VOTE YES: THIS INITIATIVE FIXES PROBLEMS THAT DENY PEOPLE CARE

I was a chief petitioner of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, passed
by voters in 1998. The Medical Marijuana Act created a successful,
self-funding program. More than 10,000 patients have been qualified
for the program by more than 1,400 doctors. There is no question these
patients benefit from medical marijuana. And this successful health
program has not cost taxpayers a penny. In fact, the program has a
cash surplus of more than $1 million.

But, the act is not perfect. Our experience of six years reveals ways
to improve the law, and Measure 33 fixes problems that deny patients
real health-care choices.

The Oregon Medical Marijuana Act did not create a supply of medical
marijuana for all patients. Many are without marijuana because not
every patient can grow and maintain a garden. Some are too sick, while
others need marijuana immediately and can't wait for a garden to mature.

Measure 33 solves access problems by creating a supply of medical
marijuana through state-regulated and -inspected dispensaries. The
dispensaries would act like pharmacies to sell safe marijuana in a
safe environment, rather than forcing patients to deal with the
underground market. Measure 33 is particularly important to patients
needing marijuana immediately, such as those undergoing cancer
chemotherapy.

Measure 33 is not legalization. Only a patient qualified in writing by
his or her attending physician could register. After Measure 33, it
would remain a felony to sell marijuana to anyone not registered or
for anyone not registered to possess more than an ounce.

Measure 33 sets reasonable possession limits of 10 plants and 1 pound
of medical marijuana. The current law allows patients to possess up to
3 ounces. But patients use a wide dosage range of medical marijuana
that varies from fractions of an ounce to up to 2 ounces a week or
more. The current law often forces patients to either run out of
marijuana or break the law.

One pound of medical marijuana is a reasonable limit to prevent
legitimate patients from arrest when growing marijuana indoors under
artificial lights that allow multiple harvests each year. Measure 33
designates a 6-pound possession exemption exclusively for patients who
harvest only one crop a year from a more economical outdoor garden.

To harvest enough marijuana to last the entire year, patients would
have to provide additional registration information to the Department
of Human Services that they grow only one crop annually. This limit
was chosen because the federal government provides 6 pounds or more of
medical marijuana each year to select patients under the Compassionate
Investigational New Drug Program for Marijuana.

Sadly, this federal program no longer accepts new patients. These
patients highlight the federal government's hypocrisy in contending
that marijuana has no medical benefit while it continues to provide
medical marijuana to some patients in a closed program.

The responsible use of marijuana as medicine offers relief to many
suffering patients afflicted with debilitating conditions. Medically
supervised patients should not be arrested for using medical
marijuana, and these trials should not be clogging up our courts.

Measure 33 will actually help our criminal justice system by focusing
resources on serious crimes instead of patients trying to acquire
medical benefit. After Measure 33 passes, medical marijuana will be
available from regulated, licensed and inspected dispensaries.
Patients then will have a secure supply of safe marijuana, and the
illegal market supported by desperate patients will dry up.

Some opponents argue that loopholes in Measure 33 will help drug
dealers. It is nonsense to suggest underground dealers will seek the
cover of the regulated environment required by Measure 33. It would
provide far greater regulations than our current medical marijuana law
by requiring detailed financial accounting to the state and routine
dispensary inspections by the Department of Human Services. Measure 33
actually would encourage fewer and more heavily regulated gardens than
in our current system.

If you or a loved one were sick, wouldn't you want reliable access to
the medicine that helps? Medical marijuana should be available through
a safe, regulated system. Don't let the war on marijuana interfere
with choice in medical care. Vote yes on Measure 33.

Dr. Rick Bayer is a physician and co-author of "Is Marijuana the Right
Medicine for You? A Factual Guide to Medical Uses of Marijuana" and
has written for the peer-reviewed Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics. He
maintains a medical cannabis bibliography link at www.omma1998.org.
For more information, visit www.yeson33.org.