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CLEAR Temp: 100 °F Wind: WNW at 6 mph Saturday, September 27, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend April 28, 2003 "Brother Bob" Walker of Brookings visited Grants Pass to give people information about obtaining Oregon medical marijuana cards. He held the clinic to help others get the cards after his own frustrating experience with the process. Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman To ease the pain A Brookings man visits Grants Pass to share his knowledge and experience with Oregon’s medical marijuana program to help others find a way to qualify By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune GRANTS PASS — "Brother Bob" Walker came to town Sunday to help people use marijuana as medicine. The 62-year-old Brookings man organized a clinic for folks who have been unable to obtain an Oregon medical marijuana card on their own. He rented a meeting room at a large motel and brought in Dr. Phillip Leveque, the aging Mollala osteopath who made headlines for approving 1,700 of Oregon’s first 3,500 medical marijuana cards. Walker organized the clinic to spare others the frustrations he endured on his quest to use cannabis legally. Soon after medical marijuana became legal in Oregon, Walker started looking for a doctor who would help him use marijuana to relieve back pain from a 1983 fall that broke his back. None of the local doctors would help him. Advertisement "I spent five months and $700 trying to get a card," he said. "It p——- me off so much that I decided I was going to help other people." After Walker finally got his card, he created a nonprofit organization — Southern Oregon Medical Marijuana Network— and launched a Web site to promote the medicinal uses of cannabis. "I totally believe in what I do," he said, noting that he’s helped more than 250 people obtain cannabis cards. Oregon’s experiment with medical marijuana will mark its fourth birthday in May. As of last week, about 4,700 people held state cards that allow them to grow cannabis plants and keep small quantities of marijuana to treat conditions such as cancer, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis or to relieve chronic pain, nausea or seizures. With a state population of about 3.5 million, that works out to one card for every 680 people. Southern Oregon has more than its proportionate share of medical cannabis users. In Jackson County, 552 people held state marijuana cards in mid-April, said Mary Leverette, director of the medical marijuana program. That’s about one card holder for every 325 people among the county’s 180,000 population. In Josephine County, 407 marijuana cards were valid in mid-April, Leverette said. That’s about one for every 185 people among the county’s 75,000 residents. A bill in the Oregon Legislature is designed to correct problems that have surfaced in the medical marijuana program since voters approved it in 1998. House Bill 2939, introduced by Rep Jeff Kruse (R-Roseburg) would prevent medical marijuana users from driving while using cannabis, using it in public, delivering marijuana to anyone without a state card, or selling cannabis to anyone. The bill would also prevent anyone who has had a prior felony drug conviction from obtaining a card and reduce the number of plants that any one person could grow for others who have cards. The full House could vote on the bill this week, said John Sajo, director of Voter Power, the organization that put medical marijuana on the ballot in 1998. Voters may be asked to revise the medical marijuana law in November 2004. Sajo said Voter Power will begin collecting signatures in May for a new medical marijuana initiative that would increase the amount of marijuana that card holders may possess to as much as 6 pounds. It would also create dispensaries to sell as much as 6 pounds of marijuana a year to registered patients. At Sunday’s clinic, men and women came from as far as Bend, Brookings and Klamath Falls to fill out their paperwork and be examined by Leveque. Tony Honeycutt of Brookings said he had used marijuana for years to manage his pain before obtaining a card last year. The 55-year-old Vietnam veteran said he decided to get a card because he wanted to stop feeling like he was breaking the law. "I don’t feel so guilty about what I’m doing now," said Honeycutt, who uses cannabis for relief from stomach problems, an overactive bowel and a gastrointestinal reflux condition. Others said they were tired of the side effects of prescription pain killers and over-the-counter drugs and wanted to try something different. "I do ibuprofens by the dozens," said a 42-year-old Klamath Falls contractor who asked to be identified only as Dan. "I have wires and screws all over me," he said, from motorcycle accidents, "an artificial hip and arthritis in every joint in my body." Dan said he uses marijuana mostly to relax at the end of a day and get a good night’s sleep. "My personal belief is if booze is legal, then I don’t know why marijuana shouldn’t be legal." Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Workplace marijuana workshop set for May 8 Medical marijuana and its role in the workplace will be the subject of a May 8 workshop in Medford. Southern Oregon Drug Awareness will sponsor the day-long program to address issues raised by Oregon’s medical marijuana law. For example, how should an employer who has a no-drug policy deal with a worker who tests positive for marijuana if that person has a state-issued card that allows him or her to use the drug? Speakers will include Tim Hennesy, director of human relations for Columbia Plywood. The company was sued after it fired an employee who had a medical marijuana card and was smoking the drug at the workplace. The workshop will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Rogue Regency Inn, 2345 Crater Lake Highway. The fee is $75 in advance, $125 at the door. For more information, call SODA, 608-4028. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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