Domino Effect Meeting 11/28

[StoneyGirl]

http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/addiction/gov_co...c1106agenda.pdf (http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/addiction/gov_council/minutes/gc1106agenda.pdf)

This does not look good. The meeting is at the Public Services Building in
Hillsboro (on First Street)...would be good to have some advocates there.
11/28

[HD Grower]

The domino effect ...well I hope they unerstand that the 1st 2 dominos are tabacco & alcohol...still trying to retell the same old story like its something new.... http://www.oregongreenfree.us/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/bigemo_harabe_net-168.gif what a crock of sh*t!

[shabad]

~Warm joyful wishes~

Thanks Stoneygirl for keeping us up on these meetings! Would be great to get 1 of our doctors or nurses into that 1.

Sat Nam
(truth is the Name)

[calapooya]

Hope some Members up there can attend....does anyone know how this panel handles MJ?

I know that just a few months ago...some law was changed that affected those NOT using the Medical Program....and the PENALTIES WENT UP....LIKE A MANDATORY 24 Month sentence for having any....

Has anybody else heard of this new change?

(And HD Grower...that little SmokinACigar Smilie....really reminds me of YOU! Ha!) CraZyCat

[StoneyGirl]

The Domino effect Report calls mj an illicit drug several times and proposes to raise all OMMP fees to $150 and take all surplus funds beyond those needed to run the program and allocates them to Alcohol and Drug Abuse treatment programs. They are also working very hard to make 75% of all businesses Drug-Free Workplaces.

So if you don't want your OMMP fees raised, or you would like to get a job and remain on the OMMP then you better be at this meeting.

Here's a link:
http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/addiction/public...usinessplan.pdf (http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/addiction/publications/07-09businessplan.pdf)

[HD Grower]

Man this PISSES ME OFF!
On the old site I saw a poll that showed almost 70% of ogf members are on dissability.. how do they justify rasing fees on dissabled people & then giving the money away to instill a just say no ..reffer madness mentality instead of hireing more staff to admin the program. It took 11 weeks to get my card .. my wife just applied for her card it will be intresting to see if they issue faster now!
I also think MMj should be exempt from drug free work places .. if my Dr prescribes morphine Im not subject to being fired.... dosent the ommp state MMj should be treated like any other Rx drug?
If it wasnt snowing like hell I'd travel over the pass to say my peice to those SOB's ,but Im not going to risk driving in a snow storm in the dark across mtn passes
I hope every one who lives close will attend!
Thanks SG for the great thread!

[StoneyGirl]

If you follow the link to the report and go to page 57 you will find a list of all of the members of the Council and their addresses and phone numbers. On page 24 you will see what they have to say about the OMMP (and it isn't very nice). On page 13 they say they want to raise OMMP fees to $150. They also want higher taxes on booze.

[MsB]

If you follow the link to the report and go to page 57 you will find a list of all of the members of the Council and their addresses and phone numbers. On page 24 you will see what they have to say about the OMMP (and it isn't very nice). On page 13 they say they want to raise OMMP fees to $150. They also want higher taxes on booze.[/b]

I only get one page from the link stoney

[StoneyGirl]

Use the scroll bar on the right and scroll down.

[MsB]

Use the scroll bar on the right and scroll down.[/b]

LOL I know how to use adobe. I mistakenly used the first link.
One thing for sure is that if they view it as a good revenew source they wont get rid of it but charging more sucks!

[StoneyGirl]

Actually, this is a move to make up for lost revenew: 15,000 people are free from prosecution and required drug treatment for marijuana.

[MsB]

Actually, this is a move to make up for lost revenew: 15,000 people are free from prosecution and required drug treatment for marijuana.[/b]

Another reason to write in to local staet reps to get rid of the stupid kicker fund in oregon and make state revenue overages a rainy day fund or fill in fund for DHS, social services and education.

[NutMeg]

As long as 'the good ol boy's" are in office then the Reefer Madness mentality will continue. We need to vote for those who do not take issue with mmj as a gateway drug or the demon weed, but have researched and gained knowledge so that they can vote with their brains and not mob mentality. Fear breeds stupidity, and lack of knowledge just makes one stupid! Correna420 http://www.oregongreenfree.us/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup_anim.gif

[calapooya]

Well, I always TRY to be positive.....but I'm NOT holding my breath on THIS one, Buckoos!

Oregon's Legislature is just jam packed with REACTIONARY Rednecks....


Do we have any good PRESS contacts? ...like those Pdx types were trying to get us to develop?
We could sure use a "Truth About Our Medicine" Story about now....

-Is it just me....or does 2 more years of Bush just seem like an INTERMINAL HELL! ...UffCat

[Sequoiacrone]

Sequoia</span> http://www.oregongreenfree.us/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif

[Infiniti]

did you attend SC? could we get a rundown of what happened if you did?

[big stevo]

If it is to be It is up to me...............

[Sequoiacrone]

did you attend SC? could we get a rundown of what happened if you did?[/b]




ARE patients attending these meetings? I have made a committment to attend the ACMM meets. It is a 700 mile round trip to get there and back home. I am a sick ol broad....but I will do all that I can.

This is from my post ABOVE....I can't be everywhere honey! I wish I was at least 10 years younger and healthier or I would be. AFTER the ACMM meetings and trip I am a week recovering.</span>

[/color]

<span style="font-family:Comic">WE will get a report on this IF anyone attended it surely? It cannot be ignored. THERE are folks .....no PATIENTS that are within driving distance of the meeting today. StoneyGirl? ANYONE attend??

I am still waiting to hear. Generally speaking this is something that can seem like a minor distraction to us...but it can turn out to BITE us in the arse too!



WE are very lucky that most of this does get brought up and discussed here...so we are at least INFORMED that it is something that CAN and WILL effect us all as patients. The thing is they need to FUND this booklet and the program.



DON'T get me wrong...I am for TREATMENT on demand with any drug or alcohol problems. I just don't feel that OMMP participants should be the ones to carry the financial burden. IN fact if they gave MJ a lower priority arrest issue....the bucks should easily be there. IF they added TEN CENTS to every beer served in OREGON or shot of booze served....or sold....they could fund ANY thing!! JMHO!!



<span style="color:#3333ff">Same with ciggys...make em $10 a pack and they will no longer be such a health problem and the change could buy you and every Oregonian health coverage! http://www.oregongreenfree.us/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif </span>



I know I'm dreamer....but I'm not the only ONE!!...IMAGINE!!



[color="#3333ff"]Sequoia http://www.oregongreenfree.us/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif

[Infiniti]

the tags on my truck are bad and I'm broke or we would go to the meetiings. i feel guilty for not being able to attend. after years of activism I know the only way to effect change is to be a part of it. hopefully in the future i'll be on my feet enough to attend. perhaps we could put together a ride share so people with little means might have a chance to attend? I can't afford to spend $100 to go to portland but I might be able to eat a little lighter and squeeze out like $40 towards gas or a rental van or something. maybe start a thread to judge the interest and if we have enough interest perhaps we could have a mobile chapter meeting on the day or some type of get together.

Peace,
Paul

[tex53]

I am a veteran with 100% permanent and totally disability due to exposure 2 several agents includi ng orange.I am now on the MMJ program and am neither ashamed nor am I unpatriotic.My primary physician at the pdx veterans hospital is the one that approved my use 4 pain among other things.It is time 2 tell a new story to the public at large about citizens they live right next door to that regularly use mmj as a medicine.Most of them have never gone to the trouble to get a card.But many r my brothers and sisters that live daily w pain and death.I would gladly go one on one verbally or otherwise with n e individual or agency that would take n e relief from the people I care about.And that would be all of you at OGF not just vets.Remember the 60's you 50 plusers?Activism stopped a war.I think we can handle 1 states unjust attempt to increase or change n e part of our fee structure or to manipulate the law to accomodate their own personal agenda.Guess I'm going to have to do something I hate.That is making a public appearance in Salem in my old combat uniform w pretty medals and ribbons they gave me for killing.Tell them that they owe a debt to us.All we request is what we always have.Leave us alone.We are not harming you and we will not be used again unknowingly.DO NOT AWAKE THE SLEEPING GIANT THAT IS US.PEACE tex 53

[StoneyGirl]

I heard it was cancelled by the weather. But I have written to all of the Senators about this issue, and will write to all of them again. Infiniti you can have an impact by writing to the Senators and Governor and telling them what you think of this vile plan.

[Infiniti]

I've e-mailed and called. spose a few letters couldnt hurt
http://www.oregongreenfree.us/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif

[StoneyGirl]

Try not to be disapointed by the response (or lack therof). I got a pre-printed postcard from the Gov.

[mischi]

we used to have a thread with the names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses of our reps..i am wondering if we could get that started again...maybe adding what committees they are on as well...?

[StoneyGirl]

We are in the lame duck session so some of the players will be leaving the field in january. In the mean time, write to the Council members. Their addresses are on page 57 of the Report. And you can call and ask for a printed copy of the Report. That will keep them busy for a little while, and cost them paper and ink. It's a war of attrition tactic.

[Cajunwoman]

I wish I could have gone. I DO go to ACMM meetings in PDX. Last meeting I went to had only
about 17 people, including the panel. SO sad. WE DO HAVE A CHANCE TO BE HEARD . If you
go to the meetings, you will know when your voice will be heard. Your PRESENCE is always
a good way to show support. Even if you don't say a WORD! I am a caregiver/NOT grower.
Somedays I must be at home with my disabled husband.Those days, he needs assistance.
He hurts so much, he can't think straight, much less talk straight. I think it would be a GREAT
idea to carpool or meet up before the meetings to strategize.

Where's a PIRATE when you need one!

Cajunwoman[size=4][color=#009900]

[StoneyGirl]

There was a new release of this report. They still want to raise our OMMP fees and take the money. Here's a link.

http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/addiction/public...usinessplan.pdf (http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/addiction/publications/07-09businessplan.pdf)

[StoneyGirl]

I would like to encourage everyone to call OMHAS and ask them to mail you a printed copy of The Domino Effect Report. Their number is 503-945-5763. Get your hard-copy on their dime.

[StoneyGirl]

We need to do some serious protest rallies about this.

[anthonyj]

Below and attached is a sample letter Voter Power provides patients and concerned citizens at our clinics and events. We urge everyone to contact our government officials and make your voices heard.

Governor Ted Kulongoski
160 State Capitol
Salem, OR 97301-4047
Dear Governor Kulongoski:
I urge you to oppose the medical marijuana sections of The Domino Effect report.
The Governor’s Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse Programs submitted this report to you and the members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, calling for increasing the registration fee for the medical marijuana program to fund unrelated drug abuse and prevention programs.
This plan is ill-conceived and just plain wrong. This plan amounts to a tax on medicine for some of the poorest and sickest Oregonians. Many of the patients in this program can barely afford the $100 fee which was already raised $50 because $900,000 was taken from the OMMP last year to fund other Health Department programs.
If you raise the fee, many patients will be forced out of the program that exempts them from arrest and prosecution. Many will continue to use marijuana illegally and risk arrest. This would cost the Oregon government far more than the revenue that would be raised by taxing patients’ medicine.
There is absolutely no evidence that the OMMP has led to an increase in the need for treatment. Some patients’ use of medical marijuana assists in their treatment of drug abuse problems.
I support funding drug abuse prevention and treatment. Please fund it fairly rather than on the backs of those least able to pay. Please do not raise medical marijuana patient registration fees to fund unrelated programs.
Sincerely,

[StoneyGirl]

Here's what I'm working on so far:

Response

Dear Council member,

I just finished reading your report, “The Domino Effect” and I was truly appalled at your treatment of Medical Marijuana and I just felt the need to respond. You will find my comments below in bold text along with your report’s section on the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP).

Medical Marijuana

The creation of the Medical Marijuana Program has led to a paradox in Oregon.
Actually, there is no paradox if you simply follow Oregon law. ORS 475.300 Findings say:
The people of Oregon hereby find that:
(1) suffering caused by debilitating medical conditions, and therefore, marijuana should be treated like other medicines;
But that’s not all…Several months ago, the Supreme Court ruled on the Assisted Suicide case that it is up to the States to determine what legitimate medical treatment is and Oregon has decided that use of marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation is legitimate practice of medicine here in the State of Oregon.

Marijuana is an illegal drug, yet it is available as medicine for those who qualify.
So is morphine. People who are in the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program are using marijuana as medicine under a doctor’s care and recommendation, and under the supervision of the state.

Questions have been raised in discussions across service providers, workplaces, school districts, and state agencies during public Council meetings. People who use marijuana as medicine and are employed create policy conflicts for employers. Attempts by employers to keep medical marijuana out of the workplace have led to several cases currently being litigated in a variety of courts. People who are in treatment for alcohol or other drug abuse disorders who are enrolled in the medical marijuana program create policy challenges for treatment programs.
It is unreasonable that treatment facilities and employers have not adjusted their policies to reflect Oregon Law rather than expecting the law to adapt to their policies. It is also unreasonable to treat someone who is using medication under a doctor’s supervision as a drug addict. Attempts to keep OMMP patients out of the workplace are discriminatory. If an OMMP patient has a problem they need help with, they should not be excluded from treatment just because they have paid a very high tax and joined the OMMP.
Alcohol and drug counselors report frustration working towards goals of abstinence and recovery while clients in the medical marijuana program test positive for marijuana and continue to use an illicit drug.
Again, marijuana is not an illicit drug in Oregon; it is a controlled drug used only with a doctor’s recommendation. Implementing a change of policy excluding OMMP patients from testing for marijuana metabolites would save money and aggravation while conforming policies to State law.

Further conflict created by the program involve the requirements and documentation that certifies patients for receiving a card. Despite attempts to clarify the program during the last legislative session, law enforcement continues to be hampered by operational issues such as caregiver definitions, cultivation definitions and parameters defining who can grow plants and for how many people.
What did you just say?!?

The OMMP complicates prevention efforts in the schools. Youth receive clear messages from drug prevention that marijuana is a dangerous illicit drug, yet they know that it is prescribed for specified medical conditions.
I would be happy to start an educational campaign in schools to clarify to children that marijuana is serious medicine that is not for children unless they have a very serious medical condition. The problem seems to be that the difference between responsible drug use under a doctor’s supervision and recreational drug abuse is not clearly understood by drug prevention specialists, and therefore they fear that children would have a similar confusion. It is pretty simple: if your doctor says it’s ok, it’s not abuse.
Well over 70% of card holders are given a card for pain (OMMP,2006)
At a Symposium held by The National Institute of Drug Abuse in 2001 a report was released that that there was widespread acknowledgement that both acute and chronic pain are under treated. Pain is treated like a crime by drug abuse prevention specialists and DEA agents alike. Relief from pain is treated like a sin. But the biggest sin is to leave someone suffering with pain because you think abstinence is holy. God does not covet our suffering.
Prevention specialists are discredited by these conflicting messages.
Prevention specialists are discredited by the lies they tell. An honest approach would get them a lot farther.

Because the medical marijuana program is a complex issue, the program continues to require focused attention.

By September 2005, there were 11,680 OMMP card holders (OMMP,2006). It is legitimate to question the consequences this program is having on our culture, our workplace, our school system and our youth. Current litigation will sort out some of the workplace questions which may be helpful to school policy makers as well.

The OMMP has nearly doubled in enrollment every year. And it is having interesting effects on many areas. For instance, the price of marijuana has dropped by nearly 30% according to High Times Trans-High Market Quotes since the OMMP started. Why? Because demand for it dropped when all those OMMP patients stopped going to the streets for their medicine.

I really feel that you should not purchase services from providers who discriminate against OMMP patients by not treating marijuana as a legitimate medicine as stated in Oregon law. Despite 1085, it is still inappropriate for law enforcement to dictate medical practice because the police simply do not have the medical training to determine how much of any medicine any patient should have. And they consider all marijuana use to be abuse, which under a doctor’s supervision it is not.

I also noticed that one of the mandates of the council is:
“Working to ensure broad-based citizen involvement in the planning and execution of the alcohol and drug prevention and treatment plans at both state and local level.”

Which is great because I am ready to get involved. I feel it is important for you to be aware that there have been studies conducted in India, Australia, and Great Briton that all showed that when addicts are weaned from hard drugs like meth, heroin and crack using marijuana to curb cravings, they were far less likely to use the hard drugs again. I would like to suggest a study of Cannabis candies used in conjunction with traditional treatment to help addicts get off of hard drugs.

The thing that upset me the most about your report was that you disrespect Oregon Law in regards to medical marijuana and that is wrong. You are not the Federal Government: you are a State level advisory committee, and as a citizen and voter in Oregon I expect a certain amount of respect for Oregon law. If you can’t work it up then you should not be on any committee in Oregon.

I apologize for how long this got,
Jenifer L. Valley
Drug Policy Forum of Oregon,
Oregon Green Free,
ASA,MPP, NORML
jen@gro4me.com

[AlphaMale]

JV and anthony...good letters. The section on mmj in this report is reflective of the fact that the Advisory committee has zero comprehension of the OMMP or a grasp on the reality of the programs "effects" or influences in Oregon society.
It is no more than a dressed up theme paper that is backed by zero research and only the most cursory consideration of the subject matter. The shallow approach taken by this report is symptomatic of laziness on the part of the preparers.
The conclusions drawn concerning issues and problems faced by cops, teachers, drug councilors, probation officers and courts do not reflect problems with the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. Instead they are indication that these officials need to be better informed of the current OMMP and it's accompanying administrative rules.
To say that school drug prevention is complicated by the OMMP is ridiculous. Student: "Wull, if mj is so dangerous, why does my dad smoke it and the state says it's okay?" (not that this question would be seriously asked by any student...most of them know that mj is not a "dangerous" drug) Teacher: "uhhhhmmm...your father is using it as medicine and it has been prescribed by the Dr. Just like any other pain reliever the Dr. might prescribe to you dad." "You aren't supposed to use those either."

And...as an aside here, the hypocrisy of the schedule one listing for mj and the persecution and prosecution of those who choose to use is so blatant to the majority of voters and the public in general. The "officials" who bitch about it are in the most part, misinformed at best and phony liars at worse. And most of the cops and probation people who are against mmj or mj at all are phony liars and only giving mmj users crap to perpetuate their own jobs and retain the power they have over their constituents and probationaries. The only complexities created are those created by assholes trying to skirt our program and find ways to screw with patients who are sanctioned.
Prevention specialists are discredited by these conflicting messages. Because
the medical marijuana program is a complex issue, the program continues
to require focused attention.
The mmj program is not complex. If it is too hard for them to understand and live with, they should find work elsewhere and leave the intellectual stuff to the intellects.

People who
use marijuana as medicine and are employed create policy conflicts for employers.
Attempts by employers to keep medical marijuana out of the workplace have
led to several cases currently being litigated in a variety of courts.

Attempts by employers to keep mmj out of the workplace are mostly misguided and only encouraged by false information and exploitation by companies who manufacture the drug tests. mmj is no more dangerous, and probably less so than the antihistamine you get over the counter for your cold. Yet there is no screening for those now are there. Most logical employers realize this. I can mention several local companies who sent their employment applicants to a certain lab, because that lab does not monitor piss testing, period. You could at times just take another person in the can with you if you were crafty. And to sneak a bag oh clean pee in under your arm is a snap. the only time you get retested is if you get hurt on the job and then that is just so the company can get out of paying for your injury. There that's the truth on mmj and the workplace. It's all bullshit, just like the mmj section of this report.
I haven't read the entire thing yet but it is all so badly done and non credible it should be shit canned. Hell it's two years old already,...the grafts are old, the stats are stale, the report stinks and was a waste of taxpayer dollars. jeez...do you think they will like this letter?
I don't think writing the council is going to do one little bit of good. They are going to submit this piece o crap anyway. The letters IMO would be better directed at the Gov, and Sen Morisette. Where else does the buck stop next?

Just some thoughts....thanks again to all who speak here on these boards, share the thoughts and ideas that might just have a positive effect, if not immediately noticeable, then subliminally in the long run.
JMO,
AM