There seems to be a lot of panic (justifiably so) among the community of 10,000 Oregon medical marijuana patients and the people who care about them. Is the OMMP dead? Last I read, Oregon was temporarily ceasing to issue new medical marijuana cards, but would still continue to process the applications for those cards, and nothing about them disbanding the program.
From the OMMP website:
Following today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that federal authorities may prosecute users of medical marijuana, the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) is temporarily halting issuance of medical marijuana registration cards.
“We need to proceed cautiously until we understand the ramifications of this ruling,” said state public health officer Grant Higginson, M.D., who oversees the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. “We have contacted the state attorney general to ask for a formal legal opinion on how the court’s ruling affects Oregon’s program.”
DHS will continue to receive and process applications, Higginson said, but no registration cards will be issued until the Department of Justice provides further direction.
But is Oregon’s medical marijuana program in danger? Depends on who you ask. According to the Salem Statesman-Journal:
“My view is that medical marijuana is dead in Oregon,” said Rep. Robert Ackerman, D-Eugene, the chairman of a House judiciary subcommittee. “The program is pretty much over, except maybe to conform our law to the Supreme Court decision.”
Sen. Bill Morrisette, D-Springfield, said it was premature to say the program is dead.
Morrisette, who leads the Senate Human Services Committee, said that a group of lawmakers would meet today to try to negotiate a package of changes in the law.
“We are trying to come to a compromise and make it clearer for law enforcement but also give better guidance to patients,” Morrisette said. “We are trying to hit a middle course, and we are going to go ahead with what we are doing.
“But who knows what is going to happen?” he said.
I don’t think they want to halt the program — the state government is more than willing to raid the coffers of the OMMP’s $1.1M surplus to offset their human services budget deficit. Stopping the program would be killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
On the other hand, perhaps Oregon’s politicians are afraid of the big bad feds. I haven’t read any such backpedaling from any of the other nine states that have medical marijuana. UPDATE: I spoke too soon. Alaska is now making noises about temporarily suspending its program. You’d think California, the recipient of the most cases of jack-booted federal thugs handcuffing and arresting sick people in wheelchairs, would have the most to fear. But instead, California and the others are rightly stating that this ruling just preserves the status quo, and California’s Attorney General has flatly said “don’t panic!”
“Today’s ruling does not overturn California law permitting the use of medical marijuana, but it does uphold a federal regulatory scheme that contradicts the will of California voters and limits the right of states to provide appropriate medical care for its citizens. Although I am disappointed in the outcome of today’s decision, legitimate medical marijuana patients in California must know that state and federal laws are no different today than they were yesterday.
“Californians spoke overwhelmingly in favor of medical marijuana by passing Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Initiative, and that law still stands in our state. Unfortunately, federal law continues to criminalize the use of physician-recommended marijuana medicine. This conflict between state and federal law means that seriously ill Californians will continue to run the risk of arrest and prosecution under federal law when grow and or they use marijuana as medicine.
“Today’s ruling shows the vast philosophical difference between the federal government and Californians on the rights of patients to have access to the medicine they need to survive and lead healthier lives. Taking medicine on the recommendation of a doctor for a legitimate illness should not be a crime.
“There is something very wrong with a federal law that treats medical marijuana the same as heroin. The United States Congress and the President have the power to reform and modernize federal law in order to bring relief to medical patients and still punish those who illegally traffic in substances. Patients, physicians and the public that support medicinal marijuana should tell their Congressional Representatives and Senators to take a fresh look at the federal laws that ban its use.”
However, it has spooked the city council of Mill Valley, California, to temporarily ban medical marijuana dispensaries.
But you can understand why some people would panic when they see inaccurate, alarmist headlines like:
Medical marijuana goes up in smoke – Arizona Daily Sun, AZ
US bans the use of pot for pain – The Australian, Australia
Supreme Court bans medical marijuana – Sci-Tech Today, Online
Supreme Court strikes down marijuana laws – Longview Daily News, WA.
Supreme Court outlaws medicinal marijuana – WREG, TN
Supreme court bans medical marijuana – Tucson Citizen, AZ
High court rejects defense of medical marijuana – Rocklin and Roseville Today, CA (ya gotta love the unintended pun there!)
Court sends legal pot up in smoke – Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
Court: Patients may not use pot legally – Sun Sentinel, FL
Justices uproot medical pot – Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN
Court cuffs medical marijuana – Great Falls Tribune, MT
Medical Marijuana defeated – Contra Costa Times, CA
Leave it to our good friend Montel Williams, nationwide talk show host and multiple sclerosis patient, to set the record straight on The Early Show on CBS:
Overall, Williams says, “Nothing changed. The Supreme Court just validated what has already been in place continuously. This was an appeal decision, not a decision saying all of a sudden there’s something wrong with marijuana.
“The Supreme Court didn’t really attack marijuana. It just said there are some interstate commerce issues here that we need to stop.
“The truth is, unfortunately, it shows the confusion on this issue nationally. Our Supreme Court just a year ago said it was OK for doctors to recommend (marijuana) and they can’t be prosecuted for telling patients to use it. Therefore, doctors can tell you to use it. But once they tell you to use it, ‘I’m gonna then come prosecute you.’ How crazy is this?”
“I don’t think anything will change,” Williams continued, “but I think what it has set in motion is the fact that the Supreme Court itself said that this becomes a congressional issue.
“Truthfully, the easiest way to solve this problem, very simple: We pay our taxes for this. The (DEA) Drug Enforcement Administration can… put (marijuana) in the same category as cocaine, morphine and other drugs and let doctors prescribe it. I don’t understand why this has become so ridiculous.”
Williams told of legalization moves in Britain and Canada, adding, “Our government has been dispensing marijuana for 25 years through a program at the University of Mississippi. …We’ve been studying it for 25 years. If they haven’t learned enough about it in 25 years, we should fire everybody involved in this program.”
Calling Justice John Paul Stephens’ declaration that medical marijuana opens the door for abuse by dealers and drug traffickers, and for prescription abuse, an “absolute lie,” Williams asserted, “Right now, the most abused drugs in this country are prescription medications, like OxyContin, Vicodin and others.
“I’ve tried those,” he said. “I’ve got a cabinet full of them right now prescribed to me, and they don’t work. All they do is end up shutting down your kidneys, shutting down your intestines. If I take enough OxyContin, I could sit in a corner and drool.
Admitting he’s “feared” prosecution “since day one,” Williams continued, “The bottom line is, I’m paying my taxes so I can work every day. If you come after me for this, I’ll stop working. I don’t know what else to say.”
I do. Work to get Barney Frank’s States’ Rights to Medical Marijuana bill (HR 2087) passed as law!
