Pubdate: Thu, 27 Sep 2012
Source: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
Copyright: 2012 The Oregonian
Contact:  http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324

OREGON'S OTHER POT PROGRAM

Oregon now has, in effect, two overlapping medical marijuana programs.
One benefits sick people and minor recreational users, and the other
enriches drug traffickers and felons.

State lawmakers could take steps to make Oregon's medical marijuana
laws harder to exploit, while staying true to the tolerant and
compassionate roots of the voter-approved program. In fact, Oregon
could make its marijuana laws significantly more restrictive and still
remain one of the country's most permissive states on pot.

When Oregon voters approved medical marijuana in 1998, the general
intent was to give people with serious medical problems some legal
breathing room to grow or smoke marijuana. Though marijuana remained
illegal under federal law, the state sanctioned its limited use.

It became obvious pretty quickly that small-time recreational users
were able to piggyback on the program, using hard-to-disprove ailments
such as back pain and migraines. That fact didn't raise too many
hackles: This is Oregon, a live-and-let-live state where people don't
overly fixate on their neighbors' relaxant of choice.

But the medical marijuana program has kept growing and growing, much
like the weed that flourishes here, as The Oregonian's Noelle Crombie
has documented in an ongoing series. Word has gotten out:

* Oregon has some of the nation's highest limits for possession of
medical marijuana. Oregon and Washington allow 24 ounces, compared to
eight ounces in California and roughly two ounces in most other states
with medical marijuana programs. Oregon's limit of six plants is
moderate by national standards -- but then again, our climate allows
plants to grow into mini-trees and produce marijuana in excess of the
limits.

* This state has no clear authority to inspect large grow sites,
including outdoor ones larger than football fields and indoor ones
with potential wiring hazards.

* Oregon doles out marijuana cards to virtually anyone, including
felons with multiple convictions.

* Oregon allows growers -- or "caregivers," as they're called -- to
grow marijuana for numerous "patients." This can open the door to card
stacking, as Crombie reported, where growers recruit cardholders to
boost their drug yield.

We continue to see value in having a medical marijuana program that
allows seriously ill people to seek relief. We support Oregon's
approach of treating marijuana possession as a fairly minor offense.
We'd also like to see less of a chasm between state and federal drug
law: At the very least, the federal government should treat marijuana
more like morphine (which can be prescribed for pain) than heroin or
meth.

But as long as Oregon has a medical marijuana program in a country
with a drug-trafficking problem and a major black market for pot, the
state shouldn't be quite so welcoming to drug traffickers, big-league
growers and felons with long rap sheets.

The 2013 legislative session is the right time for state lawmakers --
perhaps in partnership with state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum --
to curtail felons' access, allow state inspections in some
circumstances, limit card stacking and adjust possession limits. All
of these things are possible without damaging Oregon's hard-earned
street credibility as a pro-pot state.
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