Thoughts on Keizer's Controversial Medical Marijuana Case

The biggest issue in this case is how Oregon's medical marijuana laws are interpreted.

(KEIZER, Ore.) - The Keizer medical marijuana case against Anthony Beasely has been a hot topic in the local community. Salem-News.com's Neal Feldman wrote a commentary this week (Keizer Medical Marijuana Case Ignores Oregon Law) that lays blame on the city of Keizer for not upholding the rules authorized by the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program.

Keizer Police Captain Jeff Kuhns, a person I have known and worked with on stories for many years, says he disagrees with several points in Neal's article. Regular visitors to the site know that Kuhns is not a police officer who normally deals with this type of controversy, and I believed that is worth clearing the air over.

I think it is fair to say that Oregon's medical marijuana laws lack a degree of clarity. In this case the grower was located close to a public high school. That Kuhns says, is where the problems begin that set this case aside from others. "I don't think those who drafted this law gave enough thought to all of the details," he pointed out, explaining that there are a number of issues with this particular case that make it unique.

The biggest issue in this case and the center point of the argument is how Oregon's medical marijuana laws are interpreted.

Kuhns says it is a winnable case and he believes that Oregon's Medical Marijuana laws need to be adjusted. Advocates on the other hand, while making similar statements about the lack of clarity in the state's laws, say the rules pertaining to making hash oil are clear, and that the law does allow it.

A recent Keizertimes article stated: "No authorities, or the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program's director, have so far been able to point to a statute, rule or case law indicating explicitly whether making hash oil is actually legal or illegal for medical marijuana patients."

Kuhns says that if this aspect is legal under current rules, they would explicitly state that. "If 'hash oil' was really something the authors of this law intended users be allowed to possess, why doesn't the law state how much hash oil they can have? The law doesn't discuss liquid ounces."

The Oregon Revised Statutes define "usable marijuana" as "the dried leaves and flowers of the plant Cannabis family Moraceae, and any mixture or preparation thereof, that are appropriate for medical use." Some say that the wording, "and any mixture or preparation thereof" is clear, and that it means it is legal.

This debate over medical marijuana in Oregon that began at the calling of a local attorney named Kevin Mannix, is dividing and polarizing the community if it is doing anything at all. Patients are mad, they feel their rights are being trampled upon and that law enforcement should do more to back patients. But police officers like Jeff Kuhns say their enforcement of the law is being misinterpreted. I would say that as somebody who has known Kuhns for a long time, he is doing what he believes to be right.

Kuhns cites other issues he has over the law as well. He says there is too much gray area, and that is what he would like to see resolved.

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Keith Richard Radford Jr. November 8, 2007 7:43 am (Pacific time)

I am fortunate enough that now my [second wife] works or quite likely we wold be homeless now. Through her insurance i get Marinol which is necessary to my survival. I have a weird toxic build up from the medications I must take to stay alive. I have had these bouts as often as three times a month. It starts with a headache at my left temple which hurts all the time and to make a long story short I spend three days puking my guts out and after only a few hours of this there is nothing but a strange metallic tasting bial clear liquid coming out. I have been to many Doctors who tell me I am just fine. Anyway Three days laying with the toilet as a cool pillow while your head is pounding while on fire, and your whole body shakes like your a dog passing peach pits is a bad scene. So I thank God that my wife cares enough to help me with this pain. What I really want to talk about is how people are so locked out from anything that can help them by government intervention. Through her insurance my Marinol is a $40. dollar Co~Pay. I live in California and I get my prescription filled at Walgreen's. I look at the poor Vet in this country who finds a peaceful place after so much pain by the use of cannabinoids. This is elementary in the healing process. They have to pay for smoke through what ever dispense that has not been closed by government intervention. This is the rub. Here we have cops making a living chasing pot smokers dispensaries and there patrons who with the prescription to have medical marijuana (THC) are being squeezed if they are Vets or to poor to afford insurance on there own. How can this be? Everyone old enough to remember the 60's remember when republicans who have a tendency for knee JERK reactions, without any studies or reasonable discussion demonizing Pot. Their fight against reason and regulation of the demon weed felt booze is enough. Medicating on booze is completely out of the question in my case due to my condition, but everyone knows booze is not a viable way to do this, but that is what our Vet's are forced into by means of governmental interventions. Please do not get my I am not a bash~er of the Federal Gov. because Fed=every single one of us Americans. I will never be a bash~er of anyone but defending myself and others who are destroyed by laws that discriminate unjustly will always be high on my list, since my first wife asked me to have a circumcision and dumped me through governmental interventions.

Neal Feldman November 2, 2007 5:40 pm (Pacific time)

Actually what I meant by medical issues are a state's issue not federal is not specifically marijuana, though there is that federal grandfathered program for that making the feds grotesque hypocrites to say the least. I am speaking of medical in general. The law generally holds medical issues are a matter for the states not the federal government. The basis for the 'drug laws' is solely predicated upon 'interstate commerce', not on medical basis. This is why pharmacists and doctors are licensed by the states, for example, and not by the feds. There is even significant question in legal scholar circles as to the constitutionality of the DEA and federal drug laws on these grounds, especially in cases such as marijuana, a naturally occurring herb, locally grown that is not transported across state lines (necessarily) and requires no additives nor manufacture or processing. It would be like the feds telling you what grass seed you can use for your lawn. All hail Reefer Madness vs logic and reason. Ah well...

A. Stern November 2, 2007 4:37 pm (Pacific time)

James, If one of your relatives or a loved-one came down with an illness like Cancer, Epilepsy, AIDS, or Multiple Sclerosis - and the normal medication regimen did not work and/or had devastating side effects - would you work to prevent them from being able to access medical marijuana? Would you let them just waste away? I am curious: what is your biggest fear when it comes to medical marijuana? Why should we keep a medically-effective herbal with such an incredible safety profile out of the medical options? Docs and patients need to have all possible options, so patients can get the best care, especially considering 100,000 people die each year from properly prescribed and properly taken traditional medications(JAMA). And I do think Neal is right about medical marijuana being an issue for the states to decide, at least according to our Constitution: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." (The 10th Amendment)

GreenFloyd November 2, 2007 4:37 pm (Pacific time)

Thanks Mr. Neal Feldman and Salem News for your extensive coverage of this case. Nonetheless, I think we may be getting a bit distracted from what lead to Mr. Beasley's arrest in the first place. Initial reports indicate that after police became aware of Mr. Beasley's backyard garden in mid-September - and found him in compliance with the law - someone (presumably Keizer police), informed an unrelated 3rd party, a Mr. Chuck Lee, described by the Staetsman Journal as a "private citizen." After learning about the plants and their proximity to the high school parking lot, Mr. Lee submitted a letter to the Keizer City Council proposing a ban on medical marijuana gardens within 1,000-feet of a school. Bear in mind this was all taking place BEFORE Mr. Beasley had his plants stolen, was falsely accused by a "former roomate" of making "pipe bombs," arrested and then charged with manufacturing and then on top of everything else, evicted ... oy vei! Obviously there is a serious question about police ethics in Keizer. Was it legal or ethical for them to disclose details, privillaged information, about one private citizen (Mr. Beasley) to another private citizen (Chuck Lee) with no connection whatsoever to and without the permission of the later? Isn't this a violation of Mr. Beasley's privacy; he was not considered a suspect or under investigation for anything? If the motivation to disclose was to influence a political agenda in Keizer city government, there appears a rather distrubing conflict of interest. Cops are supposed to enforce the law, not make it. Like most of you, now that he is officially charged, I want Mr. Beasley to have his day in court and be full exonarated of the charges against him. However, and with all due respect to Mr. Beasley and all the trouble he has been put through, it appears there is a bigger story here. A story about respect for the rule of law by those we trust to enforce them equally and fairly and without a political agenda. This case also raises another question about the law itself. I suggest, at a minimum, that certain exceptions be made specific for OMMA cardholders, especially in regards the 1,000-foot rule.

TruthSeeker November 2, 2007 4:06 pm (Pacific time)

Yes, thats the answer to all, lets get big government in on it, to flex their backed-by-big-interest-tobacco-and-alcohol muscles at the situation. All while the hypocrites drink their booze and drive home from a long day at the office.... It's not about what's better for us, it's about who is making the almighty dollar, and who is padding who's pockets.

James November 2, 2007 2:21 pm (Pacific time)

Mr. Feldman, Since there is no federal "medical" marijuana this could not possibly be a medical issue. The only issue is that of a federal drug crime.

Editor: James, there is a federal medical marijuana if you count the people who are still grandfathered in from the federal plan that preceded the implementation of California's law. To this day their marijuana is grown at the university of old Mississippi

Neal Feldman November 2, 2007 1:33 pm (Pacific time)

The feds stay out and they should. Medical matters are a states rights issue, the US Constitution gives the feds no dominion over such. Period. Ah well...

James November 2, 2007 8:24 am (Pacific time)

The best resolution to this case would be for a federal prosecutor to be reading these posts and take over the case. Then Mr. Beasly and his attorney could try to explain his "medical condition" to a federal judge before he is sentenced to prison.

TruthSeeker November 2, 2007 1:08 am (Pacific time)

Also, I forgot to add, yes heroin is not concentrated opium anyway, per se, it is a manipulated alkaloid form of morphine, concentrated, and leaves out the other 30 alkaloids in opium when it is produced. Hence the vastly increased toxicity potential of an already risky drug. Truly like comparing apples to anthrax. (similar to what other poster stated, I agree, but it still in its own right is a much different situation. I can see where the comparison could seem that way, but it just isn't ultimately the same thing. Anyway....Hopfully these truths about the non-starter issues of hash oil and the like will come to light from this.

TruthSeeker November 2, 2007 12:53 am (Pacific time)

Sorry Curmudgeon, I completely disagree. Those are not good or reasonable comparisons. You are comparing dangerous and frequently fatal drugs (and....plastic) to something completely different in intake and intensity with the human body. A still weak, but slightly closer comparison would be say, low alcohol beer and micro-brew type beer, which usually run 3% alcohol for commercial everyday type beers, to say some lager and ales, which run up to 7-8% alcohol. Neither is usually dangerous to the average human when used safely, but there is a difference in potency. Bottom line here is marijuana has not ONE directly linked death in its history, so smoking straight weed in a bowl is not medically significant in risk difference compared to hash oil, honey oil or keef, which would be similar to smoking roughly double the amount at the same time. (assuming the hash is of high quality, many times it is of sub par quality to high grade bud marijuana.)But it is a disservice to medical patients everywhere to attempt to compare hash/bud as being like opium is to heroin. Baseline opium is far less concentrated than high grade heroin, and baseline opium is much more dangerous to consume by far than marijuana. Thousands of people have overdosed and died on opiates, and continue to do so while nobody has ever directly died of a marijuana overdose. Associating those hardcore type of drugs to marijuana is not a good idea for many reasons, too many to list. But the main one to me is kids growing up hear how bad they all are supposed to be, and many times wind up thinking pot is as bad as crack, heroin, lsd and the like. So when they see so many people over the years "doing pot" they start thinking drugs cant be all that bad. How do I know this? I have had a close family lose a daughter to a cocaine overdose because she thought the many other times she had done this "hardcore pot stuff" that a little coke would be fine too. Dangerous drugs are dangerous drugs, and should be treated as such. I in no way advocate the use, or condone the use of that garbage. It is in part because of those other drugs being lumped in with marijuana, and big interest tobacco and alcohol industries that tirelessly lobby and perpetuate misinformation and propaganda that marijuana continues to be so misunderstood and villanized. I am glad however and appreciative of the efforts of this website that hopefully will shed some light on the truth of this situation and the benefits of marijuana use for those who need it.This is a case of people not educating themselves before jumping to judgement, and ultimately prosecution and hard-line stances. I am sure this officer probably does believe what he is saying, I just don't believe many people really take the time to research and study in depth the truths about marijuana and it's variations of the same chemical. Also, if a strain of marijuana is of lesser quality, one may very well need to concentrate it to make it of medicinal strength or quality. Where as another strain may be stronger in bud form than concentrated hash oil from a lesser strain. There are always two sides to any situation, and both need to breath and look at this from rational eyes. Not what big interest and outdated or ill written laws may say. Many of these laws need to be clarified and re-written. Hash oil in its traditional form is marijuana, and anyone who says otherwise is only showing lack of knowledge about the subject. I cant understand why there is even a different scheduling of the substance. There is no crack, coke or anything else evil and sinister added to the concentrated THC. No other drugs are added. It is only and simply concentrated marijuana, and the strength greatly varies. When one truly understands the safety and tolerance the human body has for marijuana, the argument really becomes almost silly. A patient should have, as I believe they do, to make the THC itself, as easy to consume as needed to get the dose they need for medicinal use, this is the point after all.

Skipper Osborne November 1, 2007 3:43 pm (Pacific time)

In reference to Captain Kuhns statement, "...In this case the grower was located close to a public high school..." this is not the issue, this is a defense that the police is trying to come up with to defend the arrest of Mr. Anthony Wyatt Beasley. The close proximity of a school near by, is only used in the law, in reference to the "ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES OF THE USE, SALE, DISTRIBUTION, OR MANUFACTURE OF MARIJUANA (or any other illegal drug)." Mr. Beasley has a legal marijuana card, therefore the proximity of his person, his home, his car to any school is a mute point. The point of the arrest is: "is making, or having hash oil legal, in ones posession who holds a legal marijuana card? I SAY YES! What in the thuderation does the Oregon Revised Statues (ORS) say? OREGON MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACT 475.302 for ORS475.300 TO 475.346; ORS 475.302 (11) States: "Usable marijuana" means the dried leaves and flowers of the plannt Cannabis family Moraceae, and any mixture or preparation thereof, that are appropriate for medical use as allowed in ORS 475.300 TO 475.346. "Usable marijuana" does not include the seeds, stalks and roots of the plant. And ORS 475.302 (15) of the UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT states, "Manufacture" means the production, preparation, propagation, compunding, conversion or processing of a controlled substance, either directly or indirectly by extraction from substances of natural orgin, or independently by means of chemical synthesis, or by a combination of exttraction and chemical synthesis, and includes any packaging or repackaging of the substance or labeling or relabeling of its container. It is clear that according to Oregon Revise Statutes, Mr. Anthony Wyatt Beasley, manufacting (making) or having in his possession hash oil is not illegal. Hash oil is extracted from marijuana leaves, therefore, hash oil is legal to have. We the people, police officials, should not try to interpret or manipulate the law in order to justify our position/s. Just because the ORS does not state how much hash oil one has to be legally or illegal: because the amount is not found in the law, does not make it illegal to have. "As rose petals are manufactured to a fragrant perfume." "Petals of marijuana are manufactured to a calming medicimal hash oil." Skipper Osborne

Curmudgeon November 1, 2007 1:39 pm (Pacific time)

Claiming marijuana and hash oil are "BOTH the same drug" is like saying gasoline, diesel, and plastic are all the same because they are all derived from crude oil; or that corn and whiskey are the same. Heroin is certainly not the same drug as opium, even though it is a derivative of opium. I'm not sure which side I'm on in this case, because we haven't been given ALL of the facts. But in terms of chemistry, a "mixture or preparation" is definitely not the same as a "derivative." It may boil down to which one of those describes hash oil.

TruthSeeker November 1, 2007 12:34 pm (Pacific time)

"Marijuana is a Schedule I, and so is hash and hash oil, but they're completely different drugs in separate categories," Kuhns stated. "I've had plenty of card holders call to personally tell me they think Mr. Beasely crossed the line." Excuse me, completely different drugs?? That is severely misleading, and a completely false statement. What, one has THC and one has has hash THC?? Come on guys they BOTH are the same drug. Just different mixtures of it, as the law clearly states is LEGAL. This will be an easy case to win in front of a jury, which I hope Mr. Beasely accepts nothing short of. This would be a 15 minute verdict once the scientific breakdowns of the "drug" are proven. No sane person, or intelligent person would think otherwise, once educated about marijuana.

Neal Feldman November 1, 2007 12:17 pm (Pacific time)

One does not 'resolve' gray areas by arbitrarily in ex post facto manner changing how the laws have been held and interpreted for over a decade in an attempt to harass and persecute someone because you were frustrated in your desire to bust him when he was an innocent and law abiding citizen. That is abuse of power under color of authority. You wonder why law enforcement is held in such contempt these days? Look in a mirror, Captain Kuhns. The answer will be clearly apparent. Ah well...

A. Stern November 1, 2007 8:54 am (Pacific time)

To Captain Kuhns: If hash oil is not a "mixture or preparation" of marijuana, just what exactly is it? Is it a bird, a plane...?

Sue November 1, 2007 7:15 am (Pacific time)

Thanks for bringing another perspective into this.

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