Group Educates Oregonians About Medical Marijuana Program at State Capitol

There are over 30 bills in the Oregon legislature dealing with cannabis, most dealing with the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP).

(SALEM, Ore.) - Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse (MAMA) held an event at the state capitol on Monday, April 13. The all-day presentation, "The Faces of the OMMP: We're the People in Your Neighborhood" featured a display of posters and educational material, and put faces on some of Oregon's patients who utilize cannabis as medicine.

Oregon has a large and dedicated (but occasionally prickly) population of cannabis/drug policy activists and organizations. MAMA sharply demonstrated that our politicians have fallen behind citizens in their understanding of the truth about cannabis.

MAMA (and other organizations) is working to protect patients and educate our state's citizen's on cannabis facts. Facts which, when known, lead to the conclusion that our laws against this plant (with many thousands of uses) are ludicrous, arbitrary and capricious.

There are over 30 bills in the Oregon legislature dealing with cannabis, most dealing with the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP). Many of these bills come from law enforcement, lobbying to curb the program which now serves nearly 25,000 Oregonians.

SB 388 comes from the Stormy Ray Cardholders' Foundation (SRCF) and is a bill strongly opposed by Oregon activists. It seems the only organization in the state that supports SB 388 is SRCF.

Patients have been overwhelmingly critical of its' provisions providing expanded powers to law enforcement regarding cannabis garden inspections, registration information and reducing garden sizes.

It is estimated that over 4500 OMMP registered patients would lose their access to a grower if the bill passes.

Are we that eager in order to mollify law enforcement to drive people back to the black market, away from people who now voluntarily grow cannabis? What do police have to do with medical decisions?

The claims by law enforcement about rampant abuse of the OMMA is not true. The real problem with cannabis in Oregon is the proliferation of huge illicit back-country grow operations run by Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs, drug cartels).

Nearly 250,000 plants were seized by law enforcement in Oregon last year from these chemical laden pot farms. Grown primarily on remote federal or state lands, these grows often have thousands of plants in one location.

The SB 388 bill will be heard Monday (April 20) and activists have planned a significant presence in Salem to protest the bill and offer testimony to the legislature.

- The OMMP is moving Oregon towards regulation of cannabis and away from the black market, which profits only the criminals controlling it.

- All fees are paid by enrollees and the program has put over a million dollars into state coffers.

Law enforcement has no stake in a patient's medical decisions. There are real crimes to investigate and gardening is hardly a criminal act.

Anti-pot nuts like Dan Harmon and the Associated Oregon Industries wish to allow employers to fire or not hire workers who are enrolled in the OMMP. At a time when jobs are at a premium as unemployment skyrockets, do we want to force more Oregonians onto food stamps and unemployment?

According to the latest Oregon Occupational Injury and Illness Survey, “Oregon workers employed in the private sector during calendar year 2007 suffered work-related injuries and illnesses at a rate of 5.1 for every 100 full-time employees, the lowest ever recorded.”

In an obvious correlation, ten years after Oregonians passed the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act (OMMA) we had the lowest workplace accident rate ever.

It is time for law enforcement to stay out of our medical decisions. It is time Oregon legislators get up to speed on the science of cannabis medicine. It is time legislators understand that they perpetuate Reefer Madness by following outdated beliefs that cannabis is a problem. It is time legislators understand that we are essentially broke and need to be expanding income generating (or self-funding) programs.

The OMMP provides Oregonians access to safe cannabis, grown by Oregonians and not violent foreign drug cartels.

Visit Oregon NORML's legislative webpage for current cannabis related bills. Or visit these OMMP supporting organizations for more information:

Our nation has finally begun a discussion on drug policy and cannabis legalization. Oregon's Medical Marijuana Program is one of the best among the 13 states now protecting (at least in small part) a patient's right to safely access cannabis.

If you are a supporter of cannabis, a patient who utilizes cannabis, or a citizen who supports our rights to liberty, freedom and the pursuit of happiness, you are encouraged to be at the Oregon State Capitol on Monday, April 20 (4/20).

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Comments Leave a comment on this story.

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Daniel April 19, 2009 6:38 pm (Pacific time)

Vote against all the bills that want to modify Oregon medical marijuana laws . Vote against all the bozos that proposed them ! Thats what politicans understand

MarijuanaLobby April 19, 2009 8:36 am (Pacific time)

See stats on what American Cities & States can save on Taxes if Marijuana were decriminalized. http://MarijuanaLobby.org

Mark Montgomery April 19, 2009 2:03 am (Pacific time)

I'm not surprised that law enforcement is lobbying against marijuana legalization, drugs are a sweet deal for the police who use the excuse of drugs as an easy entree into citizen's personal lives. Each day the police become more of a paramilitary force, wearing black SWAT clothing and traveling in armored vehicles and battering down folk's fron doors with impunity. It's time to change the archaeic and draconian marijuana laws. Every pot smoker should be on his comp blogging all over the United States in favor of marijuana legalization. A group of 20,000 very serious policemen, prosecutors and attorneys have formed a group to legalize ALL drugs, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (http://leap.cc ) They see what happened when we legalized alcohol in 1932 as a good example of how drug legalization would work. We can't stop drugs. They're sick of chasing drug users and sending innocent people to prison for decades just because they like to get high. This foolish war on drugs has lasted 37 years and cost us over a TRILLION dollars and we are not an inch closer to stopping drugs. How many millions of Americans are we going to lock up in prison for decades? Legalize ALL drugs now. Mark Montgomery boboberg@nyc.rr.com

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