Pubdate: Wed, 07 Mar 2001
Source: Register-Guard, The (OR)
Copyright: 2001 The Register-Guard
Contact:  PO Box 10188, Eugene, OR 97440-2188
Fax: (541) 338-2828
Website: http://www.registerguard.com/
Author: Tim Christie, The Register-Guard

PROPOSAL EXPANDS POT LAW'S LATITUDE

Medical marijuana patients could grow more plants, possess larger 
quantities of cannabis and use the drug to treat "any medical condition" if 
their doctor, naturopath or nurse-practitioner thought it would help, under 
a bill introduced by a Portland legislator.

The legislation merely makes minor changes to Oregon's ground-breaking 
medical marijuana act so it works more smoothly for patients and law 
enforcement, said its prime sponsor, Rep. Jo Ann Bowman, D-Portland.

"This bill is a minor tweaking bill," she said.

Law enforcement officials aren't so sure.

Lobbyists for prosecutors, police chiefs and sheriffs were largely 
noncommittal until they had a chance to read the bill, but one vocal critic 
of the law was skeptical.

"I would suspect that law enforcement would have huge concerns with this 
measure," Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Noelle said.

Voters approved the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act in 1998. The law permits 
patients suffering from specific ailments and symptoms to grow and use 
marijuana, provided that their doctor signs a chart note or a form provided 
by the state Health Division.

Patients who are unable to or don't want to grow their own plants may 
designate a caregiver to grow for them. Approved patients and caregivers 
are issued a card by the state Health Division, which must be renewed 
annually. More than 1,600 patients have received cards to date.

The proposed changes included in Bowman's legislation, House Bill 3919, are 
based on a series of round-table meetings conducted last fall by the Stormy 
Ray Foundation, a patient advocacy group, said Lee Berger, a Portland attorney.

As drafted, Bowman's bill would:

Allow naturopaths and nurse-practitioners to attest that their patients 
could benefit from the use or marijuana. Existing law permits only medical 
doctors and osteopaths to sign for their patients. Naturopaths and 
nurse-practitioners are permitted to prescribe drugs under current law.

Allow patients to use marijuana for "any medical condition," so long as 
their health care provider believed it could help. Current law permits 
marijuana use for a few specific illnesses and symptoms, including cancer, 
glaucoma, HIV and AIDS, pain, nausea, seizures and muscle spasms.

Increase the number of plants that card-holders or their designated 
caregivers could grow, from three mature plants and four immature plants, 
to five mature and five immature plants. It also would increase the amount 
of marijuana that a grower could possess, from 3 ounces to 10 ounces.

Permit up to three medical marijuana card-holders to possess up to 10 
plants each, plus one ounce of usable marijuana for each plant, at one 
location. That means three card-holders could grow 30 plants and possess 30 
ounces of dried marijuana - nearly two pounds - in one location. The bill 
would fix what advocates and patients have said is one of the law's biggest 
failings: the difficulty in obtaining a steady, reliable supply of 
marijuana. The current plant limitation, for instance, permits little 
margin for error if a plant dies.

Bowman said she doesn't expect any major opposition to her bill, since it 
just makes "common sense tweaks" to existing law.

Rep. Vicki Walker, D-Eugene, serves on the House Judiciary Committee, where 
Bowman's bill is expected to be assigned. She agreed that the suggested 
changes amounted to common sense ways to make the law work better.

"Not a lot of states have done this, and it's clear we're going to have 
some kinks to work out in how the law is administered and how people get 
the care they need," she said.

Marion County District Attorney Dale Penn attended some of the round-table 
meetings but said he hasn't yet seen Bowman's bill and doesn't know what 
position law enforcement would take.

"Our main concern is we don't want to see medical marijuana misused by 
commercial dealers and illegal marijuana enterprises," he said. "We don't 
want a process that can be used as a shield by illegal marijuana growers."

Noelle, the Multnomah County sheriff, was a vocal critic of the original 
ballot initiative and is deeply skeptical of Bowman's bill, particularly 
the language that allows patients to receive a card to use marijuana for 
"any medical condition."

"That could be male pattern baldness," he said.

He's also concerned about increasing the number of plants that could be 
grown by or on behalf of patients.

"Thirty plants is a big grow," he said.

Bowman introduced another bill, called a "joint memorial," that would urge 
Congress to reclassify marijuana from its status as a drug with no medical 
benefits to one that could be prescribed.

A similar bill died in the House in 1998.

Bowman said she declined to introduce another bill that the Stormy Ray 
group suggested that would have directed the state Health Division to 
establish and regulate medical marijuana "dispensaries," where cardholders 
could go to buy marijuana.

She thought it would be too controversial.

"It would cloud everything else we were trying to do," she said.

Voter Power, a Portland group that advocates for medical marijuana 
patients, plans to file an initiative in 2002 to establish the 
dispensaries, said attorney Berger, who advises Voter Power.
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