madeline Martinez has grown marijuana to treat
her degenerative disc and joint disease under Oregon's medical marijuana law.

"It has enhanced the quality of my life," says Martinez, who prefers
not to be pumped full of pharmaceutical drugs to relieve her pain.

However, Martinez's days of growing her own medicine will be over if
a bill in the legislature passes.

Legislators behind the recently introduced bill claim that the
private system of growing medical marijuana is too unwieldy and needs
stronger regulation. They've introduced a bill that would end the
private production of medical marijuana in Oregon, putting all
cultivation and distribution under the purview of the state.

However, marijuana advocates say the bill impedes on their right to
grow their own medicine, and are suspicious of the intentions behind
it. There also remains an unanswered question about the bill, which
is still being worked out.

Voters in Oregon approved medical marijuana in 1998, being one of the
first states to do so. Under the law, someone can get medical
marijuana for their condition if a doctor of medicine or doctor of
osteopathy says that it will mitigate the ailment. They then get a
patient card and have the option of finding a grower to provide them
with marijuana or can grow it themselves.

The bill in legislature would eliminate all private cultivation of
medical marijuana. The state would grow and distribute it through
pharmacies. The scheme would be financed with a $98 per ounce tax
paid by patients, who wouldn't have to pay black-market rates, which
tend to run $200 to $400 for an ounce.

The bills sponsors say that this is necessary because too many
private growers sell to people whose uses are more recreational than
medicinal. They also claim that patients have no assurance that the
pot isn't laced with pesticides or other toxics, and say that growers
are increasingly the subject of violent attacks from people seeking
to steal their crops.

An inquiry to the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office for comment on
crime surrounding medical marijuana was not returned.

"We have all but legalized marijuana right now," said Rep. Jim
Thompson, R- Dallas, a cosponsor to the bill.

However, pot advocates say the bill goes too far, and are uneasy with
the state's role.

"It's absolutely mind-boggling," said Martinez, who is the executive
director of the Oregon chapter of the National Organization to Reform
Marijuana Laws, of the bill.

Martinez is uncomfortable with the state taking away her right to
grow her own marijuana and thinks that the claims that the drug
attracts crime has been sensationalized and doesn't warrant such a
drastic measure.

"We have Bernie Madoff, does that mean we close the banks," said
Martinez referring the disgraced financier.

Kris Hermes, spokesperson for Americans for Safe Access- a medical
marijuana advocacy group, says that his organization is opposed to
limiting access for medical marijuana as this bill does.

He added that Canada tried something similar, but didn't provide
enough for patients.

Currently Canadian patients can grow their own, or get it through the
government.

Several provisions are particularly concerning for Martinez and other
marijuana advocates, who suspect they are subtle attempts to
undermine medical marijuana in Oregon.

A provision of the bill requires the marijuana to be grown in
accordance with Federal Food and Drug administration standards for
any plant cultivated for medical purposes. Martinez is puzzled by why
this is even included when the plant isn't even legal at the federal
level. She is also very troubled by language that would allow
pharmacists to deny marijuana to any patient for any reason.

"You don't want dried bugs in there," says Thompson addressing the
first of Martinez's concern. The former head of the Oregon State
Pharmacy Association, Thompson says that the provision is to ensure
that the plants are grown safely, and if the pesticides are used they
are used the right way. Thompson adds that the second provision is
"standard boilerplate language" and that pharmacists can do the same
for any drug.

Hermes says that there are hundreds of strains of marijuana that
could be targeted for specific ailments.

"There's no empirical evidence that supports that theorem," says
Allison MacMullin, a staffer for Rep. Ron Mauer, R-Grants Pass, a
co-sponsor to the bill.

But there are still unanswered questions about the bill. Even though
over a dozen states have approved medical marijuana, their laws are
trumped by federal law under which patients can still be prosecuted.

President Barack Obama has stated that he will let states settle the
medical marijuana question on their own and won't target those
involved in its cultivation and distribution, unlike his predecessor.

But what if the next president isn't as mellow? "I can't answer to
that scenario," says MacMillin, who added that the bill is still
being fine tuned.