MEDICAL MARIJUANA -- EASING PAIN, RAISING FEARS

'Fixes' In Works for State's Pot Law

HELENA - She began with hydrocodone for the pain, Cymbalta and
Trazodone for the depression, and Flexeril to ease the muscle spasms.
The drugs helped soothe the nagging discomfort in her back. On good
days, they dulled the pain in her legs.

But while Barb Trego got by, she wasn't happy. The physical toll of
her condition, which includes two missing discs in her back,
fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, left her life in shambles. For that,
the drugs were of little use.

"They were just giving me the pain pills and muscle relaxers 60 at a
time," said Trego, who now lives in Helena. "It just makes you not
care about anything. My house fell into disarray. I let all my
houseplants die. I was on so many narcotics, my life was going on, but
I wasn't participating in it."

Trego, a former reserve sheriff's deputy and employee with the Montana
Department of Corrections, hadn't worked since 1995. She was not yet
55, but it seemed her life was coming to an end before it really got
going.

But two months after getting a medical marijuana card, Trego now
manages the semblance of a smile. The drug was recommended by a friend
and has, Trego says, made a big difference in her life.

"I'm working a part-time job," she said. "I'm able to help my friends
instead of them all coming to help me. I sleep better at night. I'm
getting my house clean. I'm enjoying things again I thought were lost
forever."

Trego is one of nearly 15,000 Montanans with a medical marijuana card.
Some 62 percent of Montana voters approved the use of marijuana for
medical use back in 2004, giving patients like Trego an option in
their choice of drug.

But some lawmakers are taking a hard look at the state's medical
marijuana law, saying the current system of controlling prescription
pot is broken and needs fixing. Not all 15,000 Montana cardholders are
legitimate patients, they say, and it's those who abuse the system
that they're looking to weed out with tougher regulations.

Among those with an eye on fixing the law is state Sen. Dave Lewis, a
Helena Republican. Lewis, along with Sen. Jim Shockley, R-Victor, has
introduced a proposal to correct what he sees as a broken marijuana
law.

Two weeks ago, Lewis announced a plan to license a single statewide
marijuana grower and dispense the drug through licensed pharmacies.
The result would create a system not unlike Montana's liquor
distribution laws, with the state controlling the supply.

"I don't want to take it away from those who really need it," Lewis
said. "I want to make sure it's still available to people with a true
medical need. But it's become widely available, and I absolutely
believe that not everyone with a card has a legitimate need."

After Lewis' proposal hit the papers, his phone began ringing and his
inbox filled with e-mails. In three short days, he said, he received
more than 300 messages from both sides of the issue and more calls
than he could answer.

"I heard immediately from the industry, the growers and the
retailers," he said. "Then I started hearing from the general public.
A lot of people aren't happy. They supported it before, but now they
feel like they've been taken advantage of."

Even those who led the drive to legalize medical marijuana, including
Tom Daubert of Helena, said the current law has flaws that need to be
addressed. Daubert, who doesn't necessarily agree with the remedies
presented by Lewis, said last week that growers and dispensaries must
be monitored, and the state must look at ways of regulating the industry.

Others, including a 54-year-old Helena woman named Holly who suffers
from a rare allergy to paraben (a chemical used in preservatives),
blame a few high-profile pot users for exploiting the law and making
it hard on those who have a legitimate claim to medical marijuana.

Holly, who's a legal cardholder, asked that her last name not be used
due to a medical agreement she signed with her doctor. She got her
card from Dr. Chris Christensen in Victor, who has certified at least
3,000 patients for medical marijuana.

Holly, a cardholder, and Lewis, a politician, have little in common
politically. But both mention the likes of Jason Christ by name,
blaming the founder of the Montana Caregivers Network in Missoula for
exploiting the law.

Christ, who has smoked publicly in front of the state Capitol, not to
mention the Missoula Police Department, says his network's clinics
have heightened the profile of medical marijuana. Christ didn't return
calls last week, but he did tell the Missoulian that his sessions are
not pot free-for-alls.

Others, however, see Christ's antics as in-your-face publicity stunts
that do little for the cause.

"It's embarrassing to the rest of us," Holly said. "He's going to
influence just enough legislators who are of the conservative variety,
and there it goes. He's being a big ass about it, and that's the kind
of people we'll be looking to weed out."

Holly holds out her arms and shows her legs, which are covered with
scars and open wounds. Pot, she says, has always helped her cope with
the pain, and she admits to smoking it long before she was legally
licensed to do so.

But now that she's older and has grown ill, Holly says the drug makes
her feel better. She says the law is still young and, because of it,
she feels legitimate cardholders must be allowed to police their own
ranks and eliminate those who give marijuana a bad medical name.

"This is a young business," she said. "Give us some time. Everything
needs time to reach operating speed. I think it will
self-police."

As for Trego, she believes the growing flap surrounding medical pot is
born from misinformation. She also worries about the recent wave of
bans and moratoriums enacted in some Montana communities.

Too few people understand the entire picture, she says, including the
medical advantages of using the drug. That could leave a small number
of those who use pot legally fighting to overturn the stigma that
surrounds it.

"There's always people who use it constantly, or smoke it constantly
all day, but they're not using medical marijuana, they're smoking
pot," Trego said. "If the rest of us hide in the closets, it doesn't
show us as having a legitimate medical need.

"It's a legitimate medical thing, and it has helped me so much, I want
to get out there and tell other people it might help them, too."