August 4, 2010
ibl fJort lattò ODhsertter
Page 5
Marijuana Dispensaries goes to Voters
Qualifies for November ballot
(AP) — With one hand, Lindsey
Bradshaw hoisted his food bag onto
his back, arranging the tube that has
helped feed him since cancer ravaged
his stomach seven years ago. In his
other hand, he clutched a small gold
bowl o f marijuana and a pipe.
He depends on both devices to
get through the day.
One o f36,380 patients registered
with the Oregon Medical Marijuana
Program, Bradshaw is a gardener
who grows most o f his own medical
marijuana-one o f two options that
program participants have. They can
also buy from a producer who sells
to four or fewer people.
Those options leave people dry
if they don't know a producer and
are too sick to grow their own,
Bradshaw said.
But that could change, if a ballot
measure to create a system o f medi­
cal marijuana dispensaries passes.
The measure certified for the
November ballot July 16. It would
establish Oregon as the seventh
state to set up a state-regulated
dispensary system.
Proponents o f dispensaries say
- ! » NMMNN
they would make access easier for
thousands o f sick Oregonians, but
Oregon police and officials from
other states with dispensaries cau­
tion that access can spiral out o f
control, resulting in unregistered
dispensaries and illegal users.
In Oregon, dispensaries would
be nonprofits registered with the
Department o f Health, and have
yearly licenses. The department
would be in charge o f monitoring
and inspections.
Dispensaries would prevent ill­
ness from mold or insects, which
can occur when inexperienced us­
ers attempt to grow their own mari­
juana, Bradshaw said. Licensed
patients who want to continue to
grow their own medical marijuana
could still do so.
Dispensaries could also offer dif­
ferent strains o f marijuana with prop­
erties best suited to patients' symp­
toms, commonly severe pain or
muscle spasms.
For Bradshaw, getting to select
certain strains would be helpful, he
said. The 62-year-old lost his spleen,
a kidney, part o f his stomach, colon
Containers o f medicinal marijuana on display at a cannabis
dispensary in San Francisco.
and pancreas to Non-Hodgkin's you have to do is look at California
Lymphoma. He takes various drugs where the dispensaries opened the
to deal with the pain, but said opi­ door for more abuse, he said.
ates like oxycodone leave him in a
If someone purchased $40 in
haze.
medical marijuana at an Oregon dis­
Proponents o f the initiative, like pensary, "what's to prevent them
Bradshaw, say putting the state in from sticking that... in a FedEx pack­
charge would keep dispensaries age, sending it to New York and
safe.
making $600?
But Sgt. Erik Fisher o f the Oregon
"It'll make it easier to skirt the
police Drug Enforcement Section law," he said. "You make it more
said that wouldn't make a differ­ available to patients, you make more
ence. If dispensaries appear in Or­ available to criminals."
egon, honest patients would soon
The measure restricts where dis­
be in the minority, Fisher said. All pensaries can open-they must be
1,000 feet away from schools and
residential neighborhoods. It does
not limit the number o f dispensaries
that can open.
Advocates say the dispensaries
would bring much-needed revenue
to the state, an estimated $ 10 million
to $40 million in the first year.
Producers would have to pay a
$ 1,000 fee and distributors a $2,000
fee to cover program -operating
costs, and would give 10 percent o f
their revenue back to the state. The
health department could pick where
to allocate the funds.
The department has not analyzed
possible impacts o f the initiative or
planned how they would regulate
d isp e n sa rie s, said Dr. G ran t
Higginson, the state public health
officerwho worked with theexplana-
tory statement o f the initiative for
the ballot.
The Oregon Medical Marijuana
P ro g ram c u rre n tly re g is te rs
cardholders and their caregivers ~ it
has nothing to do with inspections
or regulations. If the initiative were
to pass, he said, it would transform
the program.
MH MMMHMMWMM
Death Costs $1.6 Million
City settles
lawsuit with
Chasse family
(AP) -- The Portland City Council
has approved a $ 1.6 million settle­
ment in the police custody death o f
James Chasse, a mentally ill Port­
land man.
Chasse, 42, suffered broken ribs
that punctured his lung and led to
his death in September 2006 after
officers tackled him on a downtown
street comer.
H is fam ily sued the c ity ,
Multnomah County and an ambu­
lance company in federal court.
The settlement with his family
was approved by the Portland City
Cbuncil July28. The family settled
earlier with Multnomah County for
$925,000 and a reported $600,000
with the ambulance company.
About $767,000 o f the $ 1.6 mil­
lion settlement will come out o f the
city's insurance and claims fund.
The remaining $833,000 will come
from the city's secondary insurance
carrier.
It took the Portland Police Bu­
reau three years to complete an in­
ternal review o f the death, leading
city Auditor La Vonne Griffin-Valade
James Chasse
to order an outside review.
Members o f Chasse's family re­
leased a statement through their
attorney, Tom Steenson.
They said they had been advised
not to take the settlement offer, but
they did not believe they would
gain much more by going through a
long, painful trial.
"We are relieved that the case
has settled, but it is a very rough
form o f justice: the truth is that a civil
suit seems to be the only form o f
justice that our local system will
allow when police are involved in a
killing," the family wrote.
They ended with a tribute to
James, a "painfully shy" man who
preferred books and comic books
over talking.
"James, may you rest in peace.
We love you and we miss you."
Iam
Sharing
my culture
“ What sets OSU
apart is the learning
opportunities I have
outside of the classroom.
I teach a Bollywood
dance class on campus,
and I’m happy I can bring
something from my
culture to people who
are really interested.”
I am
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Neha Neelwarne I Student
College of Business
Mysore, India
Oregon State
U N IV E R S IT Y
oregonstate.edu