Pubdate: Sat, 30 Nov 2002
Source: Oklahoman, The (OK)
Copyright: 2002 The Oklahoma Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.oklahoman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318
Author:  Danny Freedman, Associated Press Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

AGENCY EXAMINES MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAWS

Police Report 'General Softening' In Public's Attitude, Study Finds

WASHINGTON -- Law enforcement officials in four of the states that allow 
medical use of marijuana say the laws have had minimal impact on 
crimefighting, although they at times complicate prosecution of drug cases, 
a congressional report said Friday. The report by the General Accounting 
Office stated that only a small fraction of the people in Oregon, Hawaii 
and Alaska used marijuana for medical purposes. The results in California, 
the fourth state studied, were limited to only four counties and no 
statewide figures were available.

Some law enforcement officials said that while crimefighting was not 
harmed, the laws allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana at times has 
complicated efforts to seize illegal marijuana or to prosecute some cases, 
according to the GAO report.

In some cases, law enforcement officials said the marijuana laws resulted 
in "a general softening" in attitudes among the public toward marijuana, 
the report stated, and some were concerned about conflicts that arise with 
federal laws banning the drug.

The GAO examined only four of the eight states that have allowed medical 
uses for marijuana. The other states are Nevada, Colorado, Washington and 
Maine.

The GAO found that a total of about 2,450 people in Oregon, Hawaii and 
Alaska use marijuana for medical purposes -- accounting for no more than 
.05 percent of the population in any of the states.

The report provided no statewide data for California. That state's law does 
not require medicinal marijuana users to register, although about 4,500 
people have done so voluntarily in four of the state's 58 counties, 
according to the GAO.

In Northern California, Humboldt County officials said marijuana growers 
are allowed to grow hundreds of plants while claiming to be a medical 
caregiver to multiple patients, and no documentation is required.

Some local law enforcement officials in California questioned how 
effectively they could prosecute criminal marijuana cases, since the state 
has no limit on the amount of marijuana that can be held by a patient or a 
caregiver.

While the other three states have established limits, some law enforcement 
officials said they, too, were less likely to pursue cases that could be 
shielded by the provisions.

The Bush administration disagreed with some of the report's findings.

The state marijuana laws have resulted in a "worsening of relations between 
federal, state and local law enforcement," acting Assistant Attorney 
General Robert F. Diegelman wrote in the report's review.

The laws create "legal loopholes for drug dealers and marijuana cultivators 
to avoid arrest and prosecution," he said.

In Hawaii and Oregon, where information on gender was kept, about 70 
percent of users in each state were male, according to the report.

Both states also showed most of their patients were taking marijuana to 
treat severe pain and persistent muscle spasms. Such information was not 
available for Alaska or California.

The GAO conducted its study from September 2001 to June 2002.
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