HB-2693 empowers law enforcement and the OMMP prevent abuse, and gives control of the medical marijuana garden back to the patient. Under the current Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, the biggest problem is that patients are unable to keep an adequate supply of usable marijuana from each harvest. HB 2693 allows patients to keep more of what they have grown and reduces the risk of medical marijuana being diverted from our program. HB-2693 creates stiff penalties for patients and caregivers who abuse our law and removes the "Affirmative Defense.

Section one of HB-2693 creates two new definitions.

• "Multiple patient designated primary caregiver" A designated primary caregiver who is assisting four or more registry identification cardholders.

• "Multiple Patient Garden" A medical marijuana garden with four or more registry identification cardholder’s registering their medical marijuana garden at the same location.

These definitions are needed so that a designated primary caregiver certification program can be established.

The amendments to ORS 475.306 will not increase the number of medical marijuana plants being grown by patients.

The amendments will reduce the amount of marijuana being diverted from our program by allowing the patients to keep more of the medicine that they are already growing.

Removing the "Affirmative Defense" clause from ORS 475.306 will establish set limits on the number of plants a patient can have and a set amount of marijuana that can be possessed.

Under the current Oregon Medical Marijuana Act. OMMA, patients are unable to keep an adequate supply of usable marijuana from each harvest. To understand why, you must first understand how medical marijuana is grown.

• Marijuana plants require two to three months of growth in the "immature", vegetative stage, and an additional two months of growth in the flowering or "mature" stage.
• Vegetating or "Immature" plants receive 18+ hours of light each day.
• Flowering or "Mature" plants must have at least 12 continues hours of total darkness each day.
• The size and age of the marijuana plant does not determine if the plant is "mature" or "immature".
• Patients must maintain two separate growing rooms in order to have both "immature" and "mature" plants at the same time.
• Patients can harvest three plants at a time
• A medical marijuana garden can only be harvested every two to three months.
• A marijuana plant, grown under good conditions, can produce at least two to three ounces of medical marijuana.

It is appropriate to give weight to the anecdotal information provided by OMMA patients over the past six years. After a patient has established a garden, the majority of patients we have spoken with say they use at least two to three ounces of medical marijuana a month. Many patients will use nine or more ounces of medical marijuana between harvests.

To put this into perspective, an ounce of marijuana is roughly equivalent to the amount of tobacco in a pack of cigarettes. Two to three ounces of medical marijuana a month is equivalent to smoking two or three medical marijuana joints a day.

OMMA only allows a patient to keep four ounces of usable medicine at a time, three ounces at the garden site and one ounce away from the garden site.

Most patients are faced with a dilemma, run out of medication or keep more marijuana than is allowed by OMMA. This sets up law enforcement and patients in an adversarial position that was never the intent of the statute.

Patients need to be able to designate where their supply of medical marijuana is kept. The current statutes that require the patients supply of medicine remain at the garden site enables dishonest caregivers to easily divert a patient’s medicine. Some patients are mislead into believing they are only allowed one ounce of medicine a month while the dishonest caregiver keeps the lion share of what is produced.

It is time we asked why are the designated primary caregiver’s, who have no medical need to own marijuana, required to keep the patient’s supply of medical marijuana?

The amendments to ORS 475.306 will allow patients to keep more of what they have grown, thereby reducing the risk of diversion. The medical marijuana supply will be under the control of the patient instead of the caregiver reducing the risk of abuse.

Under current statutes there are no provisions for starting a garden. Patients must either take clones from another patient’s marijuana plants or grow the marijuana plants from seeds. In either case, plants do not become viable for several weeks. Until the clones develop a root structure they can easily die. The OMMP has already developed language that could be used to define how big clones and seedlings need to be before they are counted as plants.

Requires OMMP to develop an "OMMP Registration Manual"

Requires OMMP to create educational materials and classes to help patients utilize OMMA.

Patients will be required to sign a statement saying they understand OMMA as explained in the Oregon Medical Marijuana Manual.

The amendments will require the registry identification cardholder to designate the location where their supply of medicine will be kept.

Allows the Department to deny renewal applications if a registry identification cardholder, a designated primary caregiver, or a multiple patient designated primary caregiver is convicted of violating ORS 475.992

Requires physicians to notify the department if a patient no longer has a debilitating medical condition or if the continued use of medical marijuana is contraindicated.

Patients and their designated primary caregivers need a handbook that explains the program in clear and simple language. Many patients have difficulty understanding OMMA.

For example, many patients have been lead to believe the garden belongs to their caregiver and the caregiver controls the medicine. Another misunderstanding is the affirmative defense clause within OMMA. Patients have been told they can have 14 plants instead of seven by obtaining a letter from their doctor. When confronted by law enforcement patients find out they were mislead.

Patients find themselves victimized because they don’t know the law. Education would reduce much of the abuse within OMMA.

Most patients have little or no experience growing medical marijuana and have few places to turn for help. Patients that turn to the illegal market for help are often victimized. Criminals find that patients are easy targets.

With help, most patients should be able to produce enough medical marijuana from a seven-plant garden. With over 10,000 patients registered in OMMP, and no sign of OMMP’s growth slowing, Oregon needs to take control of this program.

Illegal growers teaching patients how to grow marijuana is a recipe for abuse!

These amendments create a "Multiple Patient Designated Primary Caregiver" certification course.

These amendments give OMMP the authority to inspect Multiple Patient Gardens.

These amendments give OMMP the authority to arbitrate disputes between patients and their caregivers.

Establish regulatory authority within OMMP to create a caregiver certification program modeled after the current SDSD provider program. Caregivers that are growing for more than three patients would be required to demonstrate an understanding of our law. Caregivers who complete the certification program could be placed on a state referral list. Caregivers would also be followed by OMMP to ensure compliance.

One of the most significant problems OMMA patients experience is bad caregiver that take possession of the medical marijuana garden. Many patients do not understand their rights. Some patients are not even allowed to see their garden, and are told they can have a designated amount of medical marijuana a month, usually less than an ounce. The bad caregivers divert the rest of the medicine endangering the patient’s medicine supply and the garden.

Patients have nowhere to turn for help. Patients are told when they call the police that it is a civil mater and there is nothing they can do. Patients rarely get their medicine and plants back when they fire a dishonest caregiver.

Possession of marijuana in a public place within allowed limits is not considered use of marijuana in a public place.

Delivery of medical marijuana for no consideration to person in possession of a registry identification card is not a violation of OMMA.

These amendments are not a change but a clarification of the law that reflect the current DOJ guidelines.

Medical marijuana gardens are allowed to be at either the patient’s location or at the designated primary caregiver’s location. Patients and caregivers must be allowed to transport marijuana within the limits allowed under ORS 475.306.

ORS 475.316 is a list of offences that will limit a cardholder’s immunity from criminal laws involving Marijuana. The list includes:

• Delivers marijuana to any individual who the person knows is not in possession of a registry identification card;
• Delivers marijuana for consideration to any individual, even if the individual is in possession of a registry identification card;

Delivering marijuana, marijuana plants, marijuana clones or marijuana seedlings, for no consideration to a person who is in possession of a registry identification card is not listed as an offense that will limit a cardholder’s immunity.

There is no way of predicting how much marijuana a plant will produce. Patients must be allowed to give away the excess marijuana they are not allowed to keep.

It takes patients at least 6 months to have their first harvest. During that time, the only place a cardholder can get medical marijuana legally is from another patient. A patient diagnosed with cancer and starting Chemotherapy needs medical marijuana now, not in six months.

These amendments remove the "Affirmative Defense" from OMMA

When OMMA passed in 1998, no one knew what would happen. We didn’t know if doctors would sign for patients. We didn’t know if patients could afford the fee. There were many patients that were afraid to register with the government. The Affirmative Defense was created to ensure that no patient would ever go to jail for using medical marijuana.

Six years later, things have changed. Over 1500 doctors have signed for patients to use medical marijuana. The registration fee has been reduced to $55 for new applications and renewals, and $20 for low-income patients.

The Affirmative Defense has become a loop-hole that is allowing our program to be abused. Patients have been mislead into believing a doctor’s letter will allow them to have 14 plants instead of seven.

The Affirmative Defense also makes it difficult for law enforcement to stop people that are using our program to cover their illegal activity.

The amendments create a query system to ensure the ability of authorized employees of state and local law enforcement agencies to verify at all times that a person is a lawful possessor of a registry identification card or that a person is the designated primary caregiver of such a person, and at what location the registry identification cardholder’s supply of medical marijuana is kept.

Law enforcement has indicated a need for 24/7 verification of registration cards.

This amendment adds a emergency clause that this 2005 Act takes effect on its passage.