HB 3664 -- Modifies the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act
Declares Emergency

Summary of Changes

• Person responsible for a grow site must be 21 years of age
• Caregiver must be 21 years of age
• National background checks required for all growers and caregivers, with a 5-year exclusion for manufacture or delivery of a Schedule I or II substance, either in Oregon or the equivalent in another jurisdiction; requires an additional background check each time a caregiver's name is submitted.
• Authorizes an additional fee for each background check
• Allows the OHA to impose a fee for registering a grow site Limits patient participation to Oregon residents
• Specifies that attending physician must document that the use of medical marijuana "will" provide therapeutic value
• Allows OHA to demand additional information from caregiver applicants, to be determined by rule
• Changes the terms under which minors can participate in the program
o Attending physician must specialize in the treatment of children
o Must resubmit updated physician documentation every three months
• Changes the terms of law enforcement access to the patient registry
• Requires Oregon Health Authority to provide Oregon State Police a list of registered marijuana grow sites once per quarter
• Requires release of cardholder information to law enforcement upon request, without providing a reason for the database access

You can find a list of the House Rules Committee members here: www.leg.state.or.us/committees/

Co-Chairs must agree before this bill will get a hearing. Please contact Representative Dave Hunt to ask him to deny this bill a hearing. In addition to the negative clauses of the bill, here are talking points about the bill’s process:

• This bill was crafted in secret.
• This bill is circumventing the normal process for a bill that should have been considered by the more knowledgeable House Health Care and/or House Judiciary Committees.
• Rep. Olson rejected offers of informational briefings, and suggestions for positive changes to the OMMA. He has not been willing to work with the medical cannabis community productively.
• Similar bills have already been heard in the House and Senate, where they failed to move forward. There is no broad political will to change the OMMA this session.

You can contact Rep. Hunt at 503-986-1900 or by email at rep.davehunt@state.or.us.

Other committees that would normally hear this bill are now "closed" for new legislation. Rep. Olson had to use one of his two "Priority Bills" to get this introduced, and that is a sign that he is serious in sponsoring this legislation.

Sample Letter

Representative Dave Hunt
900 Court St NE H-395
Salem, OR 97301

Dear Representative Hunt:

Please stop House Bill (HB) 3664. Since our great state is suffering from an economic and budgetary crisis, it would be irresponsible for the Oregon Legislature to spend time and taxpayer dollars holding a hearing for a bill that will not only cost money for the state, but sick and disabled patients as well.

HB 3664 will cause more hardships for Oregon Medical Marijuana Program patients, as well as their caregivers and providers. HB 3664 will only cost the state money as more nonviolent Oregonians are investigated, arrested and jailed for personal marijuana offenses. Patients battling severe and debilitating medical conditions do not need more burdens placed upon them and our state should not be spending money that we simply do not have. Please focus on our current economic crisis and leave this self-sustaining, state revenue generating program alone.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Mailing Address
City, State, Zip

No fewer than ten House bills and five Senate bills seeking new restrictions to the state’s medical marijuana law have been proposed since the start of the Oregon state legislative session on February 2, 2011. A partial list of these bills shown below indicates that they seek to restrict and impede the very successful Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP).

Since its inception, the OMMP has been one of the only state programs in Oregon to remain completely self-sustaining, with surpluses transferred back to the Oregon general fund on a regular basis during its thirteen years.

Statistically, it can easily be shown that only a small percentage of Oregonians who have been diagnosed with a qualifying condition actually obtain a medical marijuana recommendation. Using arthritis alone as an example, Doug McVay, Editor of Drug War Facts, a valuable statistical tool available at www.drugwarfacts.org reports:

“The CDC estimated that there were 760,000 adults with arthritis in Oregon in 2009 and 352,000 have Arthritis Attributable Activity Limitation. http://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/data_statistics/state_data_list.htm#oregon”

Commissioned by Oregon NORML in 2008, Russ Belville, NORML Outreach Coordinator authored “The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program: The Gold Standard of Government Programs,” which gives this summary of the program at the ten-year mark:

• Self funded program –no cost for a decade!
• Contributed over $1 million to Oregon State General Fund via Oregon Bills –2007 SB 581 Section 25;
• Canada has 10x Oregon’s population, yet only 1/10th the registered patients, even with a federal dispensary system - Phillippe Lucas –Vancouver Island Compassion Society, based on figures from Health Canada.
• Model for nearly all medical marijuana states
• Registry fraud is very rare exception
• Patient numbers indicate health care needs
• Few doctors signing for cards indicates patients in need
• Grow site numbers indicate compliance
• Large plant and possession limits help keep patients in compliance and off black market.
• No negative consequences after a decade!
.

Proposed bills that seek to impose new restrictions on medical marijuana use in Oregon include:

SB 645: Allows employer to institute drug-free workplace for employees, regardless of whether employee has a card.

SB 646: Allows employer to expand drug-free workplace to bar use outside of workplace (current law does say employers do not need to accommodate use by cardholders in workplace).

SB 708: Directs law enforcement and Oregon Health Authority to develop system to identify more readily who is allowed to grow medical marijuana and where.

SB 777: Narrows conditions for which medical marijuana can be used; also requires patient to submit info about conditions every six months, instead of every year.

HB 2982: Requires criminal background check by Oregon Health Authority; bars those with felony drug convictions from receiving or using cards.

HB 2994: Bars grow sites within 2,500 feet of schools and churches.

HB 3046: Allows cooperatives to grow medical marijuana, but taxes them at 10 percent of profits, and half of money must fund program; in exchange, it bars growing other than by cooperatives, individual cardholders or caregivers. As revenue-raising measures, requires 60 percent majorities for passage.

HB 3077: Requires cardholders to be Oregon residents.

HB 3093: Limits possession of medical marijuana to one ounce.

HB 3129: Makes it easier for Health Authority to release information about growers and grow sites to law enforcement.

HB 3132: People convicted of specific drug crimes can't get cards.

HB 3202: Removes caregivers from authorized list of growers, limits to individual cardholders or specific designees growing for no more than four; also has 1,000-foot limit from schools.
In order to maintain this successful program, Oregon NORML asks that you contact your State representatives and senators and ask them to oppose any legislation that proposes changes to Oregon’s Medical Marijuana Act.