Approve medical marijuana dispensaries

It is important for Sisters voters to understand there are two distinctly different marijuana-related measures on the ballot this year. Local Measure 9-101 is specific to the city of Sisters and asks simply whether to permit legally licensed medical marijuana dispensaries to be located within the city limits. State Measure 91 asks a totally different question - shall the recreational use of marijuana be allowed in the state of Oregon, in addition to the already-allowed medical uses.

As members of the city-appointed committee who helped draft this local medical marijuana dispensary ballot measure, we would like to share what we believe are good reasons for its approval.

In 1998, voters approved the use of medical marijuana in the state of Oregon. Recently, the establishment of dispensaries was temporarily suspended by several cities through emergency moratoriums. The Sisters City Council established a moratorium last March until the citizens could vote on the dispensary issue. These moratoriums will automatically expire in May 2015.

All medical marijuana patients must possess a patient identification card issued by the Oregon Health Authority's Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) obtained with a prescription from a licensed physician. The annual patient expense for renewing the card is significant for this classification.

Medical marijuana benefits many conditions, including chronic pain, nausea, glaucoma, seizures, autoimmune disorders, side-effects of chemotherapy, and post-traumatic stress disorder. These claims are supported by medical research.

The use of medical marijuana by patients with chronic or terminal disease provides another viable avenue of treatment, without the litany of serious side effects often associated with other pharmaceuticals.

After investigating 50 years of research, prominent medical professionals who were once vehemently opposed to medical marijuana (such as Sanjay Gupta, MD) are now committed advocates of its use as a proven effective therapy. Many of these professionals agree that it needs to be as readily available to patients as other medications.

Being required to drive to other communities is extremely difficult for many patients, and can be very time-consuming and expensive, especially for someone elderly or in poor health.

Patients who are unable to drive a distance to a dispensary due to their illness or disability must have a permanently designated OMMP card-holding surrogate who will travel to the dispensary to pick up prescriptions for them. This could incur unnecessary additional expenses for some patients.

Dispensaries are highly regulated by the OMMP. All dispensary products are rigorously tested for purity by laboratories (to assure they are free of pesticides and mold) and labels must contain ingredients. There are stringent security requirements for all dispensary operation and extensive guidelines set by the state that must be followed explicitly. Frequent inspections and audits assure compliance.

This local ordinance assures that any dispensaries located in Sisters (and there could only be two) are considerably distant from schools and may not be located on the main downtown thoroughfare. Signage and operating hours will have restrictions as well, to ensure an unobtrusive presence.

Whatever your feelings are about the use of recreational marijuana, please consider the above facts when you vote on the very different issue to allow valid medical marijuana dispensaries in Sisters. We hope you will show compassion for the medical needs of your neighbors. Preventing dispensaries within the city limits of Sisters will only impose unnecessary burdens on patients who are helped by the use of medical marijuana.

Medical marijuana has been legal in Oregon for 15 years. In that time, there is no evidence that the use of this medical therapy has resulted in problems for society. We urge a YES vote on 9-101 to bring the city into compliance with legislation already approved by Oregon voters and make it more convenient for legitimate patients to access this valuable treatment.