Although Measure 74, a proposed law to create a state-regulated medical marijuana dispensary system, was voted down last month, the medical pot movement has been increasingly active in Bend. Just this week, a medical marijuana club and a full-time medical marijuana clinic opened here in town.
Central Oregon Alternative Therapy (COAT) is planning to open this week in a strip mall location at 2600 Division Street and will operate as a private medical marijuana club for cardholders only. COAT co-organizer Chris Smith described the operation as a “patient-to-patient” interface where cardholders will be on hand to distribute small amounts of medical marijuana in return for a donation. The club requires a paid membership and only members will be allowed to receive marijuana. This is the first organization of this kind in Deschutes County, but similar clubs exist in southern Oregon and the Portland area.
As of October 1, the Oregon Department of Human Services reported that there were 1,738 registered cardholders in Deschutes County, giving it one of the highest cardholder per capita ratios of any county in the state.
Supporters say that the latest move does not, however, represent a free-for-all approach.
COAT is not, Smith says, a dispensary, where cardholders can purchase marijuana outright. However, the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) allows patients to reimburse their growers for the supplies and utilities required to produce marijuana, which opens the door for clubs like COAT. Other costs like labor and transportation cannot be reimbursed.
“A dispensary would have had a lot of medicine on hand,” says Smith, “The maximum amount of medicine on hand [for us] is what would be allowable for one person.”
The total amount of usable marijuana that a medical cardholder can possess is 24 ounces, which is the maximum that would be on hand at COAT at any time, says Smith.
Smith and his fellow organizers have spoken with both Bend police and the Deschutes County District Attorney’s office about the club and say they’ve been told that their plans for COAT do not violate OMMP laws. The marijuana won’t be in plain sight, the club will not be open after dark and Smith stresses that only OMMP cardholders will be allowed to enter.
“Somebody has to go first and it might as well be someone who’s going to be safe and responsible. We’re not trying to open a dope house,” says Smith, a 35-year-old local business owner and Marine Corps veteran.
Also this week, Bend’s first full-time medical marijuana and education clinic opened on Revere Avenue. Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse (MAMA) has been holding clinics in rented locations in Bend for some time, but now runs Bend’s first five-day-a-week permanent medical marijuana clinic.
MAMA Executive Director Sandee Burbank said the clinic is open for appointments during which individuals can speak with a doctor and have their medical records reviewed to determine if their condition qualifies for medical marijuana. The clinic will also educate existing cardholders and others about OMMP laws and provide instruction on how to use marijuana other than by smoking it. Marijuana will not be provided at the clinic.
This article appears in Dec 2-8, 2010.
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Another step towards decriminalization! We will end this insane DrugWar soon. It was just a generation ago in this country where drug criminals were locked away for two or three decades for -possession- of a joint!
It amazes me that there still is irrational support for the continued waste of public resource to capture and punish non-violent people for pursuing their happiness.
Maybe we all should join Willie Nelson and his “Teapot Party” and vote out the last of the self-serving DrugWarrior politicians who continue to represent the “Partnership for a Drug-free America” special interests and the rest of the reefer-madhatters in direct opposition to the will of the majority.
How stupid do these medical marijuana dopers think the rest of us really are? If there were such great medical benefits from dope, greedy big pharma would have already figured out how to extract the active ingredient and put it in a pill.
Just a way for loser stoners to “legally” obtain their illicit substance.
A pill, You mean something like this?
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/03/health/main5209380.shtml
Jon, how stupid does -anyone- think you are? Who can say?
Hust a thought, but you really should educate yourself on a subject before expressing an opinion in public. It will serve you better than this.
In three short sentences you engage in namecalling and use language intended to demean, you ask a question that cannot be answered, and then produce a theory and conclusion that only serves to broadcast hate and ignorance.
You fail to give any sign of compassion for others, nor do you give us any clue that you are seeking understanding or solution.
I am betting that you Pledge Allegience to the Flag, but define Liberty and Freedom for all as a good idea as long as you approve.
Waging war against peaceful people, or a harmless plant,
is never a good idea. Decriminalization is smart,
financially and spiritually.
Thank you for listening Jon.
Educating yourself begins with each of us and we should all be educating ourselves about the dangers of marijuana and understand that it is not just a harmless plant.
Voters were told that OMMP was for the sick and dying. Less than 4% is for cancer. Over 88% is used for common pain. A single doctor is responsible for recommending approximately 35% of all medical marijuana cards, with ten doctors recommending 59% of all cards. OMMP has grown because of misuse of the program.
__________________________________________________________________
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/print_story.php?story_id=127128421107102600
__________________________________________________________________
The US Supreme Court has determined that marijuana in smoked form is not a medicine and that there are other medicines that the FDA has approved that can be used to deal with pain and sickness.
Marijuana is not a harmless plant and is causing problems across the State that affect the health and safety of our communities. To name just a few, the illegal trafficking of an illegal drug to others not in the OMMP program, in-home fires caused by grow lights and illegal electrical wiring, in-home burglaries and killings over marijuana grows, access to pot grows by children in these homes, the selling of pot to kids, and illegal pesticides and chemicals that are being used on grows and then the excess being dumped in the environment to name just a few.
Read the news and educate yourself about the dangers of marijuana and the effects that marijuana has on the body and our youth.
Real compassion begins when someone says that smoking pot just isn't about your personal right, but rather when you take responsibility to make sure that your personal rights does not affect the health and safety of our communities. When that is abused, you have just lost your personal right and made it the communities right to wage war against the pot growers, dealers, and smokers to help address with all of the effects that marijuana is creating in our communities and put a stop to it.
Compassion begins by working with the Food and Drug Administration to approve medicines that are safe for the general public that is where safe access and compassion begin.
Decriminalization is not smart, not financially sound, nor spiritually appropriate.
http://www.marijuanaharmsfamilies.com
“…marijuana … is not just a harmless plant.”
You are absolutely correct.
Those of us who have already educated ourselves know the reasons for the birth of the War on Marijuana. It certainly -was- a threat to many, but never to users, and never to the Community.
Today it threatens the pharmaceutical industry and Budweiser. These special interests created the lies that you lay out in your argument.
You named the harmful effects of the -prohibition- of marijuana,
which would all go away with the demise of the Drug War. Thank you for that, but you failed to substantiate your original claim by forgetting to list one single harmful effect of the -use- of marijuana.
We must always question the source of an opinion that mimics the statist view, makes outrageous claims, and follows with not a single verifiable fact. Those of us who -have- educated ourselves on the subject are no longer responding to the REEFER MADNESS propaganja. We are not the droids you are looking for.
The largest of the reasons for the continuing of this destructive prohibition is the investment of those such as yourselves in the system that attempts to compete with the medical benefits of marijuana, and of course, the plethora of products that can be produced with hemp. Ooops. I probably just confused you as you are probably holding onto your misconceptions about hemp, too.
Speak not of compassion, or morality, or even spirituality, when you publicly support a position that supports the initiation of government force and violence and theft against peaceful productive people. Continue to do so, or risk looking like a fool, or worse, a hypocrite.
Oh. That’s right. You forgot to sign your name to your opinion, too. That’s OK. We’d be embarrassed, too.
Those of us who have experienced living next to one of these marijuana pot houses know the real dangers of marijuana in our community.
Worried by thieves, medical marijuana growers protect crops with booby traps and weapons
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/11/medical_marijuana_growers_prot.html
Other dangers include:
http://www.casacolumbia.org/templates/Home.aspx?articleid=287&zoneid=32
MARIJUANA POTENCY UP 175 PERCENT, MEDICAL DIAGNOSES, TREATMENT ADMISSIONS, ER FINDINGS FOR TEEN MARIJUANA USE UP SHARPLY
From 1992 – 2006:
There was a 175 percent jump in the potency of marijuana (3.2 to 8.8 percent THC[i] concentration in seized samples).
There was a 492 percent increase in the proportion of teen treatment admissions with a medical diagnosis for marijuana abuse or dependence, compared with a 54 percent decline for all other substances of abuse.
There was a 188 percent increase in the proportion of teen treatment admissions for marijuana as the primary drug of abuse, compared with a 54 percent decline for all other substances of abuse.
From 1995 – 2002:
There was a 136 percent increase in the proportion of emergency department findings of marijuana as a major substance of abuse among teens, more than five times the increase in such findings for all other substances of abuse.
“The message for teens is clear–today's pernicious pot is not your parent's pot,” said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA's Chairman and President and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. “The THC potency in marijuana seized in the 1970's, when marijuana use was most prevalent, was less than one percent; today such potency levels have climbed to 8.8 percent. This increased potency parallels the increases we see in teen medical diagnoses, treatment admissions and emergencies. Parents and teachers, coaches and clergy, all who work with teens, must understand that marijuana is a risky and addictive drug with serious health and social consequences.”
Despite recent declines in teen marijuana use, compared to lows in 1992 the report found that in 2007 the proportion of teens who had used the drug was 27 percent higher among eighth graders, 45 percent higher among tenth graders and 28 percent higher among twelfth graders.
DRUGGED DRIVING
http://druggeddriving.org/
In a study of seriously injured drivers, 26.9% tested positive for MARIJUANA while 11.6% tested positive for cocaine, and 5.6% tested positive for either methamphetamine or amphetamine.
Additionally, in a recent British Columbia roadside study of drivers, 10.4% of drivers who provided an oral fluid sample tested positive for at least one drug other than alcohol. Cannabis and cocaine were the most commonly detected illegal substances, with 4.6% of drivers testing positive for each. 0.9% of drivers tested positive for opiates. Amphetamines, methamphetamine and benzodiazepines were detected in less than 1% of drivers.
Of the total number of positive drug tests, cannabis accounted for 49.4%. Cocaine was detected in 29.3% of positive cases while opiates were detected in 14.8%. Cannabis and cocaine was the most common polydrug combination, and accounted for 8.3% of all positive drug cases.
We can look outside Oregon for examples of reasons why NOT to allow a federally illegal drug into our State in any form. From California to Colorado the black market will remain!
http://mexicoinstitute.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/why-legalization-in-mexico-is-not-a-panacea-for-reducing-violence-and-suppressing-organized-crime/
Decriminalization is not smart, not financially sound, nor spiritually appropriate.
Still, you refuse to sign your name to your Strawman argument.
You make prostitution illegal, then complain of the high price.
You demonstrate no understanding of the effects of the Black Market. Every harm you list, real or imagined, is a direct result of your prohibition.
You have not, because you cannot, list a single harm of the drug itself. Conversation over, Drug Warrior.
Peace.
MARIJUANA INCARERACTION
It is exceedingly rare to be incarcerated in the US for the use or possession of marijuana. According to the National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA, 2010), less than 1 percent (0.9%) of jail and prison inmates in the U.S. were incarcerated for marijuana possession as their sole offense.
Excluding jail detainees who may be held pending booking or release on bond, the rates are even lower. Prison inmates sentenced for marijuana possession account for 0.7 percent of state prisoners and 0.8 percent of federal prisoners. And, considering that many of those prisoners pled down from more serious charges, the true incarceration rate for marijuana possession can only be described as negligible.
Other effects of Marijuana to individuals seen in the link below:
http://www.nadcp.org/sites/default/files/nadcp/The Facts on Marijuana – NADCP_1.pdf
We have, because we can, list many harms of marijuana to the community and to individuals because it is the truth. Conversation just beginning.
Decriminalization is not smart, not financially sound, nor spiritually appropriate.
Its nice to see cut and paste comments from an out of state group (www.marijuanaharmsfamilies.com) which is
financed almost entirely by drug testing firms and the vendors which service private prisons. Its certainly in THEIR best interests to keep cannabis illegal. Goodness knows we need to spend more money on locking up our fellow citizens [/sarcasm]
I, for one, do not wish to live in a society where others decide what is “spiritually appropriate” for me. I trust my personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and the words of the Holy Bible:
“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”
Impacts –
One correction if I may
Cannabis prohibition harms families
The passage of M74 would have regulated many of the concerns you discussed that are not results of prohibition. It did not pass.
Patients need safe access and other patients are going to be sure they have it. It is kind of encouraging to see folks rising to meet such an important need.
I am happy to see that local law enforcement was consulted and is on board with this club. If it turns out to be a good thing, no harm, no foul.
If it turns out to be a problem for law enforcement, they can take action.
It s a good thing that there will be a safe place for patients to go for their medical cannabis and networking with other OMMP participants.
It is good they have a place which law enforcement is less likely to break the doors of than the local dealers house.
Kids will not have access.
Even without M74 passing, we have progress.
Congratulations to Bend, to MAMA and to COAT.
and especially to the medical cannabis patients in the area who will benefit from these organizations presence in Bend.
I hope the Bend community welcomes them, avails themselves of the education available, and learns that it will really be okay to include such organizations as part of a thriving community.
Life is good.
Lucky us.
M74 did nothing to control the existing program, as M74 will not infringe on a cardholder's ability to produce their own marijuana or to designate a person responsible for a marijuana grow site, to do so for them. In home grows and existing caregiver growers will continue to go unregulated and unchecked continuing to create problems in our communities and cause law enforcement to have to divert their resources to deal with the existing abuses. Kids already have access through many of the local illegal drug dealers who are caregivers and growers for the existing OMMP program.
As the 11 Oregon Citizen's Initiative Review found, “Proponents are saying “trust us” before rules are made, availability of marijuana will increase, inviting illegal activity. Convicted felons can become dispensary directors or employees five years after conviction. “Measure 74, a thinly veiled attempt to legalize marijuana, has a high probability of being abused!” wwwreview74.org
It will never be OK to include a business that is not complying with FDA approved medicines. Perhaps the proponents of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program should have thought about the conflicts that would be created by not following the guidelines and regulations of the Food and Drug Administration. This is the process that creates SAFE ACCESS FOR CARDHOLDERS. Many federal dollars have already been spent researching marijuana, which resulted in a clear decision by the Food and Drug Administration the federal agency responsible for approving drugs as safe and effective medicine based on valid scientific data.
Bend residents should be aware of the number of misuses and abuses of this program and should be concerned with the drugged driving that will occur from these clubs.
DRUGGED DRIVING
http://druggeddriving.org/
In a study of seriously injured drivers, 26.9% tested positive for MARIJUANA while 11.6% tested positive for cocaine, and 5.6% tested positive for either methamphetamine or amphetamine.
Additionally, in a recent British Columbia roadside study of drivers, 10.4% of drivers who provided an oral fluid sample tested positive for at least one drug other than alcohol. Cannabis and cocaine were the most commonly detected illegal substances, with 4.6% of drivers testing positive for each. 0.9% of drivers tested positive for opiates. Amphetamines, methamphetamine and benzodiazepines were detected in less than 1% of drivers.
Of the total number of positive drug tests, cannabis accounted for 49.4%. Cocaine was detected in 29.3% of positive cases while opiates were detected in 14.8%. Cannabis and cocaine was the most common polydrug combination, and accounted for 8.3% of all positive drug cases.
“You fail to give any sign of compassion for others, nor do you give us any clue that you are seeking understanding or solution.”
Look, I know you chronics need your weed. Whatever. Since it is a “harmless plant” you should quite capable of growing your own. But stop insulting the rest of us with your dishonesty by making up all these wondrous therapeutic benefits of the substance and sidestepping the true underlying motive. You like smoking marijuana, for pleasure and indulgence, not therapy.
And no I don’t have any compassion for a movement seeking to legalize a substance which is a threat to my children and my family.
Name proudly signed top and bottom.
Jon Jegglie
“‘And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.'”
You’ll need to read a bit more than what godgaveuscannibis or holyhemp post on their sites.
Further down in Genesis 3:17b “cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
3:18 “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.”
This was following the original sin of Adam and Eve eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge. God’s edict was that thenceforth eating of the field herbs was to be a punishment, not a gift.
It’s amazing how much negativity comes from marijuana. Or rather from those who are uneducated. How many brew houses or pubs are there in bend? I’d say alcoholism and drunk driving are more serious than the legal use of marijuana. As a card holder myself, I do only the legal amount allowed and pose no threat to anybody. My purchase of equipment and nutrients helps support local business. I don’t think my neurologist would recommend it to me if they thought it was harmful. I think It’s best if people mind there own business and not lump us all into the group who abuses the system.
The negativity comes from the many side effects and abuses of the marijuana program and how it affecting communities around this State. Has nothing to do with education, has everything to do with having to experience living next to these abuses such as:
The illegal trafficking of an illegal drug to others not in the OMMP program
In-home fires caused by grow lights and illegal electrical wiring
In-home burglaries and killings over marijuana grows
Access to pot grows by children in these homes
The illegal selling of pot to kids
Illegal pesticides and chemicals that are being used on grows and then the excess being dumped in the environment
Having your neighbor grow pot in their yard and have to smell the stink of pot
Trafficking coming in and out all day and night
Examples:
Worried by thieves, medical marijuana growers protect crops with booby traps and weapons
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/11/medical_marijuana_growers_prot.html
15-year term in Oakridge medical marijuana robbery
http://www.necn.com/12/08/10/15-year-term-in-Oakridge-medical-marijua/landing_nation.html?&blockID=3&apID=51b059fc02314e6f9e6c1e0a6dfce3fe
It also has nothing to do with brew houses or pubs, we are not talking about alcohol, we are talking about the dangers of marijuana and what it does to our community, to compare it to alcohol is irrelevant. Marijuana is a federally illegal drug. The purchase of your equipment and nutrients may help support the local economy, but not enough for the rest of the community to have to put up with all the abuses of this program. It is best that people mind the business of the community by being proactive and say NO to programs that affect the community as a whole. If your neurologist recommended marijuana, then he/she is required by law to discuss the risks and dangers of marijuana as well.
Oregon voters were told in 1998 that the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program was for the sick and dying. Now 12 years later, less than 4% is for cancer. Over 88% is used for common pain. A single doctor is responsible for recommending approximately 35% of all medical marijuana cards, with ten doctors recommending 59% of all cards. OMMP has grown because of misuse of the program and there are many in this program that lie to get high.
__________________________________________________________________
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/print_story.php?story_id=127128421107102600
Education begins by complying with the Food and Drug Administration to have medicines approved appropriately. Perhaps the proponents of the Marijuana Program should have thought about the conflicts that would be created by not following the guidelines and regulations of the Food and Drug Administration. This is the process that creates SAFE ACCESS FOR CARDHOLDERS. Many federal dollars have already been spent researching marijuana, which resulted in a clear decision by the Food and Drug Administration the federal agency responsible for approving drugs as safe and effective medicine based on valid scientific data.
Citizens in Oregon are not fine with marijuana because the marijuana proponents have tried to circumvent the FDA and have tried to get marijuana laws through voter ballot initiatives and legislative ballots, not by scientific FDA approved processes.
What medicine have voters ever voted for?
What medicine have citizens ever smoked?
What medicine have citizens grown in their back yard without any controls, quantity amounts, and delivery methods?
If Marijuana is so great, why hasn't the FDA approved it as a medicine and dispensed it like any other medication?
Until these questions are answered there will not be support for marijuana.
http://www.marijuanaharmsfamilies.com
there are many vitamins, herbs, supplements, and weight control products that are not controlled or approved by the FDA to treat, cure, or diaganose illness and they are considered safe and effective. why should medical marijuana be any different. relieving pain for me is pleasure, so if you want to say that i am smoking for pleasure, i guess you would be right.