Marijuana.com

Herb Ninja

State halts medical marijuana program

6-07-2005 | Kayley Mendenhall | The Bend Bulletin

Despite the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling Monday that patients who use medical marijuana can be prosecuted at the federal level, Bend resident Martin Halsey has no intentions of giving up his use of the drug.

"Being a quadriplegic, I have very bad spasms. Smoking a couple of hits stops them instantly," Halsey, 49, said. "I could take prescription drugs that do nothing for me."

Halsey was paralyzed in a skiing accident about 20 years ago, he said, and has found that smoking marijuana about every six hours helps him function better than any prescription drugs. He said he uses the drug responsibly, never driving while under the influence, and said marijuana allows him to maintain his independence.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the regulation of controlled substances, including marijuana, falls under federal jurisdiction. The ruling did not overturn state medical-marijuana laws, including a 1998 Oregon law, but it left states wondering what power those laws still have.

"Right now, we don't know what it will mean, if anything," said Dr. Grant Higginson, public-health officer with the Oregon Department of Human Services. "These are exactly the kind of questions we will be asking of our legal council in the Department of Justice."

Until the state attorney general can determine the ruling's legal implications in Oregon, Higginson said, DHS has stopped issuing new medical-marijuana cards to those who have applied to the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. He also doesn't yet know what the ruling means for the 10,000 Oregon residents who already have cards, including 242 in Deschutes County.

Participants in the medical-marijuana program have to reapply to the state each year to renew their cards and they need physician recommendations to be approved, said Jim Kronenberg of the Oregon Medical Association. His organization has maintained a neutral position on the medical-marijuana issue, he said, but the OMA encourages physicians to be careful when participating in the program.

Kronenberg said physicians can recommend patients for medical-marijuana cards by either:

• Filling out a form from the state.

• Writing "marijuana" on a prescription pad.

• Or by documenting they had a discussion with the patient and agreeing the patient has a condition that could be helped by the use of marijuana.

The last of those three options is recommended by the OMA.

"The reason we suggest that, as the Supreme Court has once again confirmed under federal law, is that medical marijuana is a substance that is illegal to possess," Kronenberg said. "If federal agents could arrest and prosecute someone in Oregon who had a medical-marijuana card and was in possession of marijuana, at least by implication, it is conceivable that the Drug Enforcement Agency could prosecute the physician that gave his or her permission to get the card."

It's that fear of physician prosecution, more than user prosecution, that has Halsey worried. If his doctor will no longer verify that he needs medical marijuana, Halsey said, he may not be able to renew his card with the state.

"I think the doctors will tighten up on signing. I have all the proper medical statements and everything," Halsey said. "What it looks like to me, it's going to make it harder for the physicians to sign without them being in trouble."


Medical community's response

Medical marijuana is basically a non-issue for most oncologists, said Dr. Stephen Kornfeld, an oncologist at Bend Memorial Clinic. When he heard about the court ruling Monday, Kornfeld said, the news did not mean much to him.

"We don't prescribe anything. I fill out a piece of paper that says, ‘Does this person have cancer?' and they leave with that piece of paper," he said. "It isn't like this whole physician-assisted-suicide thing where doctors who do it actually write the prescription. This has nothing to do with docs. This has to do with patients."

When it comes to cancer treatment in general, Kornfeld said, very few patients ask for medical marijuana. And, he said, many prescription drugs tend to work better to combat nausea and other side effects of chemotherapy.

Dr. Archie Blyer, a consultant for the St. Charles Medical Center-Bend Cancer Treatment Center, agreed saying that in clinical trials medical marijuana has proven to be less effective than other drugs for cancer patients.

"I regard today's ruling as not a major loss," Blyer said. "I don't think there is going to be that much conflict. Those individuals with cancer who have found a use for it are really rare and have many alternatives available to them. There really is no reason to have to worry about being arrested."

At the Hospice of Bend-La Pine, Executive Director Jim Elmslie said that medical marijuana is not a factor in their treatment of terminal patients.

"I don't really see it as too much of an impact in terms of end-of-life care," Elmslie said. "We have very good medications for managing pain and that's our main focus. There are quite a few different choices that have various applications, depending on the patient's tolerance."

But for Halsey, who said his spasms cause his legs to shake uncontrollably, medical marijuana makes his life more bearable.

"It allows me to continue on with my independence. My independence is the main thing in my life, being paralyzed," Halsey said. "If they want to prosecute me, I'll deal with it then. And in the meantime, I have to live."

__________________
Ron Paul for the Long Haul

 

Buzzby

This is great stuff for the legalization movement! The great majority of the news articles I've looked at have been sympathetic or, at worst, neutral. I think the readers will be much more interested in the government's indifference to human suffering than in abstract legal principles.

__________________

killer12382

Doctors are going to be even more unwilling to write prescriptions for med pot now. Their ability to write prescriptions is a federal right and since the feds say med pot is nonsence and a crime that may make the doctor a criminal for writing med pot prescriptions. If a doctor loses his licence to write meds then his practice is pretty much over.

SkyTripper

I personally believe that since the US Supreme Court decided to basically continue the status quo which has been the case for so long now in many states that HAVE already passed their own medical marijuana laws......there are very few options left.....maybe just one.

Obviously the Supreme Court feels that it is truly up to Congress to make any changes which they are either too chicken to themselves or just don't feel that they have the power to do it.....and want many more voices and votes to decide it instead. Well, knowing just how Congress handles about anything.....I'm not surprised as now it seems obvious the entire issue will only remain in a legal limbo and only continue to keep the pressure on state and local law enforcement to comply with a federal govt. that just doesn't wish to deal with the matter, therefore continuing further arrests and wasting jail space indefinitely.

I truly believe that there ARE NO OTHER OPTIONS LEFT other than to just GO FOR OUTRIGHT LEGALIZATION.....NOT....just for medical use solely!!!
This IS the BEST WAY to approach the matter now as I see it....because to manage at successfully getting marijuana approved for medicinal use in 10 states already....IS a significant accomplishment in and of itself and has shown to the MAJORITY of voters in those states that there IS SOMETHING so obviously legitimate and beneficial for many people who suffer a wide range of health problems.....in SMOKING MARIJUANA and they did NOT NEED TO HEAR for themselves any FDA approval of the benefits of pot.

My only problem with the medical marijuana movement....IS the way it manages to find its legitimacy for "certain" medical conditions and has therefore managed to segregate the millions of marijuana smokers in America by justifying its many qualities SOLELY for an elite group of individuals who are suffering. Marijuana SHOULD be recognized more for its therapeutic benefits as well as possibly its use for religious beliefs and in general, its alternative and safer use as a social lubricant....OTHER than the only available legal one that is accepted now....ALCOHOL!

There's all kinds of discrimination out there.....including "recreational drug of choice" discrimination and it MUST STOP!

__________________
SkyTripper