Page A3
May 6. 2009
Medical Marijuana Survives Reform
Fight to add
limits goes up
in smoke
by J ake T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
An effort to reform O regon's
M e d ic a l
M a riju a n a
A ct
b re a th e d its la st b rea th last
week in acom m ittee room in the
State Capitol.
The O regon M edical M ari­
ju ana Act, w hich voters over­
w helm ingly approved 10 years
ago, has draw n co n sid erab le
attention this Legislative ses­
sion from patients and law en ­
forcement officials.
Law enforcement insisted the
law allow s for abuse, w hile p a­
tients fretted about not having
access to the drug.
But in the end law m ak ers
couldn't please everyone, even
after several am endm ents, and
a b a n d o n e d ta c k lin g an y r e ­
form s until the next session,
w hich is likely to be in Febru­
ary.
At a hearing before the co m ­
mittee, Lt. M ike D ingam an o f
the Oregon State Police com ­
plained that under current law,
caregivers who adm inister the
drug can hold up to 24 ounces
o f th e d ru g an d six m atu re
plants per patient.
D in g am an said that th ese
conditions are tailor-m ade for a
caregiver who wants to illegally
sell on the side.
"T he c a re g iv e r's out p e d ­
dling dope," scoffed Dingam an
before the com m ittee.
L aw e n fo r c e m e n t a lso
w anted to reduce the am ount
that could be held by patients,
careg iv ers, and g ro w ers and
make them all sign a statement
stating they had read a manual
on medical m arijuana and un­
derstood it. They also wanted
random in sp ectio n s o f grow
sites, an idea that was quickly
nixed.
M adeline M artinez, the ex-
ecutive director o f the Oregon
chapter o f the N ational O rgani­
zation to R eform M ariju an a
Laws, w orried that too much
attention w as being given to
the concerns o f law en fo rce­
ment at the expense of O regon’s
21,000 patients.
"Anything from law enforce­
m ent should be throw n out,"
said M artinez, a retired peace
officer.
In C alifo rn ia, p atien ts can
pick up medical marijuana at dis­
pensaries. In Oregon, patients
h av e to find c a re g iv e rs and
grow ers on their own, w hich
M artinez said is a huge im pedi­
ment to them getting care. The
cap on the am ount would have
exacerbated this problem , she
added.
Don Bishoff, a legislative as­
sistant for W illiam M orisette
(D -S pringfield), said that the
c o m m itte e w as re lu c ta n t to
tinker with a law that was over­
w helm ingly approved by vot­
ers and was lukew arm about
concerns advanced by law en ­
forcement.
"It's hard to judge ju st how
m uch abuse is out there," he
said.
The com m ittee was also re­
ceptive to p atients' concerns
w hich am o u n ted to, "D o no
harm."
Letter Carriers Food Drive
a
Event to help
stamp out hunger
P ilo ro by M ark
W ashin <; ton /T hk P ortland O bserver
King Farmers Market Debuts
Willow McKeever (right) and her granddaughter Kathy Woods are among the first
shoppers to the new King Farmers Market which had its inauguration on Sunday.
The open air market, featuring home grown foods, will assemble each Sunday from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Sept. 27 at King School Park, 4815 N.E. Seventh Ave.
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At a glance, it seem s like ac­
tivists organizing a cam paign to
recall Adams are in a plum posi­
tio n . B ut in p o st-B re e d lo v e
scandal Portland it's hard to get
a handle on ju st how much sup­
port the m ayor has lost, and
there are in d icatio n s that he
could survive a recall.
A dam s was once a political
p o w e rh o u se w ho c lo b b e re d
businessm an Sho D ozono with
nearly 60 percent o f the vote in
the m ayoral election.
A d a m s e n jo y e d s u p p o rt
am ong all dem ographics, said
Jim M oore, a professor o f po­
litical science at Pacific Univer­
sity. T he challenge for recall
activists will be peeling away
this support. A nd it's hard to
get a handle on how this will
happen.
M oore added that one co n ­
stituency is pivotal because o f
its d ee p p ockets: P o rtla n d 's
business community.
But Adams has had lukewarm
re la tio n s w ith th is c o n s titu ­
ency, said Moore.
An analysis o f A dam s' cam ­
paign finances support this as­
sertion. O f the over $307,000
A dam s raised for his mayoral
bid, in d iv id u a ls c o n trib u te d
more than $203,000 while busi­
nesses ponied up only $52,637.
Tim Hibbitts, a pollster with
th e r e s e a r c h firm D a v is ,
Hibbitts, & M idghall, Inc., said
that A dam s connections with
th e b u s in e s s c o m m u n ity
w eren’t particularly warm, but,
"On balance they haven't been
bad."
At tim es, A d a m s’ su p p o rt
with the Portland Business A l­
liance has been tepid. It oddly
endorsed both him and Dozono
during the election and issued
a statem ent after the scandal
broke stating, "We are deeply
p o s t o ffic e by W e d n esd ay ,
M ay 13.
"T his is alw ays my favorite
d ay o f th e y e a r to d e liv e r
m ail," said letter carrier Kevin
C ard. "We m ay be tired at the
en d o f th e day, b ut it feels
good to help."
For m ore inform ation or to
m ak e a ca sh d o n a tio n , call
5 0 3 -2 8 2 -0 5 5 5
or
v is it
o reg o n fo o d b a n k .o rg .
emerged Adams brushed off the
blaring chorus o f voices claim ­
ing that he couldn't be effec­
tive and vowed to work harder
than ever.
Adams championed a 12-lane
bridge for the C olum bia River
C ro ssin g , w h ich d rew h u n ­
dreds o f people to Waterfront
Park last m onth to decry it as a
costly and environm entally un­
friendly boondoggle. The busi­
ness allian ce, how ever, su p ­
ported the 12-lane option.
"It's been a huge disappoint­
m ent from our perspective,"
said Erich Stachon, the com m u­
nications director for the envi­
ronmental group I ,(MM) Friends
of O regon. Stachon said that
Adams has done some things
for the environm ent, and his
group is neutral on the recall.
A dam s has also taken seri­
o u s h e a t fo r s u p p o rtin g an
agreement to bring major league
soccer to Portland, which puts
the city on the hook for more
than $55 million when it's star­
ing down a m ajor budget short­
fall that th reaten s basic se r­
vices.
Jasun Wurster, the volunteer
sp o k e sp e rso n fo r the recall
cam paign, is eager to give the
boot to a m ayor he said is guilty
o f “political thuggery," but said
the campaign will only focus on
A dams' lie.
“Though we c a n 't start col­
lecting signatures, the recall is
up and running,” said Wurster.
Recall activists c a n 't begin
collecting the 35.ÎMM) signatures
needed to trigger the recall elec­
tion or collect recall campaign
contributions until July 1, but
the preliminary groundwork is
u n d e rw a y , a c c o rd in g to
Wurster.
Recall promoters have begun
recruiting volunteers, conduct­
ing outreach, and getting to ­
gether a multi-media team.
Wurster, who worked on City
C om m issioner Amanda Fritz's
g r a s s r o o ts c a m p a ig n an d
hopes to run a sim ilar one with
the recall, hopes to raise $ 15,( MX)
fo r th e effo rt. M onday, the
group came out with a video on
youtube.
But W urster still has work to
do.
N o elected official has joined
the crusade to oust the mayor.
In fact, Adams enjoys relatively
good relations w ith the City
Council, with no com missioner
c a llin g fo r h is re sig n a tio n .
W urster couldn't even get the
council to hold a confidence
vote on Adams.
"H e's definitely rebuilding
h is reputation," said M oore,
who argued that A dam s' recent
initiatives have helped him po­
litically.
He doesn't think the fallout
from 1-5 bridge crossing project
will stick because Adams has
deep support from the environ­
mental community, while many
o f the issues surrounding the
soccer deal (i.e. urban renewal)
have been debated for years.
"I think Sam’s in a safe place
right now," said Moore.
But W urster rem ains unde­
terred.
“We will win this," he said.
"But it will be done ethically,
honestly, and civically.”
Northeast Portland postal worker Jim Falvey promotes
the annual letter carriers food drive where residents can
place nonperishable food donations by their mailbox on
Saturday, May 9 for pick up to the Oregon Food Bank.
«jn»
Can Adams Survived
con tin u ed ¿ ^ f r o m Front
A rea residents are en co u r­
aged to p lace n o n p erish ab le
food donations by their m ail­
box on the m orning o f Satur­
day, M ay 9, for the National
Association of Letter Carriers
Food Drive.
M ore than 3 ,000 le tte r c a r­
riers th ro u g h o u t O regon and
Clark County, W ash., will jo in
w ith le tte r c a r r ie r s a c ro s s
A m erica to co llect do n atio n s
o f n o n p e rish a b le fo o d from
their po stal cu sto m ers during
the 22nd annual event.
L etter ca rriers w ill co llect
n o n p e r is h a b le fo o d d o n a ­
tions left by m a ilb o x e s and
take them to th e ir local post
office, w here v o lu n teers will
pack the food. Trucks will pick
up the food and d eliv er it to
reg io n a l fo o d b a n k s o f the
O regon F ood Bank N etw ork.
All d o n ated food stays in the
co m m u n ity w here it w as c o l­
lected.
If y o u m is s y o u r l e tte r
carrier's d aily visit, d ro p o ff
y o u r fo o d d o n a tio n s at any
d isap p o in ted by the m a y o r's
adm issions and are concerned
about his ability to be effective
when our city now faces many
significant challenges."
But Adams has kept up face
tim e with the alliance holding
m o n th ly c h e c k -in s, and the
m ayor has pledged to meet with
over 1(M) businesses.
"We think he's doing an ex ­
cellent job," said Julie Leuvrey,
co-president of Oregon Pacific
Investm ent and D evelopm ent
Com pany and previous board
m em ber o f the business a lli­
ance, w ho d o esn 't regret the
$ 1 ,000 her company contributed
to A dam s' campaign.
In a city with a strong liber­
tarian streak, Adams' sexual e x ­
ploits might be an afterthought
for voters who are more co n ­
cerned about the mayor's p ri­
orities on econom ic develop­
ment and the environm ent.
S h o rtly a f te r th e sc an d a l
OFFICE • RETAIL
Martin Luther
King Corridor
Located in the
Heart of Portland
For More Details Contact:
Chuck or Mark Washington
■ l _503‘288-1897 1
2 Spaces Available
Joyce Washington Plaza
The Fair Goes
Oregon Tradesw om en, Inc
Proudly P resen ts the
Green!
2009
WOMEN
Meet Employers, Attend Hands-on
Workshops, Learn About the
Green Future of the Trades
in Trades
Career Fair
Saturday,
May 16
9 am - 3 pm
NECA/IBEW Electrical
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16021 NE Airport Way. Portland, OR 97230
FREE admission, child care, parking &
EcoShuttle from Gateway
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