Oct Nov 2010 Page 6 to 10

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Oregon News Nugs Sheriffs Waste More Money on Handgun Case Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters is appealing the recent Oregon Court of Appeals ruling which protects the rights of concealed handgun permit holders that also happen to be registered with OMMP. Washington County Sheriff Rob Gordon is also joining the appeal. He was also involved in the original case. Both Sheriffs had denied concealed weapons permits to OMMP patients, citing Federal law as their reason. The court found they cannot deny a concealed handgun license to a medical marijuana cardholder.

By appealing the decision, he is essentially wasting taxpayer's money.

According to the Medford Mail Tribune, it may cost over $20,000 in legal fees alone.

Why are they using their public office to harass OMMP patients? Do they really think someone that is stoned is more likely to use a gun than someone who is drunk? Spend the money on DUII enforcement and it will be better spent.

Former MPP Backer Donates to M74 Campaign Peter Lewis, Chairman of Progressive Auto Insurance, and former backer of Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), donated over $12,000 to the Measure 74 campaign in August, just in time to get the campaign rolling. Its not the first time he has been involved in Oregon marijuana

Oregon News policy. He was one of the major backers of the 1998 ballot measure that brought medical marijuana to Oregon. Lewis had backed MPP for years (some say as much as $40 million or more), but had a falling out with the organization earlier this year.

Inheriting the Progressive Auto Insurance company in 1955, Lewis turned it into a mega-company and has used his money liberally to further his causes. Hoover's Handbook of American Business describes Lewis as a "functioning pot-head”. In 2000 he was arrested in New Zealand for marijuana possession, and explained through his attorney that he had a doctors recommendation for the marijuana due to pain in his amputated leg.

Oregon Medical Cannabis Research Act Todd Dalotto is back in our movement, and he comes armed with a powerful objective. He wants to introduce the Oregon Medical Cannabis Research Act to the Oregon legislature in 2011. The founder and former Executive Director of the Compassion Center in Eugene, Dalotto spent the past few years getting his degree in Horticulture from Oregon State, and also raising his kids. He is now lobbying to get a vital piece of legislatio n enacted that will provide a legal avenue for comprehensive research on medical cannabis.

Considering the potential of the plant as a medicine, and the M74 initiative being decided in November, it seems like an opportune time to get this done. Dalotto has enlisted the help of a wide array of industry experts, leaders, lawyers, and scientists to help him develop the most acceptable and feasible law as possible.

Providing a functional, acceptable bill, is the key to winning over the legislature.

C a n n a bi s C o n n e c t i o n

Maybe it can be an initiative if the law makers in Salem can't get it done.

Medical Marijuana Already Being Legally Sold in Oregon A number of collectives and cooperatives have begun opening across Oregon which sell marijuana to OMMP patients, they say legally. From Portland to the Coast, and down in Southern Oregon, these pseudo-dispensaries are providing a service that is needed, but not particularly legal in the eyes of many law enforcement officers.

Although the OMMA doesn't allow specifically for dispensaries, it does allow a grower to be reimbursed for the costs of production in almost every way, except for their labor. This can include soil, electricity, water, fertilizer, and more.

But many read the law and indicate that only those patients assigned to that grower are allowed to reimburse them for their costs, no one else. They also say that they can only have enough for their patients, no more, so the collectives should not have anything to sell.

Sarah Bennett of the newly opened Human Collective in Tigard indicated to The Oregonian in August that “it gives growers a safe outlet if their plants produce more medicine than their patients require”. That does seem to contradict the law, but they are providing a more secure way of obtaining medicine for many patients who do not grow their own, and also do not want to buy on the black market. As Bennett told the Oregonian, “They don't want to be criminals”. She also added, this way "It's staying within the hands of those who are authorized to have access to it."

New OMMP Addiction Recovery Group OMMP Cardholders In Recovery is providing informal group meetings for medical marijuana patients that is open to all addicts or alcoholics in recovery. They have adopted a 12 step program unique to OMMP patients using the twelve traditions of AA. The person who runs the meeting each time is called a

We Need Distributors!

D o y o u h a v e a l o c a t i o n t h a t c a n d i s t ri b u t e a t l e a s t 2 5 c o p i e s o f t h e OC C a m o n t h ?

A l l c o p i e s a r e f r e e ! C a l l (5 4 1 ) 6 2 1 -1 7 2 3 f o r m o re i n f o rm a t i o n .

chairperson and they lead the meeting which is run just like an AA or NA meeting. There is no addiction specialist and anyone who is a valid OMMP cardholder, alcoholic or addict may attend. Meetings are Wednesdays from 4:30 to 5:30PM at 10209 S.E. Division, Bldg B., Portland. Call (503) 206-1441 for more information.

SOMMER Eradicating Illegal Grows in Southern Oregon The Southern Oregon Multi-Agency Marijuana Eradication and Reclamation team, or SOMMER, have been busy this year in Josephine County. On September 13th officers pulled an additional 10,615 plants from a remote area near Eight Dollar Mountain southwest of Selma. That brings the total eradication this year to 100,000 plants in Josephine County alone.

SOMMER reported that in 2007 117,000 plants were removed from a seven county area, most of which were removed from Jackson County, just to the east.

Just a few weeks earlier, on August 24th,

SOMMER raided a 5 acre garden on hills burned in the 2002 Biscuit Fire. Over 40,000 plants were removed from the area in late August. The increase in growing is apparently due to Mexican drug cartels largely on federal lands. Investigators believe the money that is generated by trafficking is then used to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine in Oregon.

The Federal funds they received, over $400,000, has helped to eradicate a lot of marijuana, but that doesn't seem like a wise way to spend tax dollars when we have many more pressing issues. I can think of dozens of more productive ways to use that money, including our schools, homeless, and jobs for other than law enforcement. I just hope SOMMER sticks to the large illegal grows, and doesn't start harassing OMMP growers and patients. Unfortunately, thats not likely.

C a n n a bi s C o n n e c t i o n

"Just Say Now" Cont. from Page 4 Rounding out the night was a NORML fundraiser party featuring Latin rap group Los Marijuanos and country rock singer Chief Greenbud.

Saturday was medical only day with numerous panels of professors, doctors, and legal counsel discussing the science of marijuana, the legality of medical marijuana, and the future of medical marijuana distribution.

After not being able to attend Friday, New Mexico’s Former Governor Gary Johnson was the first to speak.

Gov. Johnson discussed his party platform and some of his stances on Former N.M. Governor Gary Johnson arrived late current issues, and spoke on Saturday including immigration reform, environmentally responsible energy alternatives, deficit reduction, a free market approach to the health care industry, privatization of schools, and national defense.

In relation to marijuana, Gov. Johnson believes in harm reduction strategies to lower death, disease, crime, and corruption, and said the current war on drugs is a failure. “Prohibition didn’t work in the 1920’s and it doesn’t work now”.

Unfortunately, more time could have been spent on the subject at hand, and not the subjects on his mind.

Before panels started, Dustin Sulak, MD

Oregon News

Page 7

spoke on the clinical applications and physiology of medical marijuana, and shows how marijuana works with our body and its internal systems. He shows that a much wider range of uses for medical marijuana exist than currently is recognized by some.

Policy for Drug Policy Alliance explained the state regulated dispensary models of Rhode Island, Maine, and New Jersey.

Last, but not least, was Rielle Capler, from Canadians for Safe Access, who discussed the Canadian government model for distribution.

Panel one was entitled, “It Can’t Hurt to Ask – Research on Patient Experiences with Medical Cannabis” and was moderated by Phillippe Lucas, Center for Addictions Research of British Columbia.

The panel consisted of four researchers, Amanda Reiman, Ph.D., University of California Berkeley, Jenny Janichek, Harm Reduction Clinic Consultant, Dale Gieringer, Ph.D., California NORML, and Frank Lucido, MD, University of California Berkeley, all of whom are familiar with the results medical cannabis has on patients.

As the vote for M74 and PROP 19 approaches, we must consider the main point of this entire conference, and that is, “Just say NOW”! Now is the time to use our power of the ballot to vote for laws long time coming. We know we’ve made progress, and what is the point of these conferences if we don’t do something with the knowledge we’ve been gaining for the last 39 years? So use it. Use it to educate those around us with clear calm conversation and convince them to fight with us for our civil liberties on November 2nd. All it takes is a vote.

Both Janichek and Dr. Reiman discussed medical marijuana as a replacement or “exit drug” and cited studies showing a decreased use of harder drugs, alcohol, and even nicotine. Dr. Gieringer spoke of patient experiences with Cannabidiol (CBD) in particular. He explains that CBD is a cannabinoid that does not create a euphoric effect on the patient, but does have medical properties, such as reducing inflammation and nausea, as well as being an anti-convulsant and antipsychotic. Lastly from the panel, Dr. Lucido made clear that he wants all doctors to feel comfortable with prescribing marijuana.

The second panel of the day was titled, “Not Your Father’s Medical Marijuana – Latest Breakthrough in Cannabis Science” and was moderated by Mitch Earlywine, Ph.D. (SUNY/Albany). Jahan Marcu of Temple University discussed such subjects as the effect cannabinoids have on cancer cells and possible future

Plenty of room was provided in the Governor Hotel's large conference rooms

clinical applications. Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML, discussed using marijuana to treat underlying disorders and not just the symptoms, pointing to the fact that medical marijuana, in some circumstances, may be more effective than conventional medications. Michelle Sexton, MD, University of Washington School of Medicine, discussed marijuana as a botanical medicine for applications such as a potent anti-inflammatory. Greg Carter, MD, University of Washington School of Medicine, discussed the alternative drugs derived from marijuana or synthetic versions developed by pharmaceutical companies and how the “home-grown” form may still be the best option for patients at this time.

The third panel, entitled, “The Future of Medical Cannabis Distribution”, discussed the pros and cons of medical marijuana programs implemented across the country, with Warren Edson, Esq., Leland Berger, Esq., and Matt Abel, Esq., all of the NORML Legal Committee, discussing Colorado, Oregon’s own proposed dispensary measure M74,.and Michigan, respectively. Bill Panzer, Esq., of the NORML Board of Directors discussed the latest developments in California. New Mexico Senator Cisco McSorely spoke of his state’s laws regarding medical marijuana. Jill Harris, Director of Public

Justin and Jaime Jenkins are recent emigrants to Oregon and the former president and Vice President of Winona State University NORML in Minnesota.

Harvest Home Cont. from Page 3 • Security systems are more important now than ever. Make sure that all connections are secure, batteries charged, alarms tested, etc. Many gardeners arrange for a constant presence in the garden, with trusted plant sitters on duty until harvest. While large dogs might be a deterrent, smaller dogs can be great early warning systems. Install cameras and post signs that say that they are in use.

(Whether the cameras are real or not is up to you and your budget.)

• Once your plants are hanging to dry, place signs prominently which state “Wet – not usable.” State law limits the quantity of “dried usable” Medical Marijuana that a patient can possess, but does not address the fact that cannabis must start out wet, and naturally, is much heavier than the eventual dried, usuable medicine. Make sure any Law Enforcement visitors know the difference immediately. Mark your wet weed, and take pictures of it.

• Speaking of Law Enforcement – don't fall for the old “OMMP Compliance Check” game. Law Enforcement has no more right to come onto your property and inspect your Medical Marijuana garden as they have to barge into your bathroom to count your Vicodin pills. They must have a warrant in order to inspect your plants, your hanging branches, etc. If they come Cont. on Page 10

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Laird Funk, Supporting M74 The Oregon Medical Marijuana Act is now twelve years old and has brought relief to thousands of Oregonians who need marijuana for medical purposes. However it has brought that relief only to those lucky enough to either grow the medicine themselves or to have found another person to grow it for them. Even then, many persons with a grower find that for various reasons, that grower can not provide the quantity and/or quality of medicine needed for effective treatment.

The result is that for many Oregonians there is no satisfactory means by which they may obtain the medicine of the type and quantity needed.

The existence of this sizable group, coupled with the reality that many other persons do have a surplus of medicine but no lawful way of getting it to patients were the reasons that Measure 74 was created. Measure 74 will, at last, create a safe, monitored distribution system based upon non-profit organizations operating dispensaries which would purchase medical marijuana from licensed growers monitored by the state and re-sell it to patients who need it. Growers who become licensed may sell marijuana only to those non-profit dispensaries or give it away to registered patients at no charge.

All medicine produced will be tracked as to its origins and destinations.

With a ready supply of medicine available from dispensaries, those with unproductive growerswill not have to go without. They will be able to cancel their relationship with the grower and thus diminish the number of growers not providing medicine to those who allow them to grow in their name, and perhaps eliminate that source of marijuana to the non-medical market. At the same time, it will be possible for current growers who have a surplus after supplying their patients to become a licensed grower and have means to provide lawfully to other patients' needs. Dispensaries will be required to supply medicine to low income patients at reduced prices, a real benefit when considering the large number of OMMA patients living on disability payments.

The requirement for dispensaries to be operated by non-profit organizations lawfully registered with Oregon's Secretary of State will eliminate the phenomenon widely witnessed in other states of individuals owning dispensaries and reaping extraordinary profits from the sales of medicine. That same protection extends also to keeping any dispensary from being operated by criminals.

A safe, regulated distribution system like that which would exist under Measure 74 is a first step in ensuring that OMMA

Oregon News patients have the needed access to medicine which has been inspected and tested for impurities and certified as to the level of differing medically active components of the various strains of marijuana used as medicine. Currently there are no regulations requiring such quality and potency testing and thus much is unknown about medicine patients get from their appointed growers. With the testing procedures in place, even medicine grown for individuals could be tested and evaluated, providing a wider cover of protection for patients.

The opposition to Measure 74 has been led by the same coalition of medically untrained law enforcement supporters of marijuana prohibition which called the original OMMA a ruse for legalization when it was on the ballot and they are now using the same claim regarding Measure 74. They were wrong in 1998 and they are wrong again now. OMMA was not marijuana legalization and neither is Measure 74.

Oregonians can be assured that a vote for Measure 74 is vote for a safe, regulated system which provides income to the state and provides patients with medicine at a reasonable price and of a known quality.

A vote for Measure 74 is a vote rejecting the free for all type of system so widely observed in places like California and for an organized, regulated system instead. A vote for Measure 74 leads to a better future for all Oregonians who need marijuana as medicine while protecting society from unauthorized distribution to non-medical users.

Please join me in voting for Measure 74 and join Oregonians around the state in creating this remarkable safe system . Yes on Measure 74.

Laird Funk is a long time marijuana activist in Oregon and the currently on the Oregon State Advisory Commitee on Medical Marijuana

Stormy Ray, opposing M74 Hello, my name is Stormy Ray. I’m the grandmother that helped bring you the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act in 1998 that patients call OMMA. Over the past twelve years I’ve answered thousands of calls about this great program. It has been an honor to witness what the medicinal properties of marijuana have done for Oregonians. I believe we currently have the best program in the U.S.A. OMMA’s greatest strength is our state ran registry that insures patients can easily verify our right to use medical marijuana.

Our law allows each patient to grow six marijuana plants and keep up to 24ounces of dried usable medical marijuana

at any one time.

Every day in Oregon, patients are regaining their dignity and experiencing a better quality of life. Our OMMA has given back to the voters a law that has enriched Oregonians and their families.

Patients can assign a friend or loved one to assist with their medicine and be reimbursed for the actual garden expenses spent on the patient’s behalf.

Patients and their assigned volunteers can form collective gardens to share resources to reduce the cost of producing their medicine. Patients that have produced more than they require can legally give their excess medicine to other cardholders.

For approximately 40% of the 36,000 patients registered with the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program, our law is unrivaled among states that have passed medical marijuana legislation.

Our one big weakness is that too many patients don’t have a consistent supply of medical marijuana. There is plenty of marijuana being grown for our patients.

Unfortunately too many patients are suffering and going without the medicine they need because their medicine is being diverted away from the patients it was grown for.

C a n n a bi s C o n n e c t i o n it passes. With 40% of patients producing their own medicine and almost as many patients qualifying as low income, only about 7,500 OMMA patients might have the need and the financial resources to use the dispensaries.

How can a 20% tax on sells provide enough revenue to; provide free medicine to low income patients, cover set up costs and the costs of administering the registry, regulate and inspect dispensaries and providers, fund cannabis research, and provide funding for other DHS programs?

It should be obvious that the money collected by the department cannot cover all of the bases.

Another major flaw in M-74 is that it leaves the section of OMMA that makes it illegal to sell marijuana to any cardholder in place. Why couldn’t law enforcement arrest everyone who sells marijuana including dispensary employees and producers under ORS 475.316? I believe every dispensary and producer will be at risk of being arrested.

OMMA was created because over 50 percent of the voting public believed that sick and disabled Oregonians should have the right to use medical marijuana at the recommendation of their doctor.

Many patients are victimized by con artists and black market profiteers that offer to grow for them. These growers seek out patients offering to provide an ounce of marijuana a month in exchange for the patients grow card. An experienced OMMA grower can easily produce 5 ounces a month from a 6 plant garden at a cost of about $200 a month of actual garden expenses. Marijuana should never cost over $50 an ounce to produce.

If our program loses the support of Oregon voters because of the massive abuse M-74 would allow, Oregon voters could vote our program out of existence in 2012 with another ballot measure. The Sheriff‘s Association had a initiative this year that would have abolished our program. Thankfully, Oregonians believe in our program, and did not support repealing the rights of Oregonians to use medical marijuana.

Patients need an affordable supply of medicine. M-74 will not solve the problems patents have accessing the medicine they need!

I do not believe this poorly written measure will provide affordable regulated access to marijuana for patients.

M-74 creates a supply system where dispensaries buy marijuana from producers and then sell it to patients. The producers are for-profit private businesses that will have to cover costs and make a profit. Then the dispensaries will have to add their own costs. This system cannot provide patients with affordable medicine and does not require health insurance to cover the cost.

M-74 is poorly worded with too many important issues left to be addressed after

Please help protect OMMA by Voting NO on M-74. God Bless, Stormy Ray Stormy Ray was a Co-Chief Petitioner for Measure 67 that became the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act (OMMA) in 1998, is the founder of the Stormy Ray Cardholders Foundation, and a member of the Oregon State Advisor Commitee on Medical Marijuana

Page 8

Laird Funk, Supporting M74 The Oregon Medical Marijuana Act is now twelve years old and has brought relief to thousands of Oregonians who need marijuana for medical purposes. However it has brought that relief only to those lucky enough to either grow the medicine themselves or to have found another person to grow it for them. Even then, many persons with a grower find that for various reasons, that grower can not provide the quantity and/or quality of medicine needed for effective treatment.

The result is that for many Oregonians there is no satisfactory means by which they may obtain the medicine of the type and quantity needed.

The existence of this sizable group, coupled with the reality that many other persons do have a surplus of medicine but no lawful way of getting it to patients were the reasons that Measure 74 was created. Measure 74 will, at last, create a safe, monitored distribution system based upon non-profit organizations operating dispensaries which would purchase medical marijuana from licensed growers monitored by the state and re-sell it to patients who need it. Growers who become licensed may sell marijuana only to those non-profit dispensaries or give it away to registered patients at no charge.

All medicine produced will be tracked as to its origins and destinations.

With a ready supply of medicine available from dispensaries, those with unproductive growerswill not have to go without. They will be able to cancel their relationship with the grower and thus diminish the number of growers not providing medicine to those who allow them to grow in their name, and perhaps eliminate that source of marijuana to the non-medical market. At the same time, it will be possible for current growers who have a surplus after supplying their patients to become a licensed grower and have means to provide lawfully to other patients' needs. Dispensaries will be required to supply medicine to low income patients at reduced prices, a real benefit when considering the large number of OMMA patients living on disability payments.

The requirement for dispensaries to be operated by non-profit organizations lawfully registered with Oregon's Secretary of State will eliminate the phenomenon widely witnessed in other states of individuals owning dispensaries and reaping extraordinary profits from the sales of medicine. That same protection extends also to keeping any dispensary from being operated by criminals.

A safe, regulated distribution system like that which would exist under Measure 74 is a first step in ensuring that OMMA

Oregon News patients have the needed access to medicine which has been inspected and tested for impurities and certified as to the level of differing medically active components of the various strains of marijuana used as medicine. Currently there are no regulations requiring such quality and potency testing and thus much is unknown about medicine patients get from their appointed growers. With the testing procedures in place, even medicine grown for individuals could be tested and evaluated, providing a wider cover of protection for patients.

The opposition to Measure 74 has been led by the same coalition of medically untrained law enforcement supporters of marijuana prohibition which called the original OMMA a ruse for legalization when it was on the ballot and they are now using the same claim regarding Measure 74. They were wrong in 1998 and they are wrong again now. OMMA was not marijuana legalization and neither is Measure 74.

Oregonians can be assured that a vote for Measure 74 is vote for a safe, regulated system which provides income to the state and provides patients with medicine at a reasonable price and of a known quality.

A vote for Measure 74 is a vote rejecting the free for all type of system so widely observed in places like California and for an organized, regulated system instead. A vote for Measure 74 leads to a better future for all Oregonians who need marijuana as medicine while protecting society from unauthorized distribution to non-medical users.

Please join me in voting for Measure 74 and join Oregonians around the state in creating this remarkable safe system . Yes on Measure 74.

Laird Funk is a long time marijuana activist in Oregon and the currently on the Oregon State Advisory Commitee on Medical Marijuana

Stormy Ray, opposing M74 Hello, my name is Stormy Ray. I’m the grandmother that helped bring you the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act in 1998 that patients call OMMA. Over the past twelve years I’ve answered thousands of calls about this great program. It has been an honor to witness what the medicinal properties of marijuana have done for Oregonians. I believe we currently have the best program in the U.S.A. OMMA’s greatest strength is our state ran registry that insures patients can easily verify our right to use medical marijuana.

Our law allows each patient to grow six marijuana plants and keep up to 24ounces of dried usable medical marijuana

at any one time.

Every day in Oregon, patients are regaining their dignity and experiencing a better quality of life. Our OMMA has given back to the voters a law that has enriched Oregonians and their families.

Patients can assign a friend or loved one to assist with their medicine and be reimbursed for the actual garden expenses spent on the patient’s behalf.

Patients and their assigned volunteers can form collective gardens to share resources to reduce the cost of producing their medicine. Patients that have produced more than they require can legally give their excess medicine to other cardholders.

For approximately 40% of the 36,000 patients registered with the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program, our law is unrivaled among states that have passed medical marijuana legislation.

Our one big weakness is that too many patients don’t have a consistent supply of medical marijuana. There is plenty of marijuana being grown for our patients.

Unfortunately too many patients are suffering and going without the medicine they need because their medicine is being diverted away from the patients it was grown for.

C a n n a bi s C o n n e c t i o n it passes. With 40% of patients producing their own medicine and almost as many patients qualifying as low income, only about 7,500 OMMA patients might have the need and the financial resources to use the dispensaries.

How can a 20% tax on sells provide enough revenue to; provide free medicine to low income patients, cover set up costs and the costs of administering the registry, regulate and inspect dispensaries and providers, fund cannabis research, and provide funding for other DHS programs?

It should be obvious that the money collected by the department cannot cover all of the bases.

Another major flaw in M-74 is that it leaves the section of OMMA that makes it illegal to sell marijuana to any cardholder in place. Why couldn’t law enforcement arrest everyone who sells marijuana including dispensary employees and producers under ORS 475.316? I believe every dispensary and producer will be at risk of being arrested.

OMMA was created because over 50 percent of the voting public believed that sick and disabled Oregonians should have the right to use medical marijuana at the recommendation of their doctor.

Many patients are victimized by con artists and black market profiteers that offer to grow for them. These growers seek out patients offering to provide an ounce of marijuana a month in exchange for the patients grow card. An experienced OMMA grower can easily produce 5 ounces a month from a 6 plant garden at a cost of about $200 a month of actual garden expenses. Marijuana should never cost over $50 an ounce to produce.

If our program loses the support of Oregon voters because of the massive abuse M-74 would allow, Oregon voters could vote our program out of existence in 2012 with another ballot measure. The Sheriff‘s Association had a initiative this year that would have abolished our program. Thankfully, Oregonians believe in our program, and did not support repealing the rights of Oregonians to use medical marijuana.

Patients need an affordable supply of medicine. M-74 will not solve the problems patents have accessing the medicine they need!

I do not believe this poorly written measure will provide affordable regulated access to marijuana for patients.

M-74 creates a supply system where dispensaries buy marijuana from producers and then sell it to patients. The producers are for-profit private businesses that will have to cover costs and make a profit. Then the dispensaries will have to add their own costs. This system cannot provide patients with affordable medicine and does not require health insurance to cover the cost.

M-74 is poorly worded with too many important issues left to be addressed after

Please help protect OMMA by Voting NO on M-74. God Bless, Stormy Ray Stormy Ray was a Co-Chief Petitioner for Measure 67 that became the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act (OMMA) in 1998, is the founder of the Stormy Ray Cardholders Foundation, and a member of the Oregon State Advisor Commitee on Medical Marijuana

C a n n a bi s C o n n e c t i o n

Josh Marquis, Opposing M74 Measure 74 claims to increase the access of sick people to marijuana as a medicine.

But like many other efforts that are really efforts to simply legalize marijuana, the law is written so broadly and with so few restrictions that it could easily allow rapacious entrepreneurs the opportunity to exploit those relatively few who have no access or simply explode access to recreational marijuana.

One great myth in the Cannabis community is that law enforcement officials all want to lock up pot smokers and make vast amounts of money off the so-called War on Drugs. Less than one tenth of one percent of those in prison in the United States are there for possession of marijuana and that number in Oregon is virtually zero. So a little demystifying is in order.

I have worked in Oregon law enforcement for over 30 years. My first job was as a policy assistant to then Eugene District Attorney Pat Horton. In 1973 Horton, who had just been elected as a young, tough-on-crime prosecutor made what was then a radical proposal. He suggested that it was ridiculous that casual users of marijuana found themselves convicted felons and while they rarely went to prison their lives were forever marked with a felony conviction that prevented them from many occupations. He succeeded in promoting what was initially another uniquely-Oregon experiment; possession of less than one ounce of marijuana (then known as a lid - an expression unknown to more recent generations) would be subject to a fine of no more than a couple hundred dollars. They could not go to jail and they would have no criminal record whatsoever.

The marijuana of 1973 usually tested at THC levels of about 2%. With advances in growing and breeding more potent strains of marijuana the cannabis that is sold today doesn’t cost $15 as it did in 1973 and it has many times the THC content of the marijuana of a generation ago.

In 1998 Oregonians decided to allow people who could get a note from their doctors that marijuana might help a wide variety of medical conditions would be issued a card by the State of Oregon Health Division and they could possess up to a pound and a half of useable marijuana - or about 300 joints.

Oregon News cards and enjoy virtual immunity from any criminal prosecution. Marijuana remains a schedule 1 drug under federal law and it would take only a small change in policy from Washington DC and no Oregon Marijuana Medical card would protect it’s holder from federal prosecution.

marijuana advocates put their ballots in the mail. If this doesn't happen, the measure will lose, momentum will shift against marijuana, and we will be headed back to the bad old days of criminalizing people whose only crime is to use a harmless herbal substance, which has been proven to have major medical benefits.

As long as five years ago I urged that the federal controlled substances act be changed to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule 2 drug, allowing doctors to legitimately prescribe it to patients thought really need it. But that is an argument that needs to be won at the national level. Expanding the availability of marijuana is likely to inflame those who propose to clamp down far more harshly than current enforcement.

Some people in the marijuana community don't know exactly what the new law will do, but when they find out, they will be extremely pleased, and will urge everyone they know to vote on it.

But Measure 74 sets out absolutely no limits on the numbers of marijuana dispensaries, almost no limit on who can run such an operation and leaves it entirely up to state bureaucrats to come up with a plan for testing, regulating, and administering a widespread marijuana distribution system. As the OREGONIAN editorial board, who agree that marijuana laws needs reforming said “But mostly, the proponents don't talk about problems, and they certainly don't talk about the lack of standards for labeling or quality control.”

Maybe there is a better way to get marijuana to those who legitimately need it but supporters in the cannabis community need to be honest about what the measure really seeks. It is a back door attempt to simply legalize marijuana.

There is nothing in Measure 74 that will prevent well-financed operators with no real interest other those purely financial, from exploiting a “law” that is written so badly you could drive a truck through it. And in my business there is saying bad cases make bad law and Measure 74 is likely to make some very bad law.

Joshua Marquis has been the District Attorney in Clatsop County since 1994. He was just re-elected to his fifth term and his writings can be found at http://coastda.com/archives

Mike Newman, Supporting M74

While the Bush administration claimed marijuana had no medical use others, including many in law enforcement, agreed that there were a relatively small number of people - particularly those suffering from wasting syndromes associated with AIDS and other diseases, glaucoma, and the nausea associated with aggressive anti-cancer therapies - could legitimately benefit from marijuana. The measure was sold to Oregon voters on the idea that at most a couple thousand such patients would exist in Oregon.

If the young, progressive, pro-pot voters of Oregon send in their ballots next month, Oregon will have a new marijuana law that will make growers safer, make marijuana more abundant and affordable, and make full legalization more possible.

Today almost 50,000 people hold marijuana

However, current polling shows that the measure will pass only if the most motivated

Measure 74 will be one of the best things that has ever happened to the marijuana culture in Oregon, and will help us lead the country to a sane alteration of the current crazy prohibition laws.

OREGON CANNABIS CONNECTION is a bi-monthly publication for the medical cannabis community in Oregon.

Published by K2 Publishing Co. in Medford, Oregon, we strive to inform the public on the value of medical marijuana, as well as provide news, information, and opinions concerning marijuana laws, legalization, and medicine.

All information in our publication is intended for legal use by adults.

Our publication is advertiser supported and is distributed FREE at over 150 locations throughout Oregon.

D is t r ib u t o r s n e e d e d ! A ll is s u e s a r e p r o v id e d f r e e .

Subscriptions are available with the U.S.A for 3.00 per issue.

Please visit www.oregoncannabisconnection.com to subscribe.

To advertise or distribute, please contact Keith at 541-621-1723.

Next issue is December 10th, advertising deadline is November 20th

What will change? The answer is: The existing Oregon Medical Marijuana Program will stay exactly the same. Current patients and other cardholders will still be able to grow their own marijuana, will still be able to renew their cards every year, and will enjoy all the other protections of the program. Everything good remains.

In addition, part of the new law will make it absolutely legal for growers to sell marijuana to dispensaries – for a profit – without having to get patients' permission to grow pot for them.

Measure 74 would add two new types of licenses to the program: A producer license and a dispensary license. Working together, producers and dispensaries would create a system that would allow patient cardholders safe and reliable access to their marijuana from a series of dispensaries that would operate as storefronts around Oregon.

These storefronts will employ people – probably thousands of them – who are experts on marijuana, and want to work in an environment where pot is respected, instead of persecuted. The dispensaries will be open to state inspection, but simple compliance with reasonable laws will make the dispensaries invulnerable to prosecution.

Here are some highlights of how the new licenses would work: A dispensary license can be granted only to a non-profit entity registered with the State of Oregon and the Oregon Department of Justice.

The non-profit company would need a Board of Directors who must be Oregon residents, and the license application fee is $2,000. The license would allow the non-profit company to operate a dispensary that sells medical marijuana only to OMMP patients.

The dispensary would pay a 10% tax on its gross sales, and would have to install an approved security system. The dispensary would also have to follow all the rules other businesses follow regarding zoning, disabled

Page 9 access, payroll taxes, insurance, etc. The dispensaries would be subject to inspection by state agencies, which would be able to intervene only when something obviously illegal occurs, such as not paying taxes.

Producers, who will operate as a for-profit business, will be able to grow and possess exactly the same amount of marijuana currently allowed to a 4-patient grower, but would be able to sell it directly to dispensaries for a profit. Producers would also have to keep records, pay a 10% gross sales tax, be subject to inspections, and operate their grow as an above-board business: Legally – totally legally. Also, growers who wish to grow more will be allowed to do so at a separate site.

Here's what else will happen.

Many of Oregon's 43,000 patients, especially the elderly, homebound, and very ill, will not need to grow their own marijuana, or find someone to grow it for them for free.

M74 will generate tax revenues that will make the state finally realize what a great industry this is.

M74 will help put Oregonians back to work at environmentally conscious, stable jobs that will serve our most vulnerable citizens. There will be a large number of new jobs in the producer and dispensary industry – horticulturists and grower assistants, business managers, clinic operations specialists, bookkeepers and accountants specific to our industry, sales people, and more. There will be dispensary jobs available for experts in different strains of medical marijuana that will be perfect for people who have knowledge of marijuana.

M74's research component will help give society the scientific facts it needs to fully appreciate the value and safety of marijuana.

M74 will create America's most advanced supply and delivery system, giving other states a model of the right way to do things.

But this will not happen unless you vote, urge your friends to vote, and help out in any way you can – with a lawn sign, a donation, or a volunteer position in the exciting M74 campaign. Read more about M74 online, and you'll see that the future of pot in Oregon is about to change – for better, or for worse – depending on your action, or inaction.

Mike Newman is a long time marijuana user and activist and represents medical marijuana activists and patients across Oregon.

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Oregon News

Amendment right to remain silent. Your living room is not a courtroom and the officers are not judge and jury. Anything you say will be used against you. Don't try and argue your case with the officers.

They don't care. No one ever talked their way out of being arrested, no matter how truthful or tragic their tale. Pay close attention to everything that the police do, and be sure to get this information into your lawyer's hands as soon as possible.

Yes, if you get a warrant, you will need a lawyer. The Law Enforcement community is determined to prove that Medical Marijuana patients are all criminals.

They have lots of lawyers in their side.

It's folly not to have at least one on yours.

The Rising Tide

By Keith Mansur Oregon Cannabis Connection It seems pretty simple to me. When people need a medicine that is effective, effectively non-toxic, and widely accepted, they should have immediate access. When someone is suffering they should not have to worry about purchasing their medicine on the black market, and at prices that are controlled by an illegal trade. Our current system does not allow for such access. For many there is a prolonged, often obscure and intimidating process, and long period of waiting while their medicine is produced by either themselves or another grower.

Medical marijuana has proven, especially over recent years, to be an effective medicine for a wide variety of ailments, yet opposition to its use continues dispite the mounting evidence. As I attended the Citizens Initiative review in August, I found the same old rhetoric being introduced by opponents to measure 74.

Is marijuana truely a medicine? Isn't "medical marijuana" legalization simply a path to "total legalization"? Wont crime increase if marijuana is available so readily? These and other typical concerns seem to consume the argument of those opposed to Measure 74. Unfortunately, these are red herrings, and almost no facts back up the oppositions arguments.

Thousands of studies indicate marijuana is a very effective medicine, for many ailments, including pain. The regulations that are provided for by M74 to regulate

C a n n a bi s C o n n e c t i o n

Boats stranded at low tide, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia Canada. Lets not let our endeavors get stranded by a change in attitude.

the dispensaries and growers go far beyond most other state regulations, allowing Oregon to lead the way in responsible medical marijuana supply. Many law enforcement officers, such as Police chiefs Jim Anderson in Fairfax, CA. And Ken Burton in Columbia, Mo., support marijuana legalization.

While Chief Anderson supports mainly medical marijuana, Chief Burton goes a bit further. Burton actually supports legalization, stating in a recent press conference "If we could get out of the business [of going after marijuana offenders], I think there are a lot of police officers that would be happy to do that.”, Later adding, "I don't have anything against it, except that it's against the law".

The wide acceptance of marijuana is growing, whether medical or recreational.

Allowing those in need to have an affordable, safe, and regulated supply of medicine is a fundamental civil right most Americans support. Allowing someone to

do what they want in the privacy of their home is also a fundamentaly civil right.

That these two objectives intersect should not be a deterent but an inspiration. We must act now, without hesitation or discourse within our ranks.

There is no way to explain our opportunity better than did William Shakespeare in Julius Ceasar: There is a tide in the affairs of men.

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures.

• Remember your limits. 6 mature plants and 24 ounces of dried usable cannabis.

Consider donating excess to other patients, new cardholders, or the many patient resource groups in the area. Also remember that your card does not permit you to transfer any cannabis for consideration, and that you can lose your card by transferring cannabis to a noncardholder, even if it is a free gift.

Medical Marijuana is a wonderous thing – but it does no one any good in the back of a thief's pickup or rotting in police evidence rooms. Be smart and you will be able to enjoy the bounty for a long time.

Melanie Barniskis is a longtime medical cannabis activist, and volunteer with Pro-Oregon.

I urge all Oregonians to vote Yes on Measure 74!

Media Madness Cont. from Page 4

Harvest Home Conclusion from page 7 to your door without a warrant, it is because they don't have enough evidence to get a warrant, and they hope you will be stupid enough to open the door and let them in to get that evidence. Just say NO! No warrant, no entry.

• When transporting Medical Marijuana, be sure to put it in the trunk or in a locked box far out of the driver's reach.

There is no definitive test for Marijuana impairment – no little breathalyzer tube to blow in. Impairment is based mainly on “officer observation.” The less you give him to observe, the better off you will be.

• If the worst happens, and you do get served a warrant, do yourself and your lawyer a favor and invoke your 5th

the media’s “coverage” does a fine job of confusing and frightening voters into voting against their best interests. The anti-medical marijuana media’s central argument against M 74 is that the medical marijuana program has been corrupted beyond recognition and will legalize marijuana. This argument was echoed by the two people that have come forward to be the opposition to nonprofit dispensaries, Sheriff Tom Bergan and District Attorney Josh Marquis both of Clatsop County. They argue that medical marijuana has been corrupted beyond all recognition. Strangely enough, September 3rd, 2010 the Associated Press reported that Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca said the exact same thing, and just like the Clatsop County duo, presented no facts to support their claims.

To begin refuting the misinformation we Cont. on Page 13