Pubdate: Tue, 07 Jun 2005
Source: Register-Guard, The (OR)
Copyright: 2005 The Register-Guard
Contact:  http://www.registerguard.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/362
Author: Jeff Wright, The Register-Guard
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?232 (Chronic Pain)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Raich (Raich v. Ashcroft)

LOCAL PATIENTS, ADVOCATES REACT WITH ANGER, CAUTION

Sharon Place, who uses marijuana on a near-daily basis to ease the pain of 
a digestive disorder, says she's trying hard to keep Monday's U.S. Supreme 
Court ruling in perspective.

"From what I can tell right now, there's no reason to overreact," she said. 
"But it does raise your anxiety level. What if they want to make an example 
of somebody? That could happen at any time."

Place, 49, grows marijuana at her home outside Eugene - not only for 
herself but also for a son, 19, who suffers from a more severe case of 
gastroesophageal reflux disease. Both hold Oregon Medical Marijuana Act 
cards, which allow them to grow and use small amounts of marijuana.

"I use it to be able to eat, and after I eat to take the discomfort away," 
Place said. The marijuana is even more crucial for her son, who can go 
weeks without needing any but can barely get through a day without it when 
he is most ill, she said.

The court's ruling, which says that federal authorities can prosecute sick 
people whose doctors recommend marijuana to ease pain, makes her feel angry 
and stigmatized, Place said.

"It just seems like a lack of compassion for the situation of others," she 
said. "They don't get it, and they don't care."

Steve Cabe of Cheshire, who suffers from a progressive crippling arthritis, 
said the court ruling takes him aback: "There's over 10,000 card holders in 
this state," he said. "What do they want - a civil war?"

Cabe, 55, said he hopes Oregon's attorney general will continue to fight to 
protect the state law. He said he lays much of the blame at the feet of 
marijuana advocates who've riled the federal government by lobbying for 
dispensaries where patients could obtain larger amounts of marijuana.

"They want to grow more than three to six plants. That's the problem here. 
We need to stick to the letter of the law."

Todd Dalotto, who runs Compassion Center, a medical marijuana advocacy 
group in Eugene, said he's been assuring people there's little reason to 
fear Monday's ruling, so long as they play by the state's rules.

"I'm recommending that people keep a low profile, don't grow large gardens 
and stay strictly within the state law," he said. "Don't involve yourself 
in anything that could even give the appearance of being involved in 
interstate commerce, or commerce of any sort."

The Compassion Center's doctors have seen more than 2,000 patients who've 
qualified for medical marijuana since the center's opening in 2001, Dalotto 
said. Media publicity about the Supreme Court ruling will have a lot to do 
with whether those numbers continue to climb or dip, he said.

"It will depend on whether it's made clear that this (ruling) is not going 
to affect states' rights, and that the federal government is not going to 
bother with patients who are just growing for themselves," he said.

Dalotto said he's more concerned about a pending bill in the Legislature, 
House Bill 5077, that redistributes about $900,000 that currently goes to 
the medical marijuana program.

The result, he said, could be higher fees to possess a medical marijuana 
card, which could then prove too expensive for some prospective patients.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager