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Feds' Effort to Get Patient Files Called 'Scary'
Pubdate: Sat, 11 Aug 2007
Source: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
Copyright: 2007 The Oregonian
Contact: http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324
Author: Anne Saker, The Oregonian
Cited: Oregon Medical Marijuana Program http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/ommp/
Cited: The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation http://www.thc-foundation.org
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project http://www.mpp.org
Cited: Americans for Safe Access http://www.americansforsafeaccess.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)
FEDS' EFFORT TO GET PATIENT FILES CALLED 'SCARY'
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.
"It's crazy. It's really scary. If they can get my records, they can
get Gov. Kulongoski's, they can get yours," said Donald DuPay, a
former Portland police officer and 2006 candidate for Multnomah
County sheriff. DuPay says he is among the 17 people whose records
were subpoenaed.
A federal grand jury in Yakima issued the subpoenas in April as part
of an investigation of a handful of growers in Oregon and Washington.
The subpoenas asked simply for "medical records" of the 17 patients,
who are not targets of the grand jury.
James Hagerty, the assistant U.S. attorney who convened the grand
jury, declined to comment, as did a Seattle spokesman for the Drug
Enforcement Administration.
The grand jury served the subpoenas on the Oregon Medical Marijuana
Program, the state office that issues permits to patients and their
authorized growers. A second subpoena went to The Hemp and Cannabis
Foundation, a private Portland clinic where doctors examine patients
to determine whether their conditions would be eased by marijuana.
In addition, the DEA raided DuPay's Northeast Portland home in June
and seized 135 marijuana plants that DuPay said he was growing for
patients. DuPay, who hosts a local cable-access program on medical
marijuana, said this week that he has not been arrested.
On Aug. 1, lawyers from the state and from the ACLU, representing the
Hemp and Cannabis Foundation, went before Chief U.S. District Judge
Robert H. Whaley in Yakima to argue that the subpoenas should be thrown out.
During the hearing, Hagerty acknowledged that the subpoenas were
written too broadly. What the grand jury wants, he said, is not
"medical records" but only current addresses and phone numbers for
the 17 patients.
He told the judge that the grand jury is investigating "four or five"
people for growing marijuana to sell under cover of the
medical-marijuana law. The 17 people are or were patients who got
medical marijuana from the people under investigation, he said.
Whaley promised to rule on the subpoenas soon.
Oregon voters enacted the state's medical-marijuana program in 1998,
and 14,868 state residents hold patient cards. An additional 7,115
people are registered as caregivers, giving them state permission to
grow medical marijuana. Caregivers are not permitted to sell
marijuana but can accept donations to defray costs.
Besides Oregon, 11 states have medical marijuana programs, and at
least two others are considering them. But federal law forbids the
use or cultivation of marijuana, and for years, federal authorities
have attacked California's program by raiding marijuana dispensaries
and prosecuting growers.
Last month, the DEA sent letters to landlords of dispensaries in Los
Angeles warning of the consequences of selling marijuana, including
prison sentences.
But the Oregon subpoenas apparently represent the first time the DEA
has tried to get medical records of patients, "and of course, it is
very worrisome," said Bruce Mirkin, a spokesman for the Marijuana
Policy Project, an advocacy group in Washington, D.C.
"People have an expectation of medical privacy, and I think they have
a right to expect medical privacy," Mirkin said. "It's one thing to
talk about people selling a product that is in fact not legal under
federal law. We may think that's stupid. But that's in a whole
different realm than obtaining people's medical records."
The Web site for the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program promises
patients and caregivers that their medical records are protected
under state law and the federal Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act.
Kris Hermes, a spokesman for the advocacy group Americans for Safe
Access, said there have long been tensions between the state programs
and federal authorities. But Hermes said the Yakima grand jury's
subpoenas suggest the DEA is not simply looking to prosecute dealers.
"It sends a message to the other states and their programs that
they're vulnerable to federal interference," he said. "It doesn't
take a brick to hit you over the head to know that the federal
government is trying to undermine California's medical marijuana law,
given all the raids and threats to landlords. This is one step
further that shows the federal government is very serious about going
after patients."
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake