Pubdate: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 Source: Mail Tribune, The (Medford, OR) Copyright: 2009 The Mail Tribune Contact: http://www.mailtribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/642 Note: Only prints LTEs from within it's circulation area Author: John Sajo Note: John Sajo of Portland is executive director of the Voter Power Foundation, which supports the use of medical marijuana. Referenced: The editorial http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n000/a188.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis - Medicinal - United States) INITIATIVE WILL IMPROVE MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW Your Oct. 16 editorial, "Medical marijuana law needs attention," correctly identifies that we need to fine-tune Oregon's medical marijuana law. But calling for the Legislature to improve the law won't make it happen. Instead we need to pass a new medical marijuana initiative. The medical marijuana program is going through some growing pains. It is growing rapidly because marijuana is a relatively safe, effective medicine that relieves pain, nausea and many other symptoms. Over 28,000 Oregon patients have been qualified by over 3,000 doctors. The debate over whether marijuana is medicine is over. It is high time to have a regulated system providing the medical marijuana to those patients in a safe convenient way that doesn't cause other problems. The original Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, passed by voters in 1998, did not create a supply system for medical marijuana. Federal law made that nearly impossible, until now. The current law requires patients to have their own gardens. This works for some, but for most patients, producing their own medicine is a big headache. Many patients just can't grow or find someone to do it for them. They either go without or buy marijuana on the black market. Under the current law, it is a felony to sell marijuana to anyone, even a qualified patient. That has made life difficult for patients and their caregivers. Imagine what it would be like if we all had to produce our own aspirin instead of buying it. For years, every time lawmakers have considered improving the supply system they have concluded that federal laws prohibiting marijuana sales make it impossible. But on Oct. 19, the Obama administration announced it won't interfere with state medical marijuana laws. This opens the door for Oregon to actually create a regulated medical marijuana supply system that will work. A new medical marijuana initiative will do just that. Initiative 28 will create a controlled system of licensed producers and dispensaries. Dispensaries will have to be Oregon nonprofits, pay a $2,000 license fee and pay a 10 percent tax on gross sales. They also will have to follow Department of Human Services regulations regarding record keeping, security, zoning and other issues. Producers will have to pay a $1,000 license fee and pay the 10 percent tax. Any registered patient will be able to shop at any dispensary and dispensaries will be able to purchase their supplies from any licensed producer. All producers and dispensary employees will have to pass criminal background checks. All activities will be subject to health department regulation and inspections. This system will be better for everyone. Patients who don't want a marijuana garden, but just want the medicine will be able to get it. And instead of the unknown product they get now, medical marijuana can be quality controlled and labeled for strength. There is more than one active ingredient in marijuana and doctors will be able to fine-tune the formulations their patients use. Initiative 28 strikes the right balance between regulation and freedom. The bills the Legislature considered were all unworkable. One bill considered having one farm with a monopoly on all production, possibly at the Oregon State Penitentiary. Besides ignoring that competition is a good thing, this bill would have recriminalized the thousands of legitimate medical marijuana growers. We already know that prohibiting marijuana will never work -- what we need is appropriate, effective regulation. Initiative 28 also calls for a DHS-regulated program to assist low-income patients and allows DHS to conduct scientific research into medical marijuana. Much recent evidence points to new medical uses for marijuana, but these are not well understood and deserve much more careful scientific study. Depending on how many patients qualify in the future and how much they spend on medical marijuana, this new system actually will raise millions of dollars for other health programs. Our estimates are $10 million to $40 million the first year. California dispensaries already are paying hundreds of millions of dollars in sales taxes. Instead of treating medical marijuana as a problem, we can turn it into a solution. Medical marijuana is here to stay. It can be a godsend for patients suffering from severe chronic pain whose alternatives are more dangerous pharmaceutical painkillers. If the patient is you or a loved one, don't you want the choice to have available whatever medicine works best for you? The time is right for Oregon to take the lead in showing that appropriate regulation will make medical marijuana a win-win situation. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake