NO INDICTMENT IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA CASE

While a Marion County grand jury opted not to indict a Keizer medical
marijuana grower for converting marijuana into hash oil, a district
attorney's spokesman warns that the decision does not necessarily
mean the process is legal for medical marijuana patients.

Marion County Deputy District Attorney Courtland Geyer said it was
unlikely that the case would be brought back before the grand jury.
The defendant, Anthony W. Beasley, 28, was charged with unlawful
manufacture of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school.

"A case is essentially over at the time a not true bill is issued. It
is possible, but difficult, to reopen a case once that has been
done," Geyer said.

Beasley was arrested October 19 after an ex-roommate reported what
she said appeared to possibly be pipe bombs in the Newburg Drive home
where Beasley once lived. The PVC pipes turned out to be filled with
marijuana in a system designed to produce hash oil.

Medical marijuana activists with the National Organization to Reform
Marijuana Laws and the THC Foundation have insisted the conversion of
marijuana to hash oil is legal under state statute and the rules
designed to administer the medical marijuana program. The Foundation
even teaches classes in Portland on how to make hashish, although
advocates say some methods of making hash oil can be dangerous.

But Geyer said the grand jury's decision should not be interpreted as
a definitive answer to the questions posed by this case: What,
exactly, defines "usable" medical marijuana?

"It would be a very bad mistake to interpret the result of this case
as some sort of declaration on the legality of converting legal
medical marijuana to hashish," Geyer said. "I do not recommend anyone
interpret this as a green light to do that safely.

"The medical marijuana bill does not anywhere specify that that is
legal and protected. And any assertion that it does is wrong. It's
just plain false."

Geyer would not comment on the specifics of the case against Beasley,
but said the district attorney's office was also prosecuting similar
cases in Marion County.

"We have obtained indictments in other cases where people converted
legal medical marijuana to hashish," Geyer said. "It's my
understanding that some of those are pending now. So there have been
a number of other occasions where we've done it.

"We think the law is clear; at best, it's vague," Geyer said.

Short of new evidence coming to light, Geyer said it was extremely
unlikely that the case would be brought before a grand jury again.