DOCTOR SEES PRESCRIBING MARIJUANA TO THOSE IN PAIN AS HIS MORAL DUTY

The physician who made headlines for writing half of Oregon's medical
marijuana prescriptions came to Medford Monday to see new patients.

About 20 sick people and medical-marijuana activists converged on Medford's
South Comfort Inn to visit Dr. Phillip Leveque, the Willamette Valley
osteopath who signed more than 1,700 of Oregon's 3,500 prescriptions for
cannabis.

"This is my moral obligation as a physician," said Leveque, 79, during a
break between patients. "If I can help somebody, I will. That's why I'm a
physician."

Leveque started seeing patients on the road soon after Oregon's
voter-approved medical marijuana initiative became law in May 1999. He
began visiting patients in Medford and other rural small towns when he
realized that many people who qualified for medical marijuana couldn't find
a local physician who would sign their application.

"That's not what the doctors are supposed to be doing," he said.

Leveque noted that Oregon's medical marijuana law specifically forbids any
disciplinary measures or fines against doctors who approve a medical
marijuana request, but many doctors still seem reluctant to do it. Fewer
than one in 10 of Oregon's 8,300 physicians have authorized a patient to
use marijuana. Of the roughly 780 doctors who have, only about 270 have
signed for more than one patient.

The law allows patients who have one of nine conditions (such as multiple
sclerosis, HIV, severe pain, frequent nausea or seizures) to possess
marijuana and use it as medicine if they have obtained a physician's
approval. Doctors must evaluate a patient's condition and sign a form
before Oregon Health Services will issue a card.

For two years, Leveque traveled quietly across Oregon, visiting patients
and signing marijuana applications for people who met the legal criteria.
He started speaking out publicly about problems with the medical marijuana
law last year, after his identity was revealed and the Oregon Board of
Medical Examiners began an inquiry into his marijuana-card activities.

The medical board has charged Leveque with unprofessional conduct and
notified him that his license to practice medicine could be revoked or
suspended. He's also been ordered to undergo medical and psychological
exams to determine his competence to practice medicine.

Leveque said he has signed at least 100 applications for Jackson County
residents. "Most of them are quite ill, or disabled, or destitute, or
living on Social Security disability," he said.

One of his patients, a 29-year-old Medford man who has had diabetes since
age 10, said medical marijuana has reduced his dependence on prescription
drugs.

"Marijuana took me off six different pills," said the man, who asked that
his name not be used to protect his wife and two children from harassment.

Leveque adamantly denied that he would sign an application for anybody who
wanted one. He once threw a man out of his office who tried to get pot for
his fractured finger.

"We get some flakes," he said. "We get the athlete's-foot and dandruff guys
(who want a marijuana card)."

He doesn't charge for a consultation but people often give him money. He
said contributions will help him pay some of the $11,000 in legal fees he's
incurred since the state board of medical examiners began looking into his
practice.

Leveque said he wants to help people in pain because he knows how they
feel. Prostate surgery and a spinal cord injury have left him in frequent
pain. "My feet are on fire all the time. I have some empathy for these poor
sick folks. I'm inclined to believe them"
Leveque said people who think he has abused Oregon's medical-marijuana law
miss the real issue.

"The story is not crazy Leveque," he said. "The story is my 1,800 patients
and nobody will help them. That's why I'm doing it. This whole system is
insane."

Dr. Leveque will see patients again today. To contact him, call 890-0100.

SIDEBAR

MARIJUANA LAW MAY BE VOTED ON IN NOVEMBER IF INITIATIVE GETS ON BALLOT

Voters may get a chance to amend Oregon's medical-marijuana law in November.

Voter Power, the group that organized the original medical-marijuana initiative, has filed a new measure that would allow naturopaths and nurse practitioners to authorize patients to use marijuana as medicine.

The initiative would also create supervised sites where patients could buy marijuana, and allow qualified patients to acquire as much as 6 pounds per year. The law presently allows patients to grow marijuana plants, but there is no legal way for patients to buy it.

A 10-day comment period on Initiative 180 ends March 11.

Initiative supporters will need to gather signatures from 66,786 registered voters before July 5 to put the measure on the Nov. 5 ballot.