cannabisnews.com: Oregon's Top Lawyer OKs Medical Marijuana Use





Oregon's Top Lawyer OKs Medical Marijuana Use
Posted by CN Staff on June 17, 2005 at 18:49:46 PT
By Teresa Carson
Source: Reuters
Portland, Ore. -- Oregon's attorney general gave the state the go-ahead on Friday to resume issuing cards that allow sick patients to smoke marijuana despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling the federal government could prosecute medical use of the drug."The (Supreme Court) decision has no legal impact on the operation of Oregon's program," according to a statement by Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers' office.
Oregon had stopped issuing new prescription marijuana cards until the state's top lawyer could review the Supreme Court's June 6 decision.The court held in a 6-3 ruling the U.S. government could enforce a federal law prohibiting the cultivation, possession and use of medical marijuana even in the 10 states where it is legal under state law.Two seriously ill women had pressed a legal challenge to convince the high court that individuals should be able to use marijuana for medical purposes.Myers found the Supreme Court decision "does not hold the state laws regulating medical marijuana are invalid nor does it require states to repeal existing medical marijuana laws."It also did not force the state to enforce federal drug laws, according to Myers.He said in his statement the Supreme Court decision would not alter Oregon's program and that the state was not obligated to tell patients they could be prosecuted under federal laws.Oregon has issued 10,421 medical marijuana cards, the vast majority of them for severe pain, according to the Oregon Department of Human Services, which runs Oregon's prescription pot plan. Oregon voters approved the program in 1998.Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Vermont and Washington also have some type of medical marijuana laws."As far as we know, we are not aware of any other states that put any kind of moratorium on their programs. The Supreme Court decision simply maintained the status quo," said Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington. Reporting by Teresa Carson in Portland, Oregon.Source: Reuters (Wire)Author: Teresa CarsonPublished: June 18, 2005Copyright: 2005 Reuters LimitedRelated Articles & Web Site:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Congress Can Change Medical Pot Laws Easilyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20877.shtmlMarijuana Fight is Hypocriticalhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20868.shtmlHouse: Medical Marijuana a Federal Casehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20862.shtml
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Comment #24 posted by jose melendez on June 24, 2005 at 06:43:08 PT
on song birds and encryption
Turn your head and cough:http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hsfoes244317120jun24,0,405788.storyWhen the researchers played back a recorded chickadee call made in response to a great horned owl, only part of a captive flock of six flew toward a hidden speaker. But when the scientists played back a longer call with more D notes, made in response to a northern pygmy-owl, "basically the whole flock comes right to the speaker and gets really agitated."Ken Yasukawa, a biology professor at Beloit College in Beloit, Wis., said researchers have discovered a whole range of alarms in animals such as Africa's vervet monkeys, whose cough-like "eagle alarm" sends those within earshot running for cover in bushes, while a barking "leopard alarm" spurs them up a tree.Yasukawa said he welcomes Templeton's study, which he hopes will spur more interest in lesser-known avian alarms. Yasukawa's own study subjects, male red-winged blackbirds, seem to switch among a repertoire of calls with increasing speed and intensity as a threat approaches. Field researchers who trigger this "Geiger counter" effect, in fact, use it to locate their guarded nests.http://rubens.anu.edu.au/student.projects/hemp/cooking.html "Canaries won't sing without it." "That was what the bird seed companies testified before the US Congress in 1937. Due to that testimonial sterilized hemp seeds were imported for use in commercial birdseed mix even though hemp itself was illegal. Hemp seed has remained a major component of commercial birdseed mix to this day. Most pet birds eat hemp seed before the other seeds it's often mixed with. Pets need it to maintain healthy skin and feathers; and so do wild birds. (The lack of hemp seed may be one of the factors contributing to the decrease of the North American songbird population.) Hemp seed is also good food for people.A hemp seed is a nutritious nugget. The hull contains magnesium-rich chlorophyll, a valuable source of nutrition for people. The protein in hemp seed is very similar to the protein in human blood. It is therefore easy to digest. This is good news for vegetarians who are allergic to soy protein.Nut butter made from it tastes similar to sunflower seeds and rivals peanut butter nutritionally without the risk of toxic substances produced by the fungi which grow on peanuts.The oil of the hempseed is a rich source of the essential fatty acids - linoleic, linolenic and gamma linoleic. (omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids) These EFA's are necessary for healthy skin, hair and immune systems. According to Udo Erasmus in Fats That Kill, Fats That Heal, hemp seed oil is perfectly balanced in the essential fatty acids, linoleic and linolenic.Acre for acre, hemp is a more economical source of protein than livestock. It's possible to grow it without the use of pesticides and little or no fertilizer. Unlike like soybeans, hemp is resistant to UV-B light which makes it the hardier crop.It is legal to import and sell hemp seed which has been sterilized but the quality of nutrition and the oil produced from it is diminished. To reap the full benefits of this nutritious nugget we need to have legal locally-grown hemp."
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Comment #23 posted by jose melendez on June 21, 2005 at 23:21:31 PT
explaining to do . . .
Yes Mike, I've met Jerry Cameron. The man is a true hero that speaks clearly and powerfully against the corrupt drug war that his former colleagues are all to willing to continue.He and others at Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (http://leap.cc ) aim their message squarely at those with badges, and it has been my direct observation that those who disagree are prone to offering lame, easily debunked and often outright false arguments in support of the status quo.One particular D.E.A. agent directly lied to us, and the other three consistently used misleading statements and flawed logic in dispute of LEAPs position at the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice (http://www.nabcj.org/ ) conference in Jacksonville. I need money to edit these dozens upon dozens of hours of tape if the video is to be at all effective, so I am concentrating on getting them entered into evidence by challenging "Justice" with their own laws. - - -Help wanted: CCCCP.org is seeking to hire a qui tam attorney. 888 247-8183
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Comment #22 posted by ekim on June 21, 2005 at 20:19:38 PT
thanks to Kap for link
http://www.rexresearch.com/hhist/hhist3~1.htm#anslinger(5) Anslinger and the FBN ~ On October 30, 1929, Senator Sheppard (TX) introduced bill S. 2075 to amend The Narcotics Drugs Import and Export Act of 1922 to include cannabis. Other Congressmen urged the Bureau of Prohibition to amend the Harrison Act. The Bureau of Prohibition opposed both proposals because cannabis was a domestic crop. As such, it could not be controlled by federal legislature unless it involved interstate or international commerce, according to the prevailing court interpretations of the constitutional separation of state and federal powers. Therefore, the Bureau of Prohibition promoted the Uniform Act, which made the states responsible for enforcing the law. The bureau also tried to promote international control of cannabis by the League of Nations, but the American proposals were rebuffed as the Second Geneva Opium Conference in 1925. 
http://www.rexresearch.com/hhist/hhist3~1.htm#anslinger
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Comment #21 posted by ekim on June 21, 2005 at 19:48:52 PT
Hip Hip Jose
Jose do you have a tape ready that explains what you are doing.if yes can you send one to Community Access Center 
359 S. Kalamazoo, MI 49007
www.cactv.orghave you had a chance to talk to Mr. Cameronhttp://leap.cc/speakers/cameron.htm
Toward the end of his career Cameron began to question the efficacy as well as the morality of the "war on drugs." When he began doing serious research on this subject, he concluded that the "war on drugs" was a not only a total failure but that it had caused tremendous damage to society. The simple truth was that not one benefit could be identified and a myriad of unintended destructive consequences were evident. In fact, the war proved counterproductive to every one of its stated goals.http://leap.cc/events/
Jun 26 05 Florida Police Chiefs Association 53rd Annual Summer Training Conference and Exp 07:00 AM Jerry Cameron Chapel Florida USA 
 
 Members of the Florida Police Chiefs Association welcome Speaker Jerry Cameron to their 53rd Annual Summer Training Conference and Expo. Jerry will be discussing LEAP's mission to end the failed war on drugs, recruit new members and discuss viable alternatives to reducing the crime and related social harm caused by drug prohibition. Location: Saddlebrook Resort 
http://www.minorml.org
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Comment #20 posted by jose melendez on June 21, 2005 at 17:52:54 PT
' . . . a whisperer separateth chief friends . . '
runderwo, thank you. I certainly have much to learn, and hope I did not imply decryption was simple. I'm tired of hiding, so for now, I'd rather risk speaking out loud than give the other side reason to believe I have something to hide.The SCOTUS decision clearly states cannabis is an item in commerce. Antitrust and common law forbid restraints of trade or monopolies.Drug war is crime. I think we need to spread that straightforward and truthful message unencrypted. 
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Comment #19 posted by runderwo on June 21, 2005 at 17:00:15 PT
passwords
Jose, a packet sniffer does not help much if the packets contain encrypted data. You must still obtain the plaintext version of the sensitive data, which is intentionally made very difficult to do in any real encryption scheme.charmed quark, a perfect hash function should be one-to-one and one-way. A many-to-one hash means that there are collisions, and this makes security of the hash weaker simply because more than one password would suffice to allow access. Recently, SHA-1 and MD5 were found to have collisions which called their utility into question. The other half of a hash's security comes from it being a one-way function. If a hash function is reversible mathematically or if the hashed value leaks information about the password, the scheme is considered weak.
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Comment #18 posted by jose melendez on June 19, 2005 at 06:24:58 PT
sniffers
As far as I can tell, no password or encryption will ever be 100% secure: http://www.snapfiles.com/freeware/network/fwpacketsniffer.html
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Comment #17 posted by charmed quark on June 19, 2005 at 05:29:40 PT
Encryption Keys
You are right, the Feds require backdoors into "strong encryption" software. They can also subpoena encryption keys, if necessary.But the beauty of "hashing" as a technique is there are no keys and backdoors are not required. It's a mathematical technique of "many to one" encoding, that is, many possible inputs can give the same encoded output, so there is no way to reverse it. This is what is used for most passwords. Once you create your password, it is hashed and only the hashed value is stored. When you reeneter your password at a later date, it is rehashed and the hashed results compared to see if they match.But the values stored in the hash table cannot be reversed to get your actual password. That's why if you forget your password you have to create a new one. Nobody can retrieve your old one for you.I think a variant of this method should be used for the patient databases to protect them fromt he Feds. If you are required to register to use the system, then the state has an obligation to protect you.-CQ
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Comment #16 posted by Hope on June 18, 2005 at 15:20:59 PT
Charmed Quark
I'm not sure, but I believe there is already some legislation concerning the availability of keys to encryption being available to any government investigation. Something does need to be done, but right now, the only option I can see for those that are uneasy about this would be for them to learn where the Federal felony line is drawn and be careful to keep no more on hand than an amount under that line.
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on June 18, 2005 at 14:17:32 PT
Hawaii: News Brief from i-Newswire
Hawaii's Medical Marijuana Program ContinuesJune 18, 2005Despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling the state plans to continue its medical marijuana program. "An act that is criminalized under federal law is not necessarily a criminal act under state law, and vice versa," Attorney General Mark Bennett said. As long as the patients and doctors follow state laws allowing certified patients to possess up to three mature marijuana plants, four immature plants and an ounce of usable marijuana for each mature plant, they will not face prosecution.Although the high court's ruling gave federal officials authority to prosecute medical marijuana users, U.S. Attorney Edward Kubo said he did not plan to do so. http://i-newswire.com/pr26153.html
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Comment #14 posted by charmed quark on June 18, 2005 at 10:05:28 PT
Hope - about the Feds
I agree that if the government started subpoenaing the patient registries, it would cause a major backlash. But not everybody in state cannabis programs wants to be forced into such a situation, even if it would have good long-range effects. The states should set up methods to protect the patients from this sort of thing.There are a lot of one-way encryption systems that allow the verification that someone has been entered into a database, but with the database encrypted in such a manner that names can't be pulled out of it. It's a one-way street: you can check names or whatnot against it and get a "yes, they are a member" but you can't go the other way. Somewhat ironically, this is called "hashing". The states should start using these methods.-CQ
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Comment #13 posted by Hope on June 18, 2005 at 08:35:29 PT
Charmed Quark
This is the part that means they might have to give up the list of registrants, if forced to."Depending upon the person or entity seeking information from the program, the information that is sought and the actual text of the request, the information may be subject to full disclosure, partial disclosure or no disclosure."
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Comment #12 posted by afterburner on June 18, 2005 at 08:07:30 PT
Comments #7 & 8
Wonderful money picture from "The Marijuana Conspiracy - The Real Reason Hemp is Illegal" 
http://www.illuminati-news.com/marijuana-conspiracy.htm
:"I grew Hemp," George Washington
http://www.illuminati-news.com/graphics/hemp-washington.jpg"* The first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross's flag, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were made from hemp; U.S. Government Archives. "* Rembrants, Gainsboroughs, Van Goghs as well as most early canvas paintings were principally painted on hemp linen."* Quality paints and varnishes were made from hemp seed oil until 1937. 58,000 tons of hemp seeds were used in America for paint products in 1935; Sherman Williams Paint Co. testimony before Congress against the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act."Watch out, the DEA double-think would try to tell us that crazed hippies, high on BC Bud, would try to smoke those paintings after scraping off that nasty paint. Maybe, they would even try to smoke the paint since it might be made from hempseed oil. They might even smoke the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and Betsy Ross's flag. They might even smoke the Bible, the same book that said hemp is good, that God gave it to us as food and medicine. "And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger 
in the land."
-- Ezekiel 34/2"* Henry Ford's first Model-T was built to run on hemp gasoline and the CAR ITSELF WAS CON[S]TRUCTED FROM HEMP! On his large estate, Ford was photographed among his hemp fields. The car, 'grown from the soil,' had hemp plastic panels whose impact strength was 10 times stronger than steel; Popular Mechanics, 1941."Regarding highway slaughter resulting from the deliberate withholding of stronger and safer materials in favor of weaker and less safe materials, does this not open the possibility of lawsuits against the automobile industry and government departments?
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Comment #11 posted by Hope on June 18, 2005 at 07:09:00 PT
Charmed Quark
All the Feds have to do is subpoena them for the lists. I'm sure that the Feds would love to do just that, but they have to realize, and maybe they don't, considering their seeming lack of realization here to fore, that if they do, they will likely set the ball rolling to fulfillment of their own prophecy of full legalization and regulation for adults."(b) Does the decision require alteration of the program’s current procedures for communicating with local, state and federal law enforcement?No. Since the Act remains valid there is no reason to alter current procedures. Depending upon the person or entity seeking information from the program, the information that is sought and the actual text of the request, the information may be subject to full disclosure, partial disclosure or no disclosure."
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Comment #10 posted by WolfgangWylde on June 18, 2005 at 06:42:07 PT
Well gee whiz...
...Let me be the first to put my name and address in a database so the Feds can come and arrest me. Puh-leeze.
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Comment #9 posted by potpal on June 18, 2005 at 06:18:13 PT
Let's talk about it...
Good idea.Call for illegal drug-use honesty http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4100924.stm 
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Comment #8 posted by mayan on June 18, 2005 at 05:41:19 PT
Defeated? Not!
It looks like everyone is thumbing their noses at the feds. We won't go away and our numbers will only grow as the prohibitionist's numbers shrink.Global warming, I was just about to post that link! It's a pretty good read!Another paper rips the supremes...Marijuana Case Addles Supreme Court:
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050618/NEWS/506180382/1036/EDITTHE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...Former Bush Admin Member Appears On Alex Jones Show; Says Government Complicit In 9/11:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/june2005/160605governmentcomplicit.htmA Sherlock Holmes Type Twist To The 9/11 Murder Mystery:
http://www.arcticbeacon.citymaker.com/articles/article/1518131/27506.htmDirty Little 9/11 Secrets Exposed:
http://rense.com/general66/dirt.htm
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Comment #7 posted by global_warming on June 18, 2005 at 05:34:32 PT
On The Rense Site
…POT IS ILLEGAL BECAUSE BILLIONAIRES WANT TO REMAIN BILLIONAIRES!
THE REAL REASON CANNABIS HAS BEEN OUTLAWED 
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Comment #6 posted by charmed quark on June 18, 2005 at 05:27:08 PT
Patient registries and Feds
What protections do the states have in place to prevent the Federal government from getting ahold of the patient registry and using it to prosecute patients?Can the Federal government get a warrent forcing the state government to turn over the registry? Is there maybe a encryption method that prevents the state from generating a list of registered patients?Under the current state of affairs, these are very important questions. Anybody know the answers?
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 21:46:46 PT
ACLU Press Release
ACLU Applauds Oregon Attorney General’s Statement that Medical Marijuana Program Remains 100 Percent Legal  
June 17, 2005
 Medical Marijuana Card Program Must Resume in Compliance with Oregon State LawPORTLAND, OR – The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon expressed satisfaction that the state attorney general’s office acknowledged today that Oregon’s medical marijuana program remains in full force and effect despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week in Gonzales v. Raich. The attorney general’s opinion means that the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) must immediately resume issuance of medical marijuana registry identification cards to qualified applicants – a process that DHS had temporarily suspended pending the attorney general’s review.“We are relieved that Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers has responded to our concerns, weighed the facts at hand, and properly concluded that Oregon’s medical marijuana statute remains 100 percent valid,” said David Fidanque, Executive Director of the ACLU of Oregon. “Medical marijuana patients across the state can breathe a collective sigh of relief that our public officials have done the right thing.”The DHS suspended issuance of medical marijuana registration cards after the Raich decision was announced Monday, June 6. Within days, the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project and the ACLU of Oregon submitted to the DHS and the attorney general a legal analysis and letter demanding that the DHS resume issuing cards and that the attorney general publicly acknowledge the continued validity of Oregon state laws protecting medical marijuana patients. The attorney general’s official statement released today, requiring DHS to resume issuing cards, confirms the ACLU’s analysis and reaffirms the legality of Oregon’s medical marijuana law.“Raich does not hold that state laws regulating medical marijuana are invalid nor does it require states to repeal existing medical marijuana laws. Additionally, the case does not oblige states to enforce federal laws,” said Attorney General Hardy Myers today in his official statement.The attorney general also agreed with the ACLU that DHS need not alter its program in any way and that DHS continues to bear responsibility for reviewing applications and issuing medical marijuana registration cards pursuant to current state law. The attorney general said that while DHS will be permitted to inform patients of potential liability under federal law, the state is not legally obligated to do so. The opinion further explains that since federal prosecution has always been a possibility from the time that Oregon’s medical marijuana laws were enacted, most patients are already aware of the distinction between state and federal protection. The ACLU notes, however, that federal authorities have never arrested or prosecuted individual medical marijuana patients in Oregon or elsewhere, and in recent public statements have emphasized repeatedly that they have no plans to change that policy.“We are gratified that the attorney general agreed with our legal analysis of the Raich decision,” said Allen Hopper, an attorney with the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project. “While the potential exists for federal action against individual patients, state medical marijuana laws still provide significant protection. Fully 99 percent of all marijuana arrests throughout the country are undertaken by state and local law enforcement, not federal agents.” Hopper added, “The ACLU remains committed to holding state government officials to their obligation to continue to enforce and comply with state medical marijuana laws.”Contact: media aclu.orgFor additional information on Gonzales v. Raich, see: http://www.aclu.org/court/court.cfm?ID=18409&c=286To read the initial ACLU letter, see: http://www.aclu.org/DrugPolicy/DrugPolicy.cfm?ID=18437&c=81http://www.aclu.org/DrugPolicy/DrugPolicy.cfm?ID=18532&c=81
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 20:41:11 PT
siege
Thank you for the article and it was really nice to read your post the other day. I wish you continued good health.
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Comment #3 posted by siege on June 17, 2005 at 20:34:24 PT
 Cannabiscuits for mutts with the munchies
"These ... promote the repair of damaged cells and have a range of health benefits -- from a shiny coat and stronger teeth and nails in dogs, to lessening the impact of heart disease in humans."http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15649201%5E2702,00.html
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 19:28:04 PT
Press Release: Oregon Department of Justice
Press Release (issued by the Oregon Department of Justice)June 17, 2005 Attorney General Hardy Myers today released legal advice to the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) as to the affect of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Gonzales v. Raich, on the operation of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. The advice, which responds to questions asked by the director of DHS Health Division, states that the decision has no legal impact on the operation of Oregon’ s program and the Department may resume the review and issuance of licenses to qualified applicants. Below is a summary of the responses to the questions. The advice can be viewed in its entirety at www.doj.state.or.us. 1. Does Gonzales v. Raich invalidate the Oregon statutes authorizing the operation of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program?No. Raich does not hold that state laws regulating medical marijuana are invalid nor does it require states to repeal existing medical marijuana laws. Additionally, the case does not oblige states to enforce federal laws. The practical effect of Raich in Oregon is to affirm what the Attorney General understood to be the law since the adoption of the Act. The Act protects medical marijuana users who comply with its requirements from state criminal prosecution for production, possession, or delivery of a controlled substance. However, the Act neither protects marijuana plants from seizure nor individuals from prosecution if the federal government chooses to take action against patients or caregivers under the federal Controlled Substances Act. 2. Should there be operational changes to the program in light of Raich?Since the Raich case does not invalidate the Act, the state has no legal mandate to change the program. (a) May the program resume issuing registry identification cards?Yes. The Oregon Medical Marijuana Act remains valid state law. As a result, DHS continues to be responsible for maintaining a program for the issuance of the cards pursuant to the terms of the Act. (b) Does the decision require alteration of the program’s current procedures for communicating with local, state and federal law enforcement?No. Since the Act remains valid there is no reason to alter current procedures. Depending upon the person or entity seeking information from the program, the information that is sought and the actual text of the request, the information may be subject to full disclosure, partial disclosure or no disclosure. (c) Does the program have a legal duty to communicate to registrants or applicants that state law does not protect patients from potential federal prosecution?No. Neither federal nor state laws require such notification to program participants. It is the Attorney General’s belief that the vast majority of patients and caregivers already knew, before Raich was decided, that the Act did not protect against possible federal prosecution. Nevertheless, in consultation with DOJ, DHS may want to consider again communicating to registrants and applicants that federal law continues to treat the manufacture, distribution and possession of marijuana as a crime and that compliance with the Act does not immunize individuals against possible federal prosecution. CONTACT: Kevin Neely, Oregon Department of Justice (503) 378-6002http://egov.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/ommp/pr2005-0617.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 19:16:18 PT
Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP)
http://egov.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/ommp/
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