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| > Questions and Answers About Medical Marijuana in Oregon Please note: This is only one layman's understanding. It is not to be understood in any way as legal or medical advice.
The Oregon Department of Human Services also maintains a frequently asked questions page:
What do I need to bring with me to the clinic? 1. Current Oregon driver's license or current DMV issued Oregon photo ID card. In a pinch a current voter registration card and recent photo with dated receipt showing it to be a recent photo will do. 2. One or two (no more than 10) pages from your medical records documenting your qualifying condition. 3. Please also bring whatever forms you have already filled out. We will provide all the needed forms, but of course, the more you have filled out ahead of time, the faster you clinic visit should go. 4. The balance of your payment. If you have made a deposit of $60, bring $120 the day of the clinic and please arrive by 20 minutes in advance. What's involved in a clinic visit? When you arrive, we sign you in and collect the doctor's fee. Then we take a look at what paperwork you have and probably hand you more, but we'll be available to help you fill them out. When your paperwork is in order, you will visit a registered nurse practitioner who will give you a physical primarily focused on your qualifying condition(s). After the physical, he will give you one page documenting his physical exam. Next you will meet with the doctor who will examine you, your medical records, including the physical you just had, and interview you. If the doctor determines that you qualify he will sign your Attending Physician's Statement and give you two pages documenting his examination and interview. Our pre-screening process has resulted in a very high success rate in qualifying patients. Lastly, you will meet for an exit interview where we will review the medical marijuana law so that you understand your responsibilities to help you avoid unnecessary confrontation with law enforcement officials. You will leave the clinic with about five pages to mail to the Oregon medical marijuana program. Once you have mailed your papers to the state this will be your proof of registration until your card arrives, so it is important to get your receipt from the post office and make copies of your post office receipt and the papers you send to the state. Make at least 3 copies of your papers or card and keep the originals in a safe place. Keep one copy at your home, one at your grow location, and one in your car. How long does the clinic visit take? The average time is about an hour and a half, however it varies depending on the amount of paperwork you have completed. Please be prepared to spend up to three hours and don't schedule anything important within a few hours beyond your estimated clinic time. How much does the clinic visit cost? The clinic visit is $180. This covers the nurse, the doctor, their staff, and the cost of clinic space. Not bad for a doctor who comes to you from over 300 miles away. When do I need to renew my registration? Your registration needs to be renewed once a year from the date your application was approved. Since it takes about five months for the state to approve your application and mail you your card, your first renewal is usually due about seventeen months (a little less than a year and half) from the day you mailed your application. Who should I tell that I am a medical marijuana patient? As few people as possible. Many people will assume you grow when you tell them that you are a legal patient. The main reason to keep quiet is safety from thieves and federal authorities, both of whom may assume you have a grow room (or closet, or shelf) and neither of whom will respect it. Only two groups of people ever need to know that you are legal. The first group are the responsible adults who live at the grow location, who should know the law, their 4th amendment rights, the rules of the grow room and should be able to keep quiet. The only other time it needs to be mentioned is when the fact that you are a legal patient will give you some protection. If the police give you trouble for possession or growing (that is within the limits of the medical marijuana law) proving that you are legal medical marijuana patient will help. This is why you want to keep copies of your papers or card handy at your home, your grow location, and your car. Oregon's medical marijuana law does not force anyone to accept your use of marijuana, so different employers handle things each in their own way, Many employers are accepting of medical marijuana use as long as it does not interfere with the job. Deciding what to tell your particular employer if you are subjected to drug testing is up to your judgement. We do not recommend testing this out with an unfriendly employer unless you have legal aid or an attorney. Oregon Department of Human Services FAQ: Should I tell my employer? Lastly, as noted before, the law can not force your landlord to respect your use of medical marijuana or your grow room, and your landlord has the right to enter your home (his property) and inspect it. Telling your landlord is up to your discretion. We recommend having a landlord who chooses to respect your choices and your home. Oregon Department of Human Services FAQ: Should I tell my landlord? Is marijuana free after I sign up? Is there a free lunch? No. Sorry, that's how clinical trials work when they are testing the effectiveness of a new or controversial drug. Oregon's medical marijuana program is a legitimate source for some patients who need to have access to marijuana as medicine for their medical condition. The good news is that as a state run program, there is a $100 discount on state filing fees (You pay this when you send in your forms.) if you are on the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) or federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. To our knowledge, as yet, there is no such thing as a free lunch. What protection do patients and caregivers have? Patients who have not designated a caregiver may grow up to seven plants, three budding and four vegetative with one ounce of usable marijuana per plant, possess and transport an ounce of usable marijuana, and store up to three ounces of usable marijuana at the grow location. If the patient designates a caregiver the patient may not grow, but they can still possess and carry up to an ounce. A caregiver may grow seven plants with one ounce per plant, possess and transport an ounce, and store up to three ounces at the grow location. For the most part it appears that the patient and caregivers have similar protections under the law, but patients have the added protection of an "affirmative defense" and "choice of evils defense", which allows patients to argue that their smoking of marijuana is a medical necessity. Does this go on my medical records? Not unless you put it there by reporting it to your doctor or it is necessary for you to mention it to someone else (a counselor for example) who might add it to your records. Who knows that I am a medical marijuana patient? When you have sent your papers to the state, only a few people know. You and anyone you already told about it knows. The attending physician who signed your statement knows, but he is bound by doctor-patient confidentiality, and the doctor's notes are kept under lock and key. The COHAS staff simply provides a service for the doctor and the patients he sees and we are not privy to the outcome of a patients visit. The OMMP office knows but Oregon's Medical Marijuana Law strictly regulates who they can give information to. That's it. How many plants can I grow? State law currently allows for four plants in the vegetative stage and three plants in the budding/flowering stage, for a total of seven plants. Each plant may have one ounce of "usable marijuana". The Oregon Administrative Rules state: "Usable marijuana" means the dried leaves and flowers of the plant Cannabis family Moraceae, and any mixture or preparation thereof, that are appropriate for medical use. "Usable marijuana" does not include the seeds, stalks and roots of the plant. What if I can't grow? If you don't feel you have the time to dedicate to growing or you simply don't have the know-how, you have two options. The first is to designate a 'caregiver' who would be responsible for supplying you with your medical marijuana. The second is to not designate a caregiver, list your own home as your grow location, and be legal to possess and transport up to an ounce and store up to three ounces at you home. If your residence is too small or otherwise inappropriate, you may list another location as your grow location and still be your own caregiver, as long as you can realiscly maintian control over a grow there. Does my caregiver have to be someone who looks after me? No, the caregiver does not need to be someone who is currently taking care of you. By being listed on the application form, they are taking responsibility for delivery of marijuana as medicine to you. The caregiver should grow the marijuana for you since it is the most legal way to acquire marijuana. What is a caregiver as listed on the application? A caregiver is someone who, in some way assists in the care of the patient. A patient at a nursing home might have a dozen or more caregivers, while a patient at home may have one person take care of most of the things that need doing, and a member of the family would be responsible for picking up food and medicine. The caregiver listed on the application form could be responsible for any of things listed above, but by being listed on the application form, they are taking responsibility for delivery of marijuana as medicine to the patient. Will the police hassle me if I am a patient? Not for simply being a patient. There is only one way the police would know that you are a legal medical marijuana patient, you have to make them interested enough in you to ask. If you never do anything to arouse the interest of the police, they will never know. The information on whether or not you are registered as a medical marijuana patient is only available to police if they specifically request information about you, which they would only do if they had a reason to think you were growing or possessing marijuana. Keep in mind that if you tell people that you are a patient, most people will assume you are growing and the police in your area may show interest in this. Should I allow friendly police to "take a look" at my grow operation or tell them where it is? No. Once an officer knows that a grow operation exists, they may often consider it probable cause enough to come back and "take a look" anytime they want. Where can I smoke marijuana? In privacy. You cannot smoke marijuana in public places. Your car is a public place unless it is parked on or traveling though private property. In the same way that someone sitting naked in a car or in front of a large window facing a street could be considered "public lewdness", smoking marijuana in places like those would probably be considered smoking in public. If your neighbors and/or law enforcement are comfortable with it, they may give you some leeway. What are the qualifying conditions listed on the Attending Physician's Statement, anyway? For a copy of the attending physician's Statement in PDF format, click here. To download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader, so you can read PDF files, click here. Here are the qualifying conditions listed exactly as printed on the Attending Physician's Statement:
The Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary defines cachexia as: "general physical wasting and malnutrition usually associated with chronic disease" Please note: This is only one layman's understanding. It is not to be understood in any way as legal or medical advice. | ||||||||
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