Pubdate: Wed, 13 Jun 2001
Source: Register-Guard, The (OR)
Copyright: 2001 The Register-Guard
Contact:  http://www.registerguard.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/362
Author: Tim Christie, The Register-Guard
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

STATE TIGHTENS MARIJUANA POLICIES

Last month, after discovering that three medical marijuana cards had been 
obtained with the forged signature of a physician, state officials decided 
to take a closer look at how Oregon's ground-breaking medical marijuana 
program was being managed.

They didn't like what they found.

The Health Division program wasn't following its own rules for verifying 
applications, had a huge backlog of applications, and no procedures were in 
place for rejecting incomplete applications.

As a result, state officials have instituted new procedures for issuing 
cards and reassigned, at least temporarily, the woman who has run the 
program since its inception two years ago.

Although the program has been understaffed, that's not an excuse for not 
following procedures, said Bob Mink, director of the state Department of 
Human Services.

"I want all the programs we administer to be well managed. These 
high-profile programs I want to be particularly well managed," he said 
Tuesday. "We have the procedures in place. All we have to do is follow our 
procedures."

The state found itself thrust into the medical marijuana business after 
voters approved a ballot measure in 1998 that permitted people with certain 
medical conditions to use marijuana with their doctor's approval.

The state Health Division was charged with making the new law work and 
established a registry of medical marijuana patients. After filling out an 
application, providing a copy of their medical chart or having their doctor 
sign a form, and paying a $150 annual fee, patients receive a laminated, 
wallet-sized card and are exempted from the state's marijuana laws. Several 
other states have since followed Oregon's model.

In one sense, the program has been very successful. The number of patients 
has grown at a rapid clip - about 2,200 patients are now in the registry - 
and relatively few problems have been reported between patients and law 
enforcement officials.

But problems surfaced in February when a staff member noticed that the 
handwriting of a doctor's signature on a patient's application did not 
match the doctor's on-file signature. The staff member called the doctor, 
who said he never signed a request for that patient.

After further investigation, two more cards were suspended and four other 
applications were rejected for the same reason. All seven forged the same 
doctor's signature.

The law requires Health Division staff to verify the signature of a doctor 
either with a phone call or a letter. But the doctor whose signature was 
forged had previously asked Health Division staff not to call for 
verification unless the signatures didn't match his previous ones. As a 
result, the staff stopped confirming the doctor's signature by phone.

The internal audit also found:

The program staff kept no written records of the verifications it did make.

The program received little oversight, had inadequate support staff, and 
few management controls.

The program regularly failed to meet its own 30-day deadline for processing 
applications, had no procedure for denying incomplete applications, and 
doesn't compare registrations against death records.

Registration materials didn't explain patients were required to report name 
and address changes.

New procedures have now been put in place. Staff will now verify all 
applications by mail and keep a written record of verifications. Management 
responsibilities will be established, formal reporting mechanisms will be 
set up and permanent support staff will be hired.

The new interim manager, Chris Campbell, hopes to catch up on the backlog 
of 780 applications in a month's time, Mink said.

Kelly Paige, who has managed the program since its inception in 1998, has 
been temporarily reassigned to another job in the Health Division, as is 
the practice during an internal management investigation.

She'll continue to work for the Health Division, Mink said, but he wouldn't 
say if she'll get her old job back.

As for the forged applications, Oregon State Police are investigating, but 
state officials would say little else about the case. Spokesmen for the 
state police and Department of Human Services declined to discuss the 
investigation or say where the forged signatures originated.

"It's confidential medical information," said Human Services spokesman Mac 
Prichard.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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