Those who support passage of Ballot Initiative I-32 are now permitted to collect signatures on a petition to have I-32 on the ballot next year. What is this initiative?
Repeals Oregon Medical Marijuana Act; replaces with state-subsidized program providing prescription cannabinoids, cannabinoid derivatives, and synthetic cannabinoids which are approved by the Food and Drug Administration to persons with diagnosed debilitating medical conditions if such prescriptions are not covered by insurance.
Department of Human Services shall establish program rules.
Independent medical exam at state’s expense may be required to determine eligibility for program.
Establishes standard for determining validity of participants’ application based on medically reasonable diagnosis and necessity of prescription for treatment of diagnosed debilitating medical condition.
Participant must be legal Oregon resident for one year prior to application.
Attending physician to monitor participants use in same manner as a controlled substance.
Defines attending physician, controlled substance, diagnosed debilitating medical condition.
Current valid medical marijuana cards ineffective after March 31, 2011.
There is so much in I-32 that is simply unacceptable that it is difficult to pick a starting place. So in the wise old words, let's "follow the money."
One provision of I-32:
replaces [OMMA] with state-subsidized program providing prescription cannabinoids, cannabinoid derivatives, and synthetic cannabinoids which are approved by the Food and Drug Administration
Marinol, or dronabinol, is one of two synthetic cannabanoid medicines available. Currently, the FDA recommends dosages of Marinol that range between 5 and 20 mg a day.
At 5 mg a day, a month's supply (30 pills) would cost, on average, $437.00. At the highest recommended dosage, the cost soars to $1627.00. (60 10mg pills). There are 23,823 patients on OMMP. Granted, not all of them are going to need the state to pay for their Marinol, but even if 10 percent do not have insurance, (a lesser estimate than the state average of 15 percent uninsured), the supporters of I-32 are asking the taxpayers of Oregon to shell out from $1,040,934 to $3,875,514 a month for Marinol.
That bears repeating. Under I-32, the state of Oregon could be paying out between 1 million and 3 million dollars A MONTH for Marinol subsidies. That comes out to between 12 million and 46 million dollars a year for medication alone! In a state where some areas don't even have 24 hour State Police Protection due to budget restraints, Law Enforcement wants to see millions spent for pills to replace Medical Cannabis.
Under current law, the OMMP is not only self supporting, but actually returns money to the General Fund. Under I-28, the dispensary initiative, the state will be able to collect significant amounts in fees and licenses. The choice is clear. A program which will COST the state of Oregon millions, or a program which will EARN the state of Oregon millions.
Does anyone else smell a no-brainer here?
Another provision of I-32 states that an:
Independent medical exam at state’s expense may be required to determine eligibility for program.
If the state chooses to second-guess only 10 percent of the patients currently in the program, that would be around 2382 additional doctor's visits a year that they will be paying for. How much was your last doctor's visit? One study from 2004 listed the median cost for a visit to a general practitioner at $72.00. If 2383 patients need 72 dollar visits, the state is out $171,576.
Note that I-32 does not limit how many patients would need that independent medical exam. It could be half, or all.
And what does that say about the over 3,000 licensed physicians who have already signed medical cannabis recommendations? Apparently, Law Enforcement feels that they are not able to make a professional diagnosis; that their judgment needs to be backed up by one of their peers. It might be interesting if the next physician who was pulled over for speeding demanded a second opinion!
Take a close look at I-32. It creates huge deficits, piles of duplicate paperwork, and hardships for patients. Be vigilant and question how this could possibly be a benefit to anyone. Make sure that this does not make it onto the ballot this year.
The Chief of Police in Medford has issued a Crime Watch newsletter in which he moves far beyond presenting crime stopping tips and arrest statistics. He attacks the OMMP, making vague claims which imply that the program is corrupt, failed and useless. He offers an alternative program which would include the following:
Restrict access to medical marijuana to truly chronic conditions such as cancer patients
Limit the number of Care Providers at a grow site
Restrict locations where Care Providers and [can] grow medical marijuana.
Prohibit felons from obtaining a medical marijuana card
There are many other changes the Chief would like to see, lowering permitted amounts, number of mature plants, etc.
NONE of these proposals helps patients. Yes, patients. Those tax paying, law abiding sick people who turn to medical marijuana when Big Pharm drugs fail to help them.
And there are thousands of patients out here in the real world. Would Chief Schoen like to define "truly chronic conditions"? When did it become the place of the police to practice medicine and make a diagnosis? How dare he impugn all of us as criminals and law breakers !!!
Apparently, Chief Schoen has discovered something that was not well known ... that conviction on a felony charge will grant one lifelong immunity from "truly chronic conditions." Felons are people too, who get sick, and who fear the terrible side effects of prescription medicine. A conviction in one's past should never dictate medical practice in the future. Period. And police administrators should not use city time, web space, and influence to promote failed, inaccurate and demeaning propaganda. Period.
In a world where political correctness rules ... Chief Schoen has crossed over into epic incorrectness. Or in the words of the Internet ...
OREGON SHERIFFS OFFER REWARD FOR MARIJUANA GROW INFORMATION
Click the thumbnails for the entire story
Congratulations! If you are a Medical Marijuana Patient in Oregon, you are no longer considered to be part of the public that Law Enforcement is sworn to protect and serve! Your rights are being shoved under the bus, kicked to the curb and manhandled like any other criminal. Criminal? Do you see any indication that LEGAL grows for medicine are not included in the reporting system? Who else gets Wanted Posters beside criminals?
Of course, there is always the question of a tip line serving as probable cause to get a warrant - is a phone call from a neighbor sufficient evidence of wrong-doing?
And then there is the question of the knock and talk - those casual occasions when a Law Enforcement officer comes to call and "just wants to talk." In the meantime, people are driving drunk, robbing banks, raping, cooking meth, assaulting each other, but our officers are out there protecting the youth from legal, law abiding sick people and their growers.
Your tax dollars are surely hard at work, staffing the snitch line, writing up and dispatching the reports, while officers drive all over Oregon to check out the tips, harass OMMP cardholders, spend more time writing up the inevitable reports ...
And just where is that reward money coming from in a state that can't educate its youth properly because it doesn't have enough money to hire enough teachers, or keep schools open for a full year. In a state where furlough Friday makes state offices as silent as the grave frequently. Is this an appropriate use of our limited state budget? Was it ever?
Let your legislator know that this effort is misguided, a waste of resources and an invasion of citizen's rights!
