ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

Alternative Medicine May Not Be So Alternative After All.

When the Alternative Medicine Outreach Program opened in Roseburg three
years ago, it was primarily as an avenue to obtain a prescription for
medical cannabis.

Cannabis, more commonly called marijuana, can be prescribed for therapeutic
benefit in Oregon in cigarette form or as cannaboid pills. The clinic,
located at 455 Corey Court in Roseburg, has since grown and serves hundreds
of patients from as far away as Brookings and Coos Bay.

Donna Eide, the founder and owner of the clinic, said its concept was born
out of her own medical struggles. She suffers from interstitial cystitis
and degenerative disc disease. She underwent surgery and was prescribed
several narcotics to handle her chronic pain.

"I didn't want to take them," she said of the drugs. "And I was surprised
by their lack of caring."

Her physical problems began when she was in her late 20s. She suffered from
severe cramping and found it difficult to work in her shipping and
receiving job.

"You can't be all drugged up and be productive," she said. "So I tried
cannabis, and it cut down my drug (prescription narcotic) use by 95 percent."

She no longer relied on Oxycodone and methadone just to function. Her
weight had fallen to 90 pounds, but with improved appetite resulting from
using marijuana, she has gained 25 pounds.

She decided to gather local like-minded medical practitioners together, and
created the nonprofit clinic. It offers free nutrition classes, cannabis
support groups, acupuncture, counseling, and in the future may offer
chiropractic services and massage therapy. It wasn't marijuana alone that
changed Eide's life. With the assistance of holistic nutritionist Tammara
Karr, Eide has maintained a healthy diet and gained weight.

"We're looking at the whole body, not just the symptoms," Karr said. She
takes offense at people who characterize her work as that of "a holistic
witch doctor or pagan herb peddler."

What she does is serious business, she said. Karr has been a nutrition
counselor for 10 years. While pursuing her doctorate, she found she needed
clinical experience and came on board with AMOP.

"These patients are so angered at what they've been through," she said.
"They've been disillusioned by the medical field. A lot are on the Oregon
Health Plan, or they're veterans. What we do works in symphony with
mainstream medicine."

The linchpin of the clinic's unique approach to treating patients rests on
the philosophies of Dr. Larry Bogart, a geriatric neuropsychiatrist and the
clinic's chief of staff. Bogart started his career in general medicine
about 40 years ago in Africa. When he returned to America, he worked at a
Veterans Affairs hospital before spending three years employed by
Kentucky's state penitentiary. Most recently, he worked at the Roseburg VA
Medical Center before coming to AMOP.

"Each day, I start with a prayer that I treat the patient as I would want
to be treated," he said. "I put my personal life out of my mind. I get a
sense of what I believe I'm working with by talking to the patient. The
patient is the expert about their condition, not me."

Bogart prescribes medical marijuana to cancer patients and individuals
suffering from chronic pain. He is one of few, if not the only local
physician to do so. He understands some others practicing medicine disagree
with his methods.

"There are people who would say I'm a quack," he said. "But I put the
patient's needs before anything else. I'm not worried about having to watch
my tail. These people are getting relief from pain, they're not getting
high. When they take cannabis they don't want to be high, they just want to
not hurt."

Though not all AMOP patients use medical marijuana, most are pleased with
the results of their alternative treatments.

Ellen Kellum is a psychiatric nurse at the VA. She began visiting the
clinic when she ran out of options using conventional methods. She had
undergone gastric bypass surgery, and although she lost weight, she was not
prepared for the psychological ramifications of the procedure. She spends
time with Bogart, whom she knew at the VA, and said treatment has given her
a new lease on life.

"The doctor really takes time to talk with you," she said. "I go to an
osteopathic doctor to see me through my medical ups and downs, but I come
to Dr. Bogart for depression. It's not only the physical differences
(following the gastric bypass), but every part of your body and mind is out
of whack. It's hard to deal with it alone."

Adele Osborne is just beginning to see the clouds lift after seeking help
at the clinic through electro-acupuncture from Paul Robbins. She calls the
treatment her "salvation from depression."

Since 1995, she has been taking several antipsychotic drugs -- one that
costs $500 a pill -- to deal with paranoia and disassociative
personalities. At times, the symptoms were so severe she was afraid to go out.

"Every time (you are prescribed a new drug) you lose another week of your
life. They send you to hell or they send you to heaven," she said. "Now I
can make decisions. I can follow through. I feel alive."

Karr said unlike other clinics, AMOP doesn't limit the amount of time a
patient can spend discussing their problems. The goal, she said, is to
provide the best treatment to as many people as possible.