Marijuana Policy Project

President Obama promised policy change concerning medical marijuana while on the campaign trail and now he's delivered on that promise. However, medical marijuana patients here in Nevada say the new policy doesn't help them get their medicine because of state laws.

On Monday morning, the Obama Administration sent a message of policy change to the 14 states that allow the use of medical marijuana. Federal prosecutors will lay off busting licensed, law abiding medical marijuana patients and caregivers and instead focus on cases involving high level drug traffickers.

Clyde Barnett and his mother Reynalda work for Dr.Reefer.com, a medical marijuana advocacy group based here in the Las Vegas Valley. "It feels good, but I don't think it's a big enough victory, especially in the state of Nevada," Clyde says. "We still don't have dispensaries. A lot of patients can't grow their own medicine."

In 2001, Nevada lawmakers changed the law, allowing medical marijuana use but not dispensaries. The Barnetts say that's the biggest problem for patients.

"There is really no safe access," Clyde insists. "There's no safe place to get your medicine right now."

Debbie Jense lost her leg in a motorcycle accident in 1976 and has chronic pain. She used to use prescription drugs but recently tried marijuana instead.

"I'm still gonna have to buy it illegally.... I don't wanna be around drug dealers."

"I was sitting at the table one day... and I was crying. And I thought, I can't take this anymore. So I told my husband, 'I don't care what you do, don't walk in the house without a pain pill.' Then I thought, heck, I've got this stuff right there. So I took one toke, sat at the table for maybe ten minutes — still crying, still crying — then all of the sudden I start laughing and I turn around at the fridge and said 'I'm starving,' and I went wow! It works!"

On Monday, Debbie met with the folks at Dr.Reefer.com to apply for her medical marijuana I.D. "I wanna get my card and get legal and what I'd like to see is dispensaries here in this state, like they do in California because this card is no good in California. So that means I would have to grow my own, which would take months and I don't know what I'm doing. I need someone to bring it to me legally without fear that they are gonna get in trouble."

Another problem medical marijuana patients told us they are facing is finding a physician to sign the state required recommendation paperwork so they can apply with the state for their identification card.

"That's the biggest problem," Clyde says. "There are fewer than 10 doctors in the state of Nevada that even recommend medical marijuana, so that's the biggest problem."

"I have patients every day coming to me saying their doctor won't sign off on it and even if they do get their I.D. card, their primary physicians won't treat them once they have their card because of their decision to use medical marijuana."

Debbie and the Barnetts agree that the Obama Administration's announcement is a step in the right direction but until Nevada changes its policies, they say, patients wanting marijuana in Nevada will have to continue breaking the law.

Of the 14 states that allow the use of medical marijuana, California has the greatest number of legal dispensaries, followed by Colorado. Rhode Island and New Mexico are in the process of licensing dispensaries now.