Pubdate: Sat, 17 Nov 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
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

MEDICAL MARIJUANA RULES GET HEARINGS

Temporary rules governing Oregon's medical marijuana law, put in place last 
summer after one doctor signed applications for more than 1,000 patients, 
are scheduled to become permanent in January.

Before that happens, state health officials are asking the public whether 
changes are needed to those rules.

Public hearings are scheduled in Eugene, Bend, Medford and Portland, and 
state officials will accept written comments as well.

State officials have circulated copies of the draft rules to 5,000 people, 
including doctors, patients, caregivers, legislators and law enforcers, 
said Mary Leverette, special projects manager for the medical marijuana 
program.

Last August, state officials said the rules were needed because of an 
unnamed doctor who signed for "a disproportionately large number of 
applicants."

They were referring to Dr. Phillip Leveque, a Molalla osteopath who has 
become the doctor to see for hundreds of patients who can't get their 
regular doctors to sign for them.

It's not known precisely how many patients Leveque has signed for to date. 
He declined to comment for this story. But in late August, state officials 
said they had 800 pending medical marijuana applications signed by Leveque, 
in addition to the 935 applications he'd signed as of Aug. 8. Medical 
marijuana cards expire after one year, so it's likely some pending 
applications are for patients seeking renewals.

The temporary rules require a physician who signs a statement for a medical 
marijuana applicant to have an established doctor-patient relationship with 
the patient and meet one of four criteria: The physician must be primarily 
responsible for the care and treatment of the patient; must be primarily 
responsible for providing specialty care; has been asked to consult and 
treat the patient by the patient's primary care physician; or has reviewed 
the patient's medical records, conducted a physical examination, provided 
or planned follow-up care, and documented those activities in the patient's 
record.

Much of the criticism leveled at the rules last summer by doctors and 
patient advocacy groups has waned.

The Oregon Medical Association was concerned about a provision that would 
have authorized state officials to examine the original patient medical 
file, or require a physician to provide a copy of the file, to confirm the 
doctor-patient relationship.

The state since clarified that rule so patients would be asked to sign a 
waiver authorizing the release of their medical records. If a patient 
declines to sign a waiver, the application may be denied.

That change satisfies the Oregon Medical Association's concerns, said Jim 
Kronenberg, the group's associate executive director.

"The bottom line is Oregon physicians, by statute, have a duty to maintain 
confidentiality in relationships with patients, and that extends to medical 
records," he said.

"If someone wants to review a patient's records, that has to be done with 
the written permission of the patient. The new version (of the rules) does 
that," Kronenberg said.

Todd Dalotto of the Compassion Center, a Eugene medical marijuana advocacy 
group, said the current draft of the rules "is a lot more palatable" than 
what was originally proposed.

But he said he remains concerned that state officials are spending so much 
time and energy scrutinizing doctor-patient relationships while ignoring 
other problems in the medical marijuana program.

"I think they should place more energy into making changes that are clear 
and present issues for patients and their safety," he said.

For example, the state no longer provides applicants with a list of 
patient-advocacy groups, he said. That leaves patients with no place to 
turn for help in obtaining or growing medical marijuana.

Medical Marijuana Rules

The state Department of Human Services is conducting public hearings around 
Oregon on new rules for the state's medical marijuana program.

A copy of the draft rules can be found on the Internet at 
www.ohd.hr.state.or.us"oaps"mm"oarhear.htm.

A Eugene hearing is at 10 a.m. on Dec. 6, City Council chambers, City Hall, 
777 Pearl St.

Written comments may be sent to: Department of Human Services, Oregon 
Medical Marijuana Program, P.O. Box 14450, Portland, OR 97293-9923.

The Compassion Center, a Eugene patient advocacy group, will help people 
prepare spoken or written comments. Phone 484-6558.
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MAP posted-by: Beth