HIGH TIME FOR MARIJUANA

Court Decisions May Have Emboldened Patients and Doctors

After five years on the books, Oregon's ground-breaking medical
marijuana law is experiencing a boom. A recent round of favorable
federal court rulings appears to have prompted more ailing Oregonians
to seek state-issued cards allowing them to smoke, grow and possess
marijuana and at the same time emboldened more doctors to endorse the
practice. "It's all adding up to just a tremendous amount of growth in
the program," said John Sajo, director of Voter Power, a
Portland-based medical marijuana advocacy group.

From Oct. 20 to Jan. 2, the number of people holding the cards jumped
from 6,040 to 7,584, a 25 percent increase, state records show.

Sajo said that figure may be low because of a backlog of applicants in
the thousands.

Since February 2003, the number of cardholders has increased by
two-thirds.

Lane County ranks second in the state with 763 cardholders, trailing
only Multnomah County, home to 1,043 cardholders.

Another 4,601 Oregonians have registered as caregivers, which means
they have some responsibility for a patient's well-being, including
growing marijuana for them.

Oregon's law, passed by voters in 1998 and enacted in 1999, allows
people with a specified illness to use and grow small amounts of
marijuana without fear of prosecution as long as a doctor says it
might help their condition. Qualified patients pay an annual $150 fee
to the state - $50 for people on disability or the Oregon Health Plan.

As the number of patients has increased in Oregon, the number of
doctors authorizing cards has increased as well, though not as
dramatically. Since October, the number of doctors in the program has
risen 5 percent, from 1,223 to 1,280.

At least five doctors have each signed more than 100 registry
applications, said Mary Leverette, acting manager of the Oregon
Medical Marijuana Program.

Recent court rulings appear to have made more doctors willing to sign
applications, at least based on the number of phone calls to the
Oregon Medical Association, said Jim Kronenberg, the group's associate
executive director.

Nine states have passed laws permitting people to use marijuana for
medical purposes. The state laws conflict with federal statutes, which
classify marijuana as an illegal drug with no legitimate medical purpose.

A slew of court cases has pitted federal authorities against medical
marijuana advocates, and in recent rulings, federal judges are siding
with the states.

In October, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals ruling that federal drug agents couldn't punish doctors for
recommending medical marijuana to their ill patients. The appeals
court ruled that the federal government had no authority to interfere
with the right of physicians to speak candidly with their patients.

Last month, a 9th Circuit panel ruled that it was unconstitutional for
federal drug agents to prosecute medical marijuana patients in states
with laws that allow the practice. The case is expected to be appealed
to the Supreme Court.

More cases in the federal court system are expected to be decided this
year.

Even before the court rulings, one Oregon doctor stood out for his
willingness to recommend medical marijuana: Dr. Phillip Leveque, an
80-year-old semiretired osteopath from Molalla.

Leveque first made a name for himself in 2001 as the state's leading
endorser of medical marijuana, signing about 40 percent of
applications. That distinction sparked an investigation by the state
Board of Medical Examiners, which ultimately fined Leveque and
suspended his medical licenses for 90 days.

Investigators said he sometimes signed applications without examining
the patient, failed to maintain medical records and otherwise failed
to meet the state's standard of care.

Since serving his punishment, Leveque hasn't missed a beat. He works
with Voter Power as a kind of Interstate 5 circuit doctor, conducting
clinics a couple of times a week in Portland and about once a month in
Eugene, Roseburg, Grants Pass, Medford and Ashland.

Between 20 and 40 patients show up for each clinic, drawn by word of
mouth and advertisements in alternative newspapers. One such ad
features a smiling photograph of Leveque with the headlines, "Dr.
Leveque says, 'Cannabis gives the best relief' " and "The doctor is
in!"

Leveque and Voter Power staff members were in Eugene this week,
renting out two banquet rooms at the Red Lion Inn, where patients
could come to fill out applications and get a physical exam by a
nurse-practitioner. The final step was a consultation with Leveque,
who reviewed their medical records, asked about their medical
condition, then signed their applications if they checked out.

Leveque said he's now a stickler for following the letter of the law,
making sure patients bring their medical records and that they've been
diagnosed by a third-party physician with one of the qualifying
conditions. The conditions are: agitation related to Alzheimer's
disease; cachexia, or wasting syndrome; cancer; glaucoma; HIV and
AIDS; nausea; pain; seizures; and muscle spasms.

Leveque estimates that he has signed 4,000 applications. He said 99
percent of the patients he sees have been using marijuana to treat
their medical condition before they ever seek a medical marijuana card.

"They decide they better get legal," he said.

Don Gilman, a 33-year-old coffee shop worker from Eugene, showed up at
the Eugene clinic to get an exam and get his application signed by
Leveque. He suffers from fibromyalgia, a chronic pain syndrome, and
has been using marijuana to ease his discomfort.

"The thing I find is, it doesn't make the pain go away, but it makes
it easier to deal with," he said. "It gives you a barrier between the
pain and your life."