The Oregon State Council for Retired Citizens is Oregon’s oldest grassroots senior advocacy organization. It represents the state’s retired residents on issues relevant to aging and quality of life for senior citizens.
For older Americans, marijuana can and does provide great relief for many conditions. However, when one is sick and in need of effective medicine, it can be difficult to get a medical marijuana card. And even if you can get a card, it’s often hard to get marijuana through legal means due to bans on dispensaries across much of the state.
Consider this example: a local older couple became desperate to obtain marijuana to ease the side effects of the wife’s cancer treatment. First, their primary care doctor refused to fill a prescription for medical marijuana. Then they were unable to get a referral to a doctor who would do so. Finally they had to resort to the black market so she could get some relief.
The lack of legal marijuana means that medical providers are nervous about having anything to do with it. Medical institutions aren’t conducting research to understand the course of treatment for marijuana. And there is no funding for clinical trials because it is still largely illegal.
This is the first time a senior citizens organization in Oregon has endorsed a marijuana regulation measure. That reflects the fact that Measure 91 is a serious, well-crafted and better approach.
In addition to controlling the growing, selling and distribution of marijuana, Measure 91 will:
- Better protect youth by putting black market drug dealers out of business;
- Improve access and information for the elderly and persons with disabilities who need medical marijuana;
- Redirect police resources away from policing “marijuana criminals” to serious crime; and
- Generate tax revenue to enhance education, public safety, and drug treatment and prevention programs.
Vote Yes on Measure 91.
(This information furnished by Steve Weiss, Oregon State Council for Retired Citizens.)