navember 3.2000 • j u t Mat
gm aout
Injured?
exclusively to Measure 3’s impact on animals).
• www.dailyastorian.com/news/y 128/Mea-
sureM adness/measure%20madness.html##3
(editorial).
• www.wweek.com/html/leada2.html#me3
(editorial).
Our community has always been a strident
supporter of animal issues statewide and through­
out the country. Although your ballot recommen­
dations already have gone to press, it is my gen­
uine hope that for the sake of Oregon’s animals
you will reconsider your support for Measure 3.
S tephan O tto
Animal Legal Defense Fund staff attorney
Dinner apology
To the E ditor :
I am writing in response to Margaret Deirdre
O ’Hartigan’s letter to the editor [Oct. 6] regarding
Basic Rights Oregon’s use of the name of Alan
Hart for our fund-raiser, the Hart Dinner. I would
like to take this opportunity to apologize to her
and to anyone else who might have been offend­
ed or alienated by our decision to use the Hart
name for our fund-raiser. We meant no disrespect.
As I explained to Margaret in a conversation
after the event, the infonnation I had prior to the
Hart Dinner and the controversy surrounding it
was, as it turns out, incomplete. 1 am now aware
of the complexity of the controversy and deeply
regret any role that 1 or Basic Rights Oregon
played in opening old wounds. Basic Rights Ore­
gon will revisit the question of naming our annu­
al dinner in the hopes of avoiding any future con­
troversy or unintended disrespect on this matter.
J aime R. B alboa
Basic Rights Oregon Executive Director
M arijuana clarification
that he is not unsympathetic to the patients
who need this medicine and that he is pleased
with the responsibility shown by proponents.
He went on to say something to the effect of,
“The people have spoken, and we’re willing to
do our best to make it work.” He admitted there
have been fewer law enforcement problems
than anticipated.
I did not, in the interview, say Schrunk is
now supportive. I do not think he would want to
go on record as being a supporter of the act.
The article states, “A doctor’s endorsement is
required” to qualify a patient for the program.
Actually, a doctor either must sign an Oregon
Health Division form or submit a copy of chart
notes stating that this patient has a debilitating
medical condition (cancer, HIV/AIDS or glau­
coma) or a specific symptom (severe nausea,
seizures, cachexia, severe pain or persistent mus­
cle spasms) and that marijuana MIGHT help.
Because federal law maintains marijuana as a
Schedule I drug, with no medicinal value, doc­
tors cannot endorse it, per se. Marijuana is still
against federal law.
But with protections provided to Oregon
Medical Marijuana Act patients and caregivers,
the state takes a position of “affirmative
defense.” In other words, it will not prosecute
registered patients or caregivers, provided they
are in compliance with the act.
The article states: “Many people don’t
have the knowledge or the financial resources
to set up such an operation [to grow medical
marijuana]. This leads them to buy marijuana
on the black market, which is illegal accord­
ing to the act.”
Although the act permits one patient or
caregiver to give up to one ounce of marijuana
to another registered patient for free, it does
not specifically prohibit a registered patient or
caregiver from buying it on the black market.
Selling or trading marijuana, whether or not a
person is a registered patient, remains a felony.
To the E ditor :
Thank you for writing the article “Legal
Marijuana Use Not Widely Understood”
[Oct. 20].
This kind of coverage is influential in letting
people throughout the community know who
may benefit from the Oregon Medical Marijuana
Act of 1998 and about its protections. However,
several clarifying points need to be addressed.
You wrote that I said, “Multnomah County’s
district attorney is now supportive.” In the con­
versation I had with Michael Schrunk, he said
Animal anim us
To
the E ditor :
First, I’m pleased to learn Laurie Morton,
publisher of the Dog Nose News, is one of us!
Secondly, in response to Rich Ribbons’
letter [Oct. 6] scolding me for lighting a can­
dle, let me say the Rev. Elder Arlene Acher-
This issue, Just Out asks readers: “What is
O qüq Q astKlGûg your
favorite gay, lesbian, bi or trans filmV*
D iana S anchez
Portland
Web programmer
“The Incredibly True
Adventures of Two Girls
in Love. I liked how
innocent and cute it
was. It was kind of
refreshing to see that."
W ayne Y ung
Vancouver, British
Columbia
filmmaker
“My Beautiful Lmm-
drette. It’s about
homosexuality and
working-class experi­
ence— Hollywood gay
cinema is very middle-class— and it’s an
interracial experience, which is my life."
J ohn C ampos
Portland
Sensory Perceptions
operations manager
“Edward II. It's artsy
and stylish and at the
same time has the
most sincere senti­
ment. It’s homoerotic,
romantic, and it works for me.”
D ebbie C aselton
Portland
Sensory Perceptions
development director
“Beautiful Thing —I’m
partial to the boy
movies; I’m not sure
why— When Night Is
Falling, Desert Hearts.
I even liked Go Fish, because that was my
first coming-out movie."
Proudly serving our
community since
1989 in personol
injury claims
including;
• Auto & Motorcyle
Accidents
• Bicycle &
Pedestrian
Hala Gores, P.C.
R oger T roen
Portland
Attorney at Law
F re e
Galloway & Luckett
update
To the E ditor :
Barb Galloway and I would like to thank Just
Out for Katy Davidson’s wonderful article
[Sept. 1]. Our meeting with her was great fun, and
we appreciated the respect and sensitivity she
expressed both in person and in her writing.
Many have responded to the article, and
just for update, we do now have our child, a
7-year-old little girl full of energy, bright and
active. We continue to work with both expect­
ed and unexpected challenges.
Since the article, I have learned that knee
replacement surgery will be required on my left
knee and possibly the right one as well. Facing
and coping with disabilities as we age is one of the
greatest challenges.
Thanks again, Katy and Just Out staff, for your
ongoing support.
D onna L uckett
Portland
Human w rongs
To the E ditor :
C lifford S pencer
Portland
...Call me
man admonished us during the Metropolitan
Community Church Northwest District C o n ­
ference on Oct. 8 to be “audacious” as we cre­
ate “A Church for a New Tomorrow.” (D on ’t
even go near the U .S. edition of the Oxford
Thesaurus for “audacious” !)
She also preached we each have a ministry.
Who can argue Silence = Death then leave
out animals in slaughterhouses, vivisection
labs, animal “shelters,” steel-jaw leg-hold traps,
etc.? I have pleaded, prayed and, yes, demand­
ed animals be included in our concerns. I ask
again: Do the animals use a different God?
The Human Rights Campaign will hold a
Portland Gala Dinner on Nov. 3 honoring U.S.
Sen. Gordon Smith.
The citizens of Oregon need to know he is not
consistent on endorsing human rights for all peo­
ple. For 20 years, he has advocated against rights
for farmworkers within our state.
He is a grower of green beans, and he owns the
Smith Foods processing plant in eastern Oregon.
Please note that the farmworkers in his employ
are not on any type of union contract and never
have been.
Nationally, Smith and Bob Graham of Florida
are sponsoring Senate Bill 1814, which will cause
tremendous harm to farmworkers across the Unit­
ed States if it passes; I have heard him speak about
this legislation, and he does not tell the truth
regarding the effects on farmworkers and their
families. I think it would be good for HRC to
make a public apology to the women and men
who picked and processed the food that will be
eaten at this dinner as they honor a politician
who does not honor farmworker rights.
M ark S chroeder
Franciscan Friars of St. Barbara Province
Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Office
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