OR: Medical Marijuana Cards Abound

Source: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
\t\tAuthor: Don Colburn
\t\tPublished: Sunday, January 23, 2005


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\t\t \t\tNearly 10,000 Oregonians carry medical marijuana cards, about 20 times \t\tmore than officials predicted when the program started six years ago. \t\tThe fee-based program, which gets no money from the state general fund, \t\thas grown so fast that it built up a cash surplus of nearly $1 million \t\tlast year.
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\t\tTo reduce the surplus, officials slashed the annual fee for a medical \t\tmarijuana card from $150 to $55 this month. For Oregon Health Plan \t\tpatients, the fee dropped to $20.
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\t\tThe number of cardholders has doubled in less than two years. Between 80 \t\tand 100 new or renewal applications arrive on a typical day, said Pam \t\tSalsbury, who manages the state's medical marijuana office in the \t\tDepartment of Human Services.
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\t\t"I don't think anybody in their wildest dreams thought there would be \t\tthis many people in the program," Salsbury said. "We're hearing from \t\tother states that have a program and wonder how we do it."
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\t\tCritics say the unforeseen growth shows that medical marijuana cards can \t\tserve as a cover for recreational drug use. Defenders say it reflects \t\tgrowing acceptance, by doctors and patients, of marijuana as an \t\talternative to mainstream medicine.
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\t\tOregon is one of 10 states where medical marijuana use is legal. The \t\tothers are Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, \t\tVermont and Washington. The laws vary widely.
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\t\tOregon's Medical Marijuana Act, approved by voters in 1998, allows \t\tresidents to use a small amount of marijuana for medical purposes. They \t\tmust grow their own or designate a caregiver to do so for them.
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\t\tA doctor must verify that the patient has a "debilitating medical \t\tcondition" such as cancer, glaucoma or AIDS, or a symptom such as nausea \t\tor severe pain. The doctor's signature does not count as a prescription. \t\t
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\t\tMore than 1,500 Oregon doctors have signed at least one patient \t\tapplication, according to state figures through 2004. But 10 doctors \t\taccount for two-thirds of the current and pending marijuana card \t\trequests.
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\t\tEach of those 10 physicians has signed more than 100 applications, and \t\tthe top two have signed 2,796 and 1,783 apiece. The state does not \t\tdivulge the names of participating doctors.
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\t\t"Loopholes for Abuse"
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\t\t"Unquestionably, people are taking advantage of a system that was \t\tcreated for individuals with medical problems," said Ken Magee, the Drug \t\tEnforcement Administration's agent in charge of operations for Oregon \t\tand Idaho.
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\t\tThe federal agency, he noted, considers marijuana a dangerous drug with \t\tno medicinal value.
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\t\tOregon's medical marijuana program has a "very lax system of review and \t\toversight," Magee said. "The law is riddled with loopholes for abuse." \t\t
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\t\tQualifying conditions such as "severe pain" or "persistent muscle \t\tspasms" are so vague that they allow little rigorous control over \t\tmisuse, he said.
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\t\tMore than 80 percent of the current cardholders cited severe pain on \t\ttheir applications. About 30 percent cited persistent muscle spasms, and \t\t22 percent cited nausea. Applicants often give more than one medical \t\treason.
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\t\tColorado's 4-year-old medical marijuana program is modeled on Oregon's. \t\tDespite a larger population, Colorado has only 504 cardholders, about \t\tone-twentieth as many as Oregon.
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\t\tAfter an Oregon patient's application for a medical marijuana card is \t\tcomplete, Salsbury said, the state sends the signing doctor a letter. \t\tThe doctor must sign a second form verifying that he or she did see the \t\tpatient and did approve the card request.
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\t\tOnce the application is complete and verified, she said, the state \t\tissues a card. Under the law, officials don't evaluate motives.
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\t\t"That's not for us to question," she said.
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\t\tState Disciplines Two Doctors
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\t\tTwo doctors -- Dr. Phillip Leveque of Molalla and Dr. Larry Bogart of \t\tRoseburg -- have been disciplined by the Oregon Board of Medical \t\tExaminers for inappropriate recommendation of medical marijuana. The \t\tboard regulates medical practice.
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\t\tLeveque, an 81-year-old osteopath, had his license suspended in March \t\tand revoked in October. He said he had signed several thousand medical \t\tmarijuana requests.
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\t\tThe board in October also stripped Bogart, a 66-year-old psychiatrist \t\twho said he has signed more than 1,000 medical marijuana applications \t\tduring the past five years, of his ability to treat children, prescribe \t\tcontrolled drugs or sign marijuana card applications. He retains his \t\tlicense.
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\t\tThe Oregon Medical Association, the largest physicians group in the \t\tstate, stayed neutral on the original medical marijuana law in 1998. The \t\tassociation opposed a ballot measure last November that would have \t\tbroadened the law, easing restrictions on allowable limits and creating \t\tstate-regulated dispensaries to sell marijuana to cardholders.
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\t\tA federal appeals court in California ruled in 2003 against the Bush \t\tadministration's bid to punish doctors who recommend medical marijuana \t\tto their patients. Since that court opinion, fewer doctors in Oregon are \t\tafraid to sign medical marijuana card requests, said Jim Kronenberg, the \t\tmedical association's chief operating officer.
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\t\t"We continue to encourage our members to be very circumspect about how \t\tthey participate," he said. Doctors are urged to keep careful records \t\tand avoid even the appearance of prescribing an illegal drug.
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\t\tAdvocate Sees More Acceptance
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\t\tJohn Sajo, who heads Voter Power, an advocacy group for medical \t\tmarijuana users, attributed the rapid growth in the Oregon program to \t\tincreasing acceptance by doctors. He said marijuana helps some patients \t\tavoid more potent and expensive prescription drugs.
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\t\t"It's not just the patients saying they feel better," he said. "It's \t\talso the patients saying: 'And don't write me the morphine prescription \t\tanymore.' "
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\t\tOthers say marijuana is a "gateway drug" that can lead to using more \t\taddictive drugs.
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\t\t"We're making a big mistake in making marijuana available," said Walt \t\tMyers, Salem police chief and head of Gov. Ted Kulongoski's task force \t\ton methamphetamine. "There are enough drugs on the market that will \t\trelieve the pain of any disease known to mankind, without resorting to \t\tmarijuana."
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\t\tNote: The number of Oregon patients allowed to use the drug soars to \t\tnearly 10,000, which some see as a success and others a problem.

\t\tCopyright: 2005 The Oregonian
\t\tContact: \t\tletters@news.oregonian.com
\t\tWebsite: \t\thttp://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/
Link to article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/abound.htm