A Federal Judge Denies a Grand Jury Access to Oregon Medical Marijuana Treatment Records A federal judge has thrown out sweeping subpoenas for patient records kept by Oregon's medical marijuana program and a private clinic, saying privacy concerns overruled a grand jury's demand for information. Chief U.S. District Judge Robert H. Whaley in Yakima ruled on the subpoenas four months after a grand jury in that city issued them. The grand jury wanted to know about 17 patients who got medical marijuana from a grower with operations in Oregon and Washington. [continues 591 words]
Poppies were the first thing that British army Capt. Leo Docherty noticed when he arrived in Afghanistan's turbulent Helmand province in April 2006. "They were growing right outside the gate of our Forward Operating Base," he told me. Within two weeks of his deployment to the remote town of Sangin, he realized that "poppy is the economic mainstay and everyone is involved right up to the higher echelons of the local government." Poppy, of course, is the plant from which opium - and heroin - are derived. [continues 1852 words]
Many know Ashland resident Andy Kerr as an ardent environmental activist, but he is also on the board of directors for the North American Industrial Hemp Council. "Most of my career I've dealt with the supply side of the timber economy," said the former executive director of the Oregon Natural Resources Council, who was active in the so-called timber wars of the 1980s. "I tried to constrict supply so we wouldn't be cutting down old growth forests. This is dealing with the demand side of the forest conservation equation." [continues 348 words]
Cops Realize Medical Marijuana Garden Is Within The Law; Grower Wishes Neighbors Had Called Him First The officers serving a search warrant on what they thought was a massive marijuana-growing operation had swarmed a greenhouse filled with plants and were poised to kick in the door of a house on the property when the word came. This was a registered medical marijuana site and it complied with Oregon law. "This is a frustration for us," said Sgt. Rick Valentine, supervisor of the Jackson County Narcotics Enforcement Team, who coordinated the seven Jackson County Sheriff's Department employees making this search earlier this month. "When we spend time on what turns out to be legal activity, it takes away from what we could do on illegal activities." [continues 887 words]
Portland Won't Bogart Its Parks; It Will Share Them With a Hemp Fest. Smoke 'em if you got 'em, because Hempstalk is back on! The third annual event, organized by The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation (THC...right on!), was canceled last May when Portland Parks and Recreation decided against allowing public parks to be used by pot-smoking partyers. But after a meeting Aug. 6 between event organizers and the city, it's a green light to green bud at Sellwood Riverside Park on Sept. 8 and 9. Last September's Hempstalk drew 15,000 people to Waterfront Park. [continues 305 words]
Americana Crop Stages Comeback in Goods From T-Shirts to Butters The hippie days live on in a handful of head shops on upper Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard, so you might be surprised if you step into a store called the Master Peace (3623 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd., 503-493-2366). The shop specializes in, among other things, products made of hemp, and that may conjure images of billowing smoke and psychedelic colors. But there are no portraits of Bob Marley or the Grateful Dead here. [continues 1012 words]
Federal subpoenas seeking medical records of 17 Oregon medical marijuana patients have growers and users upset and nervous even as a federal judge considers whether to throw the subpoenas out. "It's crazy. It's really scary. If they can get my records, they can get Gov. (Ted) Kulongoski's, they can get yours," said Donald DuPay, a former Portland police officer and 2006 candidate for Multnomah County sheriff. DuPay says his records are among those subpoenaed. A federal grand jury in Yakima, Wash., issued the subpoenas in April as part of an investigation of some growers in Oregon and Washington. [continues 524 words]
Medical Marijuana - The DEA Tries to Subpoena Medical Records of Patients, Some From Oregon, in an Investigation of Growers Advocates of medical marijuana say federal authorities have deployed a new tactic in Oregon to curb or stop state programs that permit the sick to use the weed: subpoenas demanding medical records for 17 marijuana patients. A federal judge is considering whether to throw out the subpoenas. But people who use and grow medical marijuana say they find the mere issuance of the subpoenas disturbing. [continues 710 words]
Grand Jury Seeks Patient Records After DEA Raid on Portland House A secret federal grand jury is duking it out with the state of Oregon to obtain the confidential records of some medical marijuana patients, the Portland Tribune has learned. The ongoing grand jury probe has included a federal Drug Enforcement Administration raid on the home of one of Portland's most high-profile medical pot activists, Don DuPay. "They threatened to arrest me if I did not cooperate with their federal investigation," DuPay, a former Portland police detective, candidate for Multnomah County sheriff and longtime co-host of the cable access show "Cannabis Common Sense," said, recounting his faceoff with the lead DEA agent during the raid. [continues 1099 words]
Politicians must love billion-dollar boondoggles because they can't help proposing them. Republican Kevin Mannix's plan to recriminalize medical marijuana and provide a taxpayer handout to the pharmaceutical industry could easily cost our state millions upon millions of dollars. His so-called Oregon Crimefighting Act (Letters, July 26) would not reduce crime by making thousands of sick and disabled patients felons. Patients use medical marijuana to help them retain their sight despite their glaucoma and to help them survive through chemotherapy treatments. [continues 52 words]
The Oregon Crimefighting Act (Initiative Petition 104), referenced by Allan Erickson in his July 23 letter to the editor, is not just about medical marijuana. The Oregon Crimefighting Act provides tax credits for donations to drug rehabilitation programs, establishes methamphetamine strike forces, toughens prison penalties for repeat sex offenders, imposes jail time for repeat drunken drivers, authorizes use of retired police as volunteers, and much more. It has 15 substantive provisions designed to be our D-Day assault on crime in Oregon. [continues 103 words]
Regarding your editorial, "Vernonia ponders pot again" (July 17), it seems that the issue of marijuana has resurrected itself -- in abundance. Kevin Mannix is attempting to eliminate the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program, Associated Oregon Industries is trying to undermine the medical marijuana program, and the feds are, well, anti-pot nuts. Having cannabis illegal (at any level) criminalizes the estimated 300,000 or more Oregon consumers of this ancient plant. Without a single recorded death through consumption, cannabis is truly -- as stated by the Drug Enforcement Administration's own administrative law judge Francis Young in 1988 -- "one of the safest therapeutic substances known to man." [continues 83 words]
When I read the editorial "Vernonia ponders pot again," I thought that this guy (Aaron Miller) is getting off with a slap on the wrist. He is the figurehead of Washington Grade School and here he is smoking pot, an illegal substance, while the Vernonia School District cracks down on athletes and the school district is just giving Miller "discipline." What is he, a 10-year-old with his hand caught in the cookie jar? No, he is an allegedly grown man and responsible adult whose job it is to oversee a school filled with young, impressionable students who try to emulate what the adults are doing. Not the kind of role model you want your kids to be around, huh? I think that Miller should get his just desserts for inappropriate actions. Vernonia School District needs to swing the ax. Mike DeVries Gresham [end]
At 48, I have never found marijuana appealing, regardless of the legalities. While I have a drink once or twice a month in business or social situations, I would rather have chocolate. It tastes better and allows me to immediately drive my vehicle after. Unfortunately, most of my friends feel the same way about alcohol and behave the same after use. On the other hand, the people I know who smoke pot occasionally never drive afterward. How often does a driver kill or seriously injure or disable someone while under the influence of pot? It's way past time that marijuana is legalized in very small amounts for recreational use and medical purposes. Ann Degenshein Camas, Wash. [end]
I cannot agree with Vernonia School Superintendent Kenneth Cox and the Vernonia School Board in allowing Aaron Miller to retain his job. He not only was caught smoking dope in a public place but also had to be handcuffed after becoming "agitated" with a police officer ("Vernonia principal in hot water over pot," July 11). A school principal serves as a role model to his students -- especially elementary students. It is hypocritical to say to your child, "Your school principal can use dope, but don't you do it." Hillsboro [end]
Michael Hibbs did not deserve rotten eggs for his service in Vietnam. I have heard no voice protesting this war and occupation suggesting that not supporting the troops and honoring their service was OK. We have bent over backwards to separate the awful mission from those sent by their commander-in-chief. It is their abuse and misuse we protest to "support the troops." I am tired of those who have taken up the profession of soldier or police officer complaining when the laws or foreign policies they enforce are criticized. [continues 139 words]
I would like to address the July 23 letters written by Allan Erickson of the Drug Policy Forum of Oregon ("'War on drugs' is an utter failure") and Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project ("Marijuana laws make no sense"). After looking at the Drug Policy Forum's Web site, I see we actually agree on many things. I have one problem with the use of marijuana as a medication: the way it is ingested. It does not make sense that a person would be willing to take on additional health risks that could in the end cause cancer. [continues 164 words]
Regarding Detective Ken Real's July 18 letter, "Drug war critic's facts were mistaken": I agree with the detective that the job of police is to enforce the laws they are given. I also agree that it is essential to change laws using established processes. That said, I would point out that the whole of our drug war is founded upon bad laws based on bigotry and xenophobia and no science. When science has proven that drugs are effective medicines, the studies were shelved and buried. One example was the 1974 government-commissioned study to document the harm that marijuana caused. It instead found that it shrank cancer tumors. ( See www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n572/a11.html ) [continues 149 words]
It is detective Ken Real, not critics of the drug war, who has his facts wrong (Letters, July 18, "Drug war critic's facts were mistaken," 7/18). Why does he think criminal gangs plant marijuana farms in national forests and other public lands, endangering hikers, campers and the environment? Why don't they plant vineyards, or fields of hops and barley for making beer? Simple: Alcohol -- a drug far more addictive and toxic than marijuana -- is legally regulated. Those who produce and sell it are licensed and regulated, and must follow extensive rules about how the product can be produced, how it must be labeled, and where and to whom it may be sold. Because of prohibition, marijuana -- an easy, cheap plant to grow -- is literally worth its weight in gold, and grown under the most hazardous and risky conditions possible. Simply put, that's insane. Bruce Mirken Marijuana Policy Project Washington, D.C. [end]
To the "legalize it" crowd: Sure let's legalize drugs and let the state make a load of cash in doing so. I know how the state likes to spend. Look at all the problems we have in our society that involve our current legal drugs. Mike Davis Albany [end]
Inside Oregon
