OREGON AGAIN ISSUING CANNABIS CARDS

Myers Warns That Medical-Marijuana Program Isn't Shield

Oregon's state health agency resumed issuing medical-marijuana cards
Friday, deciding that the program could continue despite a U.S. Supreme
Court ruling allowing federal prosecution for possessing the drug.

State Attorney General Hardy Myers said that the ruling did not overturn
Oregon's voter-passed program.

Still, his written opinion also warned that registration in the state
program won't protect patients or caregivers from federal prosecution for
drug possession if the federal government chooses to take action against them.

Madeline Martinez, Oregon director of the National Organization to Reform
Marijuana Laws, called Myers' opinion a "no-brainer."

The Human Services Department stopped sending out the cards, but continued
processing applications, after the Supreme Court held last week that
federal authorities can prosecute marijuana possession under federal drug
laws, even in states such as Oregon, where medical use of the drug is legal.

The department was awaiting a review of the court ruling by Myers. The
agency on Friday began mailing about 550 registration cards that had been
held up, said Grant Higginson, a department administrator.

More than 10,000 patients have registered for the state's medical-marijuana
program, one of 11 in the nation.