MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROVIDES OREGON WITH BADLY NEEDED CASH

SALEM, Ore. -- Oregon lawmakers have discovered an unexpected source of
revenue -- medical marijuana.

When Oregon began its medical marijuana program six years ago, officials
didn't expect it to grow so fast. Now, there are more than 10,400
registered patients who have produced a surplus of $1.1 million.

Hungry to balance Oregon's lopsided budget, House legislators voted 49-10
last week to siphon $900,000 of that money to pay for other Human Services'
needs. The bill now moves to the Senate.

Barry Kast, the agency's assistant director for health services, said the
department was left with no choice after "three years of cuts, cuts, cuts."

But backers of medical marijuana say that the surplus should be poured back
into the program, not Human Services.

"If any of this money came from the general fund, I'd agree that some of it
should be transferred back. But the medical marijuana program never cost
the taxpayer a dime," said Dr. Rick Bayer, a physician who was the chief
petitioner of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, which passed in 1998.