Ore.: Several medical marijuana bills scheduled for hearing Wednesday

Published: March 17, 2009

Tomorrow, several bills will be brought up for hearing for the first time in the House Business and Labor Committee. Our records indicate that your state senator is on the committee, and we need you to contact him or her today.

HB 2497 and HB 3052 would expand the ability of an employer to discriminate against medical marijuana patients who are not impaired at work and who use their medicine during non-business hours. Act now to oppose these bills.

HB 2503 would prohibit discrimination against medical marijuana patients if they are not in a safety-sensitive position and if discrimination is based on the person's status as a medical marijuana registry cardholder or their use of medical marijuana off-property or during hours that are not hours of employment. Act now to urge the committee to amend the bill so it would unequivocally protect medical marijuana patients in the workplace.

Of particular interest is HB 3274, which would direct the Department of Human Services to establish a medical marijuana production facility and distribute marijuana to pharmacies for dispensing to medical marijuana cardholders and designated primary caregivers. Unfortunately, the bill would prohibit patient grow sites and impose a tax of $98 per ounce of marijuana obtained at pharmacies.

While HB 3274 highlights the need to create a regulated supply system for medical marijuana, and can start a discussion about how to achieve that goal, it is flawed for a couple of different reasons. First, Oregon pharmacies cannot currently dispense marijuana due to federal law — marijuana would need to be rescheduled in order for this to work. Second, prohibiting patient grow sites is a bad idea because many patients have been producing their own medicine for some time and are likely to continue doing so. Also, many patients are located in remote areas of Oregon, so traveling to a pharmacy only to pay a hefty price for a medicine that they can grow themselves makes no sense. In a time of economic crisis, Oregon does not need to increase the cost of health care.

Act now to oppose HB 3274. However well-intentioned the bill may be, its practical effect would be to ban patients' grow sites and replace them with nothing, thus forcing the seriously ill to buy their medicine from drug dealers.

Thank you for support the marijuana policy project and all of our allies. Please pass this alert on to other Oregonians so they too can take action.