MEDICAL MARIJUANA - THE INTERVIEW WITH STORMY RAY

The following interview, conducted on April 20, 2005, at the offices
of the Stormy Ray Cardholders Foundation (SRCF), is a conversation
between Stormy Ray, Jerry Wade and Peter Moore, editor of Alternatives
Magazine.

Stormy Ray, a diminutive woman in a wheelchair, has been active in the
movement to legalize marijuana for the purposes of medical treatment
for over a decade in Oregon. She was a Co-Chief Petitioner for Measure
67 that became the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act (OMMA) in 1998. SRCF
is a non-profit Oregon medical marijuana information and support
organization dedicated to helping patients utilize this law. Stormy
currently serves on the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP)
Advisory Committee. She has served on the Oregon State Rehabilitation
Advisory Council for two Governors, and the Federal Disabilities
Determination Advisory Board for four years. As president of Malheur
Butte Productions, a non-profit disabilities awareness organization,
Stormy worked to help improve access, inclusion, and awareness for
Oregonians with disabilities. She is currently the president of the
Stormy Ray Cardholders' Foundation (SRCF).

Jerry Wade is the Secretary and Director of Public Relations for the
SRCF and has been a registered OMMP cardholder for over five years.
Jerry has drafted legislative proposals that SRCF has submitted over
the last three legislative sessions.

When I first heard about the Oregon Medical Marijuana Initiative, the
name Stormy Ray seemed synonymous with it. How did you get involved?

STORMY: I had multiple sclerosis. The doctors had given up on my
continuance, and had started giving my family counseling so they
wouldn't have such a hard time when I passed away. Well, a friend of
mine decided to do a civil disobedient act, and he gave me a puff of
cannabis. In that first moment I realized that I could go on living.

Why did he, or you, consider it civil disobedience?

STORMY: At that time we didn't have an Oregon Medical Marijuana Act
(OMMA) law. It was way back in '91. My husband tried to grow a plant
for me but was arrested and I could not believe our society could do
such a thing to a good man. At the time I was sitting on the
Governor's State Rehabilitation Advisory Council and had been there
for several years; we began the Medical Marijuana, um, I wouldn't say
movement, but the gathering of people out here in Oregon to work together.

Did the person who gave you this civil disobedient puff believe it was
medicinal? Or was he thinking, "This is recreational and it might make
you feel better?"

STORMY: No, he absolutely knew that it was going to help me and that
it may be my last hope.

JERRY: She had just come back from the Emergency Room. She'd had a
migraine for almost a month and couldn't open her eyes or speak. At
that point, there was nothing she could do. In fact, she did not know
what he was giving her when he did it. He told her he was going to
hold something up to her lips, she probably wouldn't approve of it,
but he told her to take a deep breath. What was your response? How did
you know it was medicinal?

STORMY: By the time my friend put this joint up to my lips, I was
experiencing pharmaceutical poisoning. The doctors had given up. They
had been trying so hard to control the MS symptoms that the drugs they
had me on were killing me. Things were shutting down and the pain was
so severe it was just like I was on fire, but nothing could move. I
could not move my eyelids. I wasn't blind when my friend did this, I
just didn't have the ability to open my eyelid to look out.

Then, with one puff, everything was open again. It was instantaneous.
I could actually feel my fingers and know that I was attached to this
body. My eyes popped open and it was so quickly that I was able to get
my messages through from my brain to my words, that I couldn't believe
it. So I yelled at him, and he jumped backwards thinking, you know,
"I'm in for it now," and instead I said, "What was that?!" He told me,
and I said, "I don't care, I want some more." That was my hello to
medical marijuana.

And you had no background in recreational use?

STORMY: No. I didn't trust drugs. If you mentioned drugs I was out the
door in the other direction. But once I understood the life saving
health benefits for me, that changed my mind.

What made you decide to get involved with making it a movement larger
than your own life . . . larger than your own ability to find another
puff when you needed it?

STORMY: I have always worked for change within the system. It's very
important that if it's something beneficial enough to change for one
person, it needs to be mainstreamed, to become available for
everybody. Then, when they arrested my husband and they wouldn't let
him out of jail, I was just appalled. I realized that what happened to
him was happening to people all over the United States. I didn't even
begin to know how to fight to make it right for everybody. I think
that's when we decided that I would do whatever had to be done to
prevent this from happening to another family.

Have you ever told that story to, say, legislators or
police?

STORMY: Yes. They usually realize very early on that we're not
advocating for legalization of recreational drugs. We are here because
we have a medicine that gives us a difference in the quality of our
lives, and we have every right to have it treated as medicine, and not
anything else.

When you tell your story, you must meet some skepticism. How do you
deal with that?

STORMY: If someone is skeptical about whether or not medical marijuana
has validity, it's my fault, because I haven't shared with them yet
something that will help them with their understanding and awareness.

You're saying that if people don't get that you're talking about a
useful medicine--not an elaborate ruse to get high--it is your failure
to communicate, not theirs to understand? That's generous of you. How
good are you at such communication?

STORMY: I've been at this for years. We have had many, many
legislators who thought they knew where they stood--they were against
marijuana--but scratched their head when I leave, because we take to
them an insight and a perspective they may not have considered.
Sometimes they come around to share our insight because they too have
a family member in a health crisis. When you think about the
legislators, and you think about medical marijuana, you have to
remember that you're looking at their entire support circle around
them. That's what helps us get the awareness to them.

JERRY: In society right now, there's a very mixed message. There is
skepticism about whether this really is medicine or not. Unfortunately
the legalization lobby has taken up our cause. You'd think that's a
good thing, but in fact it feeds the perception that we, the medical
marijuana people, are just trying to get around the law. And, when
people advocate in the same breath for this as herbal medicine while
talking about recreational use, it blurs the line.

To be clear, I very strongly support changing the marijuana laws in
our country, but I believe that is a very different battle than for
the medical use of marijuana, and when you blur that line it really
confuses things. This is especially important for legislators, law
enforcement, and others who are trying to understand what's going on.

When did you become convinced that the best way, perhaps the only way,
to push this through was to go directly to the voters?

STORMY: From 1991 to 1998, the legislature considered some version of
the measure, but never would pass it. Then some funds became available
making it possible to do the ballot initiative, and Oregonians were
able to unite. There are so many entities in Oregon that have
different concerns, issues and objectives concerning marijuana. We
were able to get most of those entities to become tolerant of each
other and to come together as a force--for a very short period of time.
And we got the law passed. But almost immediately after that the unity
was just shattered.

Why do you think the fragmentation happened between all the people and
groups who came together to pass this legislation through the
initiative process?

STORMY: Once it became law, everybody wanted it to be their way for
their own interests according to their own understanding--and it
couldn't be. It was law. It wasn't now to be utilized and manipulated
and altered to fit whoever wanted to use it however. You wouldn't
believe some of the stories that were told after the law passed about
what the law was. You could do this, you could do that, ... well, there
was no protection under any of those rumors from the law, and so, you
really saw the fragmentation occurring as each person moved closer to
their original intent.

JERRY: When the law passed in '98, it was very, very misunderstood. In
fact one of the first things that happened is that a patient went into
a pizza parlor and lit up a joint. And when the manager complained he
proclaimed that it was legal, it was his right to do it.

He had a card at the time?

STORMY: No, the card wasn't even into play.

JERRY: They hadn't even set up the registration ... and of course when
the police showed up, they didn't even know the law. This really
emphasized from the beginning that there was going to be a great need
for information to go out to people.

Unfortunately, the OMMP is a registry system, not an advocate for the
program. In fact, if you call up and ask them, "How do I talk to my
doctor, where do I get medicine now that I'm in the program, how do I
grow these plants," you know, anything about the program, it's "I'm
sorry, we can't answer your question on that issue." They can answer
the technical questions about the registration process, but that's it.
And so, patients were left out there, asking, "Who do we turn to?"

How does Oregon's Medical Marijuana law work?

JERRY: If you read the law it says patients are allowed to engage in
the use, growing and production of up to seven plants of marijuana,
and, if the patient needs help, a caregiver can assist in this. It
says the marijuana produced is for the exclusive benefit of the
patient. That's the way the law reads.

So, if you're a caregiver and you grow an extremely prolific garden
one year, and you have more than your patient needs . . .

JERRY: That almost always happens . . .

. . . then, by law, what do you do with the excess?

JERRY: Excess can be given for no consideration to other patients.
That's the only legal thing you can do with it.

STORMY: Excess can be given to other cardholders, it doesn't have to
be a patient, it can be a patient's caregiver. Or to any other
registered cardholder.

JERRY: That way, patients too sick to come and get it, they can send
their caregiver.

Marijuana has a long shelf life. Is there a way to set up a bank to
hold the excess?

JERRY: You're pointing to one of the problems with our law right now,
the numbers don't match reality. When you harvest a marijuana plant
grown indoors, you end up with about three to five ounces of
marijuana. Outdoors, the sky is the limit. I've heard of seven or
eight pounds off a plant. But, indoors, it's the height of the
ceiling, the amount of light you have, all the restraints of indoor
growing, about three to five ounces of marijuana. The law says we are
allowed to keep one ounce per mature plant. So, when a patient
harvests, instantly they've got more than the law says they're allowed
to have. And that's one of the things we're trying to get changed this
legislative session. Now, a lot of the groups are saying that they
need to increase the plant number and we don't really think that's
necessary, what the plants can grow can produce what the patients
need. Some police and politicians complain that advocates for medical
marijuana have simply created a Trojan horse for growing and
harvesting a vast amount of semi-legal marijuana. Much of this doesn't
go to a patient, they say, but instead is bought and sold and used
recreationally. What do you think?

STORMY: The first thing that law enforcement needs to understand is we
are not legalization. We are medical marijuana patients who need this
as an answer. We're not anti-establishment-- "We're right and you're
wrong." We're looking for this valuable medicine to be mainstreamed in
with the rest of our pharmaceutical drugs that we depend on for our
medical treatment. That includes all of the standardization, all of
the research, all of the information and education that could be made
available about this wonderful herb. Such information and education
would tear down the other walls of ignorance and misunderstanding.

But in practical terms, you've got police and DA's everywhere trying
to deal with situations ...

STORMY: And we're dealing with changing peoples' attitudes. When I
have to drive across the state to speak with a sheriff, to tell him
that he and his officers did something wrong, and explain to him how
his actions in not following through and calling OMMP first, but
taking a helicopter out there and flying over a patient's house, has
traumatized that patient--that they have no right to put that person
under such stress, because that patient has an Oregon Medical
Marijuana Card ... it's my responsibility to go out there and explain to
law enforcement the patient's perspective of what they're really doing
to them. And the officers get it when it's explained, and become some
of our best allies in protecting patients' rights to have access to
this medicine.

JERRY: Most of the times, if the police end up at somebody's house and
they go in and there's too many plants, the law officer will let the
patient choose which plants he wants to keep, destroy the rest, and
leave the patient with what he's allowed to have. That is, unless
there's just a flagrant case, if they go in and this guy has got fifty
plants growing, producing mass quantities, the officers know that this
is not being done for this patient's individual use. Most police
officers will say there has been very little abuse with this program.

Why do you think that the powers that be are so invested in keeping
marijuana as a Schedule One controlled substance?

STORMY: Some people like to control what other people do, and there's
a lack of knowledge on the part of the general public. But as medical
marijuana proceeds further, that lack of knowledge is being erased and
replaced, and that is starting to force attitudinal changes at higher
levels. Even though we may not have the law changed, the movement of
attitudes being changed is happening.

JERRY: Society's attitude about drugs is schizophrenic. It's, "Take a
pill, feel better, but we're against drugs." Coffee is a drug, alcohol
is a drug, cigarettes are a drug. Chocolate is even a kind of drug.
These things affect the way you feel and perform. Society needs to
lose this 'war on drugs' mentality and start concentrating on the
actual risks and benefits of all these substances. It is pathetic to
have marijuana listed as a more dangerous drug than methamphetamine.
Currently, there's no legitimate reason underpinning the laws that
classify some substances as legal and others as illegal.

If I may ask you a personal question, have you ever used marijuana
recreationally? Is there something about that medicinal/recreational
line that society has a valid reason to protect through law
enforcement?

STORMY: I think that your question has many facets. Yes, I have used
it recreationally, before the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act began. As
far as the legalization, I would draw the line between it and medical
marijuana. From my perspective here in this little office, medical
marijuana is as misunderstood by the people in the legalization
movement, who have been aware of this plant for twenty years or more,
as it is by law enforcement. We have a whole different way of handling
our medicine. We don't grow with pesticides. We don't grow it fast. We
don't grow just one strain, we want at least three if not five
different ones that affect different conditions that we will be
experiencing with our affliction. So we have to learn to grow
differently. We're not always digesting it, so we don't want harsh
chemicals. We don't want the first generation seed plants.

JERRY: Nevertheless, it's ironic that medical marijuana will probably
be what eventually ends up legalizing marijuana. When it comes to the
point where everybody has a brother, sister, parent or child--somebody
using marijuana--and the stigma and the misinformation is lifted,
eventually it will be legalized.

I look at it this way. I kind of consider all marijuana use medical.
If you're eating broccoli, you may be eating it because you enjoy it,
but it's still good for you. In modern society, what do they estimate,
about 60 to 70 percent of all illnesses today are stress related? And,
to be able to separate yourself from the day's problems and relax at
the end of the day . . . it may make you feel good--"recreational"--but
that too can be medicinal. There is a need for that separation.
Marijuana does that.

You appear to be making the case for those on the other side of the
issue who say, "See! It's not only for symptoms, it's for
self-medication against the day's stresses. This is a slippery slope
and we need to stop them."

JERRY: They may feel that way but that doesn't change the truth. I
really look forward to the day when our society is enlightened to the
point that it will allow grown people to legally choose this medicine
for themselves. Until then, under current Oregon law, there is a list
of seven conditions that allow for use, and, when you analyze them,
most disabled people will be able to fall into one or more of those
categories. Unfortunately, people with psychiatric conditions are
prevented from utilizing this medicine for conditions such as stress
or post-traumatic stress disorder. But I am certain that will be
addressed in the future, and there is a mechanism within our law that
would allow for new conditions to be added.

How would you characterize the demographics on this
issue?

STORMY: When we were working on measure 67, I would go out to
different civic organizations and do presentations about what it
meant. The one group that really got their ire up about me not being
able to have this medicine was the Red Cross Ladies. Now, these ladies
range from their mid-20's up to about 97, OK? They are heavy-duty
volunteers. Those little gals were ready to carry picket signs onto
the capital mall when they heard that I couldn't get a regular supply
of the medicine that meant so much to me. We also saw the grandmas and
the grandpas come out in force and say, "Enough is enough. You're not
putting any more patients in jail. You're not going to take and
destroy this family unit. You've already got my son, my cousin, my
brother in the system. NO MORE!" And it was that "NO MORE!" added to
it that carried us through. Failure was not an option.

JERRY: When you ask, "Who are the disabled in our community?," the
majority are probably forty, fifty-plus. Those are people who are most
consistently active on this issue. You really don't think about pain
medication until you're in pain or you know someone who is. It is
significant that AARP just did a survey, and it was 72 to 75 percent
of their membership thought that marijuana should be available for
medical purposes.

STORMY: The night of the election I was at the governor's watching the
vote count. A reporter came to me and he says, "You're behind. Are you
concerned?" "Not a bit," I said. "We don't have the absentee ballots
in yet, and when they come we will go ahead." And that's exactly what
happened. When the absentee ballots came in, we took the lead and
never looked back. It was the patients themselves that made this happen.

Give me an example of one thing that helps you find balance in this
work?

STORMY: Bob Marley's music would be one.

Interesting. His music is considered to be informed by the use of
marijuana. For him it was spiritual, artistic, liberating and a party.
What's your relationship with his music?

STORMY: It has helped me form a foundation of kindness, because that
is what the herb really represents. His music has a rhythm that
touches the inner person. You almost find yourself kind of wanting to
sway when you listen to the notes. It's not so much the words, it's
the rhythm, the beat, the kindness of the tonality of the composition.
And it also works really well when I'm in my standing frame and I need
to move, because it encourages movement.

Do you have a favorite song?

STORMY: "Ganja Man."

Finally, would you comment on your work from the point of view of
social activism and spiritual service?

STORMY: Social and spiritual work are separate commitments, and each
one surfaces at the moment that it's needed . . . .As for me, I am
exactly where I am supposed to be, doing exactly what I am supposed to
be doing. And, for God, I'm going to do that.