Medical cannabis clinics applaud relaxed federal enforcement stance
From our weekly issue dated November 11, 2009
The Obama administration announced a new policy on Oct. 19, under which federal drug enforcement agents won’t pursue patients or suppliers in Oregon and the 13 other states that allow the use of medical marijuana.
That decision has caused a collective sigh of relief among many medical marijuana activists, who feel that such a stance is long overdue.
Anna Bell is office manager for Southern Oregon Alternative Medicine, which has offices in Medford, Eugene and Portland. It provides acupuncture, massage therapy and various other treatments for low-income patients.
Bell said that it is “such a blessing hearing that message from Obama.”
“I’m very pleased about it,” Bell said. “I think it’s one step in the right direction.”
Equally enthused is Melissa Fritts, clinic director for Rogue River Herbal Pain Management Center.
“I know among everybody I’ve talked to, there’s huge excitement,” Fritts said. “It means they’re not going to be coming after medical marijuana patients and the growers they enlist the help of to get their medication.”
John Sajo, executive director of Voter Power, said that the announcement is “great news” for patients throughout the state.
“In terms of the average patient, it now means that the fear that federal government might arrest or prosecute them is that much less,” he stated.
For Bell, the policy shift means that the average medical marijuana patient “can just be treated like a normal person, like a good citizen, and not be treated like a criminal.
“I never once had the feeling that I ever needed to look over my shoulder,” Bell added. “I always had faith that the law would protect us, even though we’ve been shown otherwise in some cases. I want to have faith in the judicial system and the government, and always keep a positive attitude that they’ll eventually come around. It seems they are.”
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Even prior to the change in federal policy, activists began working on a ballot initiative to further the medical marijuana cause. The result is I-28, which would establish a dispensary system similar to the one used in California.
Sajo said that the use of dispensaries ultimately would improve the system for everyone involved.
“The system we have now works for some, but it doesn’t work for everybody,” he said. “It’s simple to understand that a law that would require sick and dying people to produce their own medicine doesn’t work for some people.”
Sajo said that more than 70,000 signatures have been gathered for I-28 so far. Supporters need to gather around 82,000 valid signatures for the initiative, which they hope to put on the ballot for the November 2010 general election.
“Our deadline is July 2,” Sajo said. “We’re hoping to be done well before that.”
Bell said that she regularly encounters patients whose quality of life has been improved through the use of medical marijuana.
“We deal with people who have never smoked marijuana ever in their lives and are so sick of pills. Their bodies are breaking down due to the prescription pills that society has approved of for years and years,” she said.
“It’s an eye-opener when you talk to patients like that. All they want to do is feel better and live like a normal person.”
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