Medical marijuana sign - wikimedia commons[/caption]Top news on MSNBC includes a story of the arrest of actor Armie Hammer in Texas for possession of marijuana. The evidence of his offense consisted of less than an ounce of marijuana in addition to three medicinal marijuana cookies and one brownie. This is the kind of product those who use marijuana for medical purposes would carry with them, especially for certain chronic conditions and a prime example of the problems involved when some states allow medical marijuana use while the federal government and other states do not.
The recent raids in California continue to reveal the problems involved in the dispensing of marijuana. More than 20,000 persons were arrested in California last year for possession of marijuana. It has also been found that African-Americans are among the most likely to be arrested for marijuana use, four times more likely than whites.
On one side of the debate about marijuana are the proponents of legalizing marijuana use for everyone. On the other, are those who oppose marijuana based on a view that states the drug is simply that and too often used for a “high” that can impact perception and judgment. Caught in the middle are those who have medical conditions that help in the control of those conditions or who allow the patient to manage the pain and discomfort of sometimes disabling conditions.
Oregon is one of those states where medical marijuana users walk the line on using the drug, either inside or outside the state. The card-carrying marijuana user who has been approved to use the drug for medicinal purposes also receives a warning letter when the card is issued that the Federal government does not approve of the drug and that the user is on her/his own in fighting any legal battle regarding the use of marijuana. That risk is enhanced if a user crosses the state line into any other state where the law prohibits use of marijuana for any purpose. Texas is one of those states.
Human Collective, an organization in Tigard, Oregon, is one of those centers that promote the legal use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Unlike other dispensing facilities, this center is scrupulous in who it allows into the facility and literally requires not just the evidence that the customer’s use is legal under Oregon law but that the delivery is rational, discreet and within tight guidelines that follow virtually a drugstore-type reception. They, like the patients they serve, must be cautious as a result of the conflicts within the Oregon community of politicians, the Federal government and other states.
Texas does not recognize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes and therefore prosecutes those possessing the drug on a criminal basis. Armie Hammer, and others like him, if caught with the small amount of marijuana as in the situation reported this morning, can face up to six months in jail and a $2000 fine on the first offense.
