Pubdate: 24 May 1999 Source: USA Today (US) Copyright: 1999 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. Contact: 1000 Wilson Blvd., Arlington VA 22229 Fax: (703) 247-3108 Website: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nfront.htm Author: Patrick McMahon, USA Today Section: Page A-4 OREGON, ALASKA IDENTIFY LEGAL MARIJUANA USERS ON STATE-ISSUED CARDS Jeanelle Bluhm of Portland, Ore., smokes marijuana to ease the spasms that come with multiple sclerosis, and now she has a new state ID card to verify that her doctor recommends it. Friday, Oregon became the first state to issue ID cards for patients to prove they are complying with a state law that allows marijuana use by certain seriously ill patients. The federal government also announced plans Friday to boost the prospects of more research on medical marijuana. "I'm very psyched," says Bluhm, a 47-year-old nurse who worked for passage of the medical marijuana law enacted by Oregon voters last fall. The Oregon Health Division issued her ID card No. 00001 on Friday. Her caregiver has card No. 00002. "It's been a long time coming," she says. "A lot of my friends said this would never happen." Under the state law, patients with cancer, AIDS and HIV, glaucoma, seizures, spasms, nausea and severe pain may use small amounts of marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. Oregon is one of five states that have enacted such measures. The others: California, Alaska, Arizona and Washington state. The laminated cards are valid for a year and are intended to make it easier for state and local law enforcement officials to know who is qualified to use marijuana under the law. Possession and sale of marijuana remain federal crimes, although they are rarely enforced for medical users. And it is illegal for doctors to prescribe marijuana. That's why the state laws generally say patients must have a doctor's "recommendation," rather than a prescription. "This is a great day for patients," says Geoff Sugerman, spokesman for Oregonians for Medical Rights, the group that pushed the medical marijuana initiative. "Finally, at least in the state of Oregon, patients can use marijuana as a medicine without fear of arrest and prosecution." Of the five states with medical marijuana laws, only Oregon and Alaska have provisions for ID cards. In Oregon, state officials have processed 35 applications for cards at a fee of $150 apiece. Another 135 are pending review. Alaska is expected to begin processing ID cards in June at a cost of $25 per patient, Sugerman says. Dave Fratello, spokesman for Americans for Medical Rights, based in Santa Monica, Calif., says the Oregon ID card is evidence that "federal law is becoming irrelevant on this subject." "Patients and physicians in states with these new laws have adequate protection to use marijuana as a medicine if they need to. After all their bluster, federal officials have proved powerless to stop medical marijuana from taking root," Fratello says. Marijuana's effectiveness as medicine remains the topic of considerable scientific debate. In March, a report from the highly respected Institute of Medicine, an arm of the private National Academy of Sciences, found marijuana may be effective in treating chronic pain, nausea, and AIDS-related weight loss. The report, commissioned by the White House, was the strongest endorsement yet of medical marijuana, but the report was less than effusive. Marijuana's biggest drawback, the report said, was that it must be smoked, and the report called for more research. Friday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced new regulations to make it easier for researchers to get marijuana from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for use in medical research. Critics contended that the federal government had deliberately made the approval process for grants so difficult that no substantial research ever took place. Following the report from the Institute of Medicine, White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey issued a statement saying that his office endorses the "decision to facilitate further research into the potential medical uses of marijuana and its constituent cannabinoids." Groups favoring the legalization of medical marijuana were cautiously optimistic. "This will not help patients who are currently risking arrest because they need marijuana right now," says Chuck Thomas of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. John Benson, co-director of the Institute of Medicine study, had a lukewarm response. Although his report recommended more research, "it's hard to discern that these guidelines have streamlined existing procedures." - --- MAP posted-by: Mike Gogulski