Ballot title challenges to 104 were filed on behalf of OCDLA, ACLU, Partnership for Safety and Justice, Stand for Children and Voter Power. Kevin Mannix also filed a challenge. The state's response to the petitions are due tomorrow (9/11).

Since then, Kevin has filed 3 new initiatives, which break 104 into pieces, see below. The one with the OMMA repeal is 131. It includes a change from 104 which would allow DHS an IME (Independent Medical Exam) so that if the DHS doc determined the person didn't need marinol or cesament DHS wouldn't be on the hook for it. The full text of 131 is here: www.sos.state.or.us/elections/

The ballot title is due the 14th and the comment period ends the 28th. Let's try and remember who are real enemies are, and work together to defeat them instead of using our energy to beat each other up.

Just got an email from the Assistant Atty General who represents the Secretary of State in the Ballot Title Challenge to 104, discussed below. He wants an additional week to file a responsive pleading in the Supreme Court.

Once we receive his response, we have 5 days within which to reply, from which we can also seek extensions of time.

What happens after that is a little more complicated. It is governed by Oregon Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 11.30. If you're interested, the complete rules are available online here: www.ojd.state.or.us/web/OJDPublications

The rules have changed considerably since the last time I took on one of these cases. But, from reviewing Mannix' other initiatives, my best guess is that from filing to decision is likely to be about 4 months.

Also, in case you are interested, I've attached the cover and guts of the petition I filed in this case.

Lee Berger, Portland
============
News Updates

Mannix files new version of Oregon Crimefighting Act

Kevin Mannix, along with Julia Allison and Wayne Brady, filed a new version of his initiative to repeal OMMA on September 6. The new, simplified, version would impose mandatory minimum 25 year sentences for repeat sex offenders, a 90 day minimum for repeat drunk drivers and would repeal OMMA and replace it with taxpayer subsidized marinol. The repeal

OMMA section is the same as in Proposed Initiative 104 with the addition of language that would allow the health department to require patients to get a second opinion from a DHS doctor before they would pay for a patient's Marinol.

The full text of this initiative can be found at www.sos.state.or.us/elections/

Voter Power will challenge and oppose this initiative just as they have challenged Proposed Initiative 104. Anyone wishing to help with this effort please contact them at 503-224-3051 or visit: http://www.VoterPower.org

AG seems to have conceded 'repeal' vs 'replace' issue, even while litigation continues on previous version. The summary seems to fairly and accurately describe the proposal. We are still free (and should) comment on the failure of the initiative to comply with the single subject rule. Best available advice and counsel is that a one subject challenge would have to wait until after the election, however, assuming it passes.

Anyone who comments on a proposed ballot title can petition the Oregon Supreme Court to challenge the title issued after the comment period. The state responds the petition and the petitioner has the right to file a reply. The Court generally no longer hears oral argument on these cases, but, once the briefing is complete, they take the case under advisement and issue an opinion.

The state's response was due this week (9/14). They requested and the Court allowed them an additional week to file their response. Given the title on 131 (which includes 'repeal') they may concede the issue we (Voter Power, the only drug policy advocacy group to have filed a petition) raised on the petition, i.e. to change 'replace' to 'repeal'. In any event, unless Mannix withdraws 104 (which he may do) the whole thing seems academic in light of 131.

Let me know if anyone need further clarification, and I apologize for any confusion.

Lee Berger, Portland =============

The Secretary of State Elections Division - (in Salem) their fax number is: 503-373-7414, 503-986-1518 is voice and a human will answer. The snail mail taken from the SOS stationery is: Office of the Secretary of State, Elections Division 141 State Capitol Salem, OR 97310-0722 Hi DPFOR:

Here is my letter to the Oregon SoS on Mannix's 131 that I will mail out this weekend. Yes it looks much like the one for 104 but we the same problem - just slightly less. Many of you write far better than I do and the lawyers know protocol but here is a start from the heart.

I still think the OMMA repeal should still be separate although at least the ballot title now let's voters know they are repealing the OMMA. Here is a good link to save: egov.sos.state.or.us

Anyone may write the SoS about I-131 until September 28 when public comment will end so please get those ink pens going.

On Mannix's 104, Lee said state responses to the appeal were due this week but the website still says the appeal is pending. Anything too new on 1-104 for the SoS website?).

Rick Bayer
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More on Mannix in Action; From....... www.oregoncatalyst.com

Kevin Manix: Update on Seven Petitions by Kevin Mannix Monday, September 10. 2007

Petition 40 We filed 149,000 signatures on Initiative Petition 40, which establishes mandatory minimum sentences for drug dealing, identity theft, burglary, auto theft, grand theft, and forgery in the first degree. This is a statutory measure, and we need 82,000 verified signatures to qualify for the ballot. We are certain this will be on the ballot in November 2008 and will make a dramatic difference in fighting drug dealing and other crimes in Oregon.

Petition 41 We have filed 163,000 signatures on Initiative Petition 41, which dedicates 15% of lottery profits to public safety prevention, investigation, and prosecution. This constitutional amendment requires 110,000 verified signatures to get on the ballot, and we are certain we will qualify it for November 2008. This amendment will guarantee full funding to "CSI: Oregon," which consists of the criminal investigation, forensics, and crime lab operations of the Oregon State Police. One half of the funds from this amendment will go to counties for prevention programs for very young children who are at-risk, as well as for sheriff field operations and for additional prosecutors.

Petition 54 Initiative Petition 54 is being circulated by volunteers. It is a constitutional amendment which empowers communities to regulate strip clubs. Because it is a volunteer effort, we will be working hard over the next year to get enough signatures by June 2008, the petition deadline.

Petition 51 and 53 I am also supporting Initiative Petitions 51 and 53, working with Russ Walker and FreedomWorks. These petitions are presently in circulation. They are statutory initiatives, which limit lawyer contingent fees in civil cases (51) and penalize lawyers for frivolous lawsuits (53). Signature gathering is proceeding at a fast pace.

We have initiatives to reform laws relating to immigration at the state level, but these are still tied up in ballot title contests in the Supreme Court.

Petition 118 and 134 The Oregon Initiative Restoration Act which was Initiative Petition 118, has been withdrawn and replaced by a virtually identical initiative still called the Oregon Initiative Restoration Act. This is now Initiative Petition 134. This is designed to again make the Oregon initiative and referendum process citizen-friendly and slash away the political tangles which have been adopted by the political elites to keep the people at bay.

Best regards,
Kevin L. Mannix, p.c.
2009 state st.
salem, or 97301
503.364.1913 ofc.
503.362.0513 fax

Feds In Oregon

On, Wednesday September 12, federal agents landed their helicopter at the legal medical marijuana garden of Sharon Place, an OMMA patient, and grower for other patients. Four agents spent about a half hour on the ground while a second helicopter continued to fly overhead. Ms. Place reports that the agents took numerous photographs of the 60 plant garden but did not remove any plants or make any arrests before flying away. They did prevent another person at the scene from photographing them. Ms. Place recognized at least one of the agents as an Oregon police officer. The other said they didn't care about her paperwork because they were federal agents but did not identify themselves by name. Voter Power has also received reports from several other Oregon patients who claim that federal agents visited their gardens.

Other similar reports have also come in from Lane County. The feds made the medical patients destroy their photographs of them, also. A question, how can the feds make anyone destroy photographs taken either on public property or private property owned by the photographer? Isn't this a bit Orwellian? Is there some law backing the feds on this position?

Another reported "We just experienced the black helicopter (only one) flyover here on our rural property 17 miles SE of Springfield. They circled the area for about five minutes, terrorizing our horses in the process. There is a OMMA patient near but I couldn't really tell where there were looking. 'Our tax dollars at work' ".

And, is it a coincidence that the feds went to Sharons the same day that WW came out with a poor story regarding Hempstalk and selling edibles, a story for which she gave an interview? And Don DuPays being on TV and running for office while critizing these same people?

Don DuPay, caregiver and activist, has also been raided by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. “They threatened to arrest me if I did not cooperate with their federal investigation,” DuPay, a former Portland police detective, candidate for Multnomah County sheriff and longtime co-host of the cable access show “Cannabis Common Sense,” said, recounting his faceoff with the lead DEA agent during the raid. “I was probably carrying a homicide detective badge before this punk was born,” added DuPay, who is 71. “I said, ‘As far as I’m concerned, you’re a baldheaded punk.’ ”

At press time, DuPay had not been arrested. But he said that on June 14 the feds seized growing equipment, guns and surveillance cameras as well as marijuana that he said he had been growing for 40 patients registered by the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. The clash between the state and the federal governments reflects tensions inherent in Oregon’s medical marijuana law, which was approved by 55 percent of voters in 1998. While state and local law enforcement are required to obey the law, the feds are not.

“From a federal standpoint, there is no such thing as medical marijuana,” said Bernie Hobson, spokesman for the DEA’s Seattle regional office. “I’m aware of the case you’re talking about, yes, sir,” Hobson said when contacted by the Portland Tribune. “Unfortunately, I’m not able to talk about pending investigations.”

The federal government reportedly has issued confidential legal demands, called subpoenas, for patient information from both Oregon’s medical marijuana program and the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation, a group that employs doctors who prescribe marijuana to patients under the Oregon program. Contacted by the Portland Tribune, the foundation’s Portland spokesman, Paul Stanford, said he’d been asked not to comment. But in a blog entry on his MySpace page, he wrote that the foundation received the federal subpoena on April 10. It demanded all medical and other documentation for 17 people in Oregon and Washington state. The subpoena said: “You are required not to disclose the existence of this request. Any such disclosure could impede the investigation being conducted and thereby interfere with the enforcement of the law,” Stanford wrote.

“I believe this requirement violates my right to free speech,” he added. “We shall fight against this subpoena and for patients using medical marijuana until we prevail.” The foundation has retained an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer, Graham Boyd, director of the group’s Drug Law Reform Project, to quash the subpoena. According to knowledgeable sources, attorneys for the state of Oregon have joined the foundation in court to quash the federal government’s demand.

A federal judge reportedly has taken the matter under advisement after a hearing Wednesday afternoon at which attorneys for the state made their arguments by speakerphone. Asked to comment, state spokeswoman Bonnie Widerburg said, “We are conferring with legal counsel, and I can’t say anything at this time.” Thousands hold cards DuPay is perhaps best known for his unsuccessful run last year for Multnomah County sheriff. As incumbent Bernie Giusto’s main opponent, he garnered more than 29,000 votes, more than were cast for then- incumbent county Chairwoman Diane Linn. Now, DuPay said, he believes the Oregon marijuana program should be doing more to protect his patients and help him do battle with the federal government.

“Somebody in state government better do something about this, or I’ll run for governor,” he said.

Proponents of the 1998 ballot measure initially said that several hundred patients needed the program. Today, according to the Web page of the state program, 14,868 patients hold cards issued by the program. Another 7,115 “caregivers” hold cards for those patients, meaning they are authorized to grow marijuana under the state program. While some local cops point to the ballooning figures as evidence that the program is being abused, advocates say they prove that medical marijuana works.

The DEA generally had taken a hands-off stance toward the Oregon program, leaving patients and small-scale growers alone, while reserving the right to enforce federal anti-drug laws as it sees fit. Asked whether the subpoena and raid on DuPay signified a new policy, Hobson declined to comment. But, he said: “What I can tell you in general terms (is that) the DEA’s stance on medical marijuana hasn’t changed any with respect to Oregon. … Marijuana is not viewed as medicine, period.”

DuPay said the feds seized 135 plants at his home in east Portland’s Glenfair neighborhood and also raided four smaller grows that he maintains with a partner elsewhere. The state allows each patient to have six mature plants as well as 18 younger ones. Caregivers can maintain that many plants for each patient they supply. Raid worries patients

Local cops regularly come across grow operations by registered caregivers, said Pat Walsh of the Portland Police Bureau’s Drugs and Vice Division. He said he’d never come across a caregiver who grew for more than six registered patients. Told that DuPay claims to grow for 40 registered patients, Walsh said, “That’s amazing to me.” Three of DuPay’s patients told the Portland Tribune that the federal raid was bad news for them. Two said they donate $35 to DuPay for every eighth of an ounce of marijuana they consume, to defray expenses for electricity and supplies.

Rhonda Thomas, 51, said that she suffers from end-stage liver disease, and that marijuana helps with the insomnia caused by many of her medicines.

“I can’t grow medicine where I’m at because it’s not allowed,” she said. “So it’s good to have a caregiver who’s honest.” Keith Patzer, 38, said he is partly paralyzed in his lower body and suffers from spasms and cramping that the marijuana helps ease.

“Regular conventional medicine doesn’t do all the stuff that it’s supposed to do,” he said. Jon Kappelman, who rents a room from DuPay, said he also suffers from liver disease as well as the aftereffects of car and motorcycle accidents that shattered his pelvis and restricted him to a wheelchair.

“My whole leg is nothing but screws and plates,” he said, adding that he’s “furious” about the federal raid. Kappelman said marijuana eases the nausea from his other medications and allows him to eat. DuPay, who said he has degenerative hip disease and hepatitis C, believes the Yakima DEA office’s interest in him stems from information provided by his own registered caregiver, Vincent Trulson, who maintains residences in Portland and Goldendale, Wash. DuPay and his son, Lee, said the DEA told them that Trulson had fingered him for the raid, claiming DuPay was selling pot to nonpatients.

“That’s a lie,” DuPay said. Read more >>>

Anyone else interested in getting a calling chain going to warn one another and to notify the local media of the federal interference?

Prohibition was introduced as a fraud; it has been nursed as a fraud. It is wrapped in the livery of Heaven, but it comes to serve the devil. It comes to regulate by law our appetites and our daily lives. It comes to tear down liberty and build up fanaticism, hypocrisy, and intolerance. It comes to confiscate by legislative decree the property of many of our fellow citizens. It comes to send spies, detectives, and informers into our homes; to have us arrested and carried before courts and condemned to fines and imprisonments. It comes to dissipate the sunlight of happiness, peace, and prosperity in which we are now living and to fill our land with alienations, estrangements, and bitterness. (From an 1887 speech by Roger Q. Mills of Texas; quoted more than once during the alcohol prohibition debates in Congress. He proved to be a prophet, as the years 1918-1933 taught us. We're learning the truth of this prophecy again in the so-called "war on drugs".)