Growing numbers of patients turn to medical marijuana to fight pain

08/20/2004

Associated Press

Growing numbers of Oregonians are turning to medical marijuana to treat pain, pressuring local law enforcement to make sure patients and their caregivers are using the program properly.

More than 10,000 Oregonians use medical marijuana, a number that has almost doubled in the past year. Many patients are too poor to afford other treatment, or prefer marijuana to synthetic drugs, said Shawn Flury, who directs the Independence-based Oregon Green Cross.

The group provides two ounces of marijuana per month to each of its 35 patients. But Clackamas County Sheriff's officers confiscated all of the group's 110 plants in May for suspected violations.

Flury immediately replanted their garden.

"Our patients cannot afford to be without medicine," Flury told The Statesman Journal in Salem.

Law enforcement officials say they look for patients and caregivers who grow in excess or otherwise try manipulate the system.

"As people become more and more educated about what's legal and not legal, it makes it more complex for us," said Officer Marty Miranda of Community Response.

Oregon law does not restrict the number of patients a caregiver can have. Many provide marijuana to at least five, Miranda said.

Under Oregon's six-year-old medical marijuana program, patients designate a primary caregiver and provide the address of a grow site, said acting program manager Mary Leverette. Caregivers can grow up to seven plants for each patient.

The largest site in the state serves 16 patients, according to program data.

Caregivers cannot legally provide services for cash or any exchange with monetary value.

"I get nothing out of this except that I'm helping somebody," said Jess Hanson, a caregiver in Dallas.

Caregivers say a seven-plant garden initially costs at least $1,000. Outdoor sites can yield one major crop per year, but plants can be damaged by insects or disease.

Indoor grows involve high energy costs year-round for the lighting.

"It's more cost-effective with more patients," said caregiver Hal Ballard, who provides for seven patients besides himself. Debilitating medical conditions may also prevent patients from growing marijuana themselves.

William "Sonny" Watkins, who uses marijuana to treat pain from multiple surgeries, said the program needs to gain mainstream acceptance.

"This isn't about getting high," he said. "The people who are sick, they're trying to have a quality of life that nobody would understand."

Meanwhile, one side effect of the growth in medical marijuana use is that the accompanying licensing fees have generated a substantial budget surplus for the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. The program reported a surplus of about $986,000 by the end of March.

The program started without state funding in 1999 and has operated solely on patient fees.

As a result of the greater participation, the Department of Human Services cut annual renewal fees in July 2003.

Since then, registration has almost doubled, and further reductions are being sought.

Some of the surplus will go to the state's general fund and to develop a 24-hour verification system that law enforcement officials could use to confirm legal cardholders.

But medical-marijuana advocates want to see more of the funds directed to patient-care resources.

Still, state officials said the program will continue to focus only on processing applications, issuing state registry cards and handling renewals.

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Information from: Statesman Journal