MARIJUANA PROGRAM HAS BEEN A SUCCESS

I was the first patient in Oregon to receive a permit to legally use
medical marijuana under the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, passed in 1998 by
a margin of more than 100,000 votes.

I have multiple sclerosis and use medical marijuana to control the muscle
spasms common with the disease. Medical marijuana has far fewer and less
severe side effects than the more powerful narcotics I had relied on. The
marijuana act was a compassionate step taken by Oregon voters, and let me
thank everyone publicly for the courageous step you took in 1998 in the
face of opposition from the federal government.

Many of my 10,000 fellow patients do not have the luxury of a caregiver. It
is for their sake that I ask you to support Measure 33.

Measure 33 would allow state-regulated, nonprofit dispensaries where
patients could legally get their medication. This is not just
compassionate, but logical. This is not legalization.

The dispensaries, which would be reviewed and inspected by the Oregon
Department of Human Services, would provide access to medication only for
patients with a legitimate registry card.

Voters in Oregon have overwhelmingly agreed that these patients should not
be sent to prison for following their doctors' recommendations. Providing
safe and legal access to medication is simply the right thing to do.

Please vote "yes" on Measure 33.

Jeanelle Bluhm

Southeast Portland