Supporters Of Pot Initiative Will Stop Citing Gov.
by Patrick ONeill

October 02, 1998 - The Oregonian - letters@news.oregonian.com

Supporters of Oregon's medical marijuana initiative say they will stop using Gov. John Kitzhaber's name in their campaign materials.

One brochure distributed by Oregonians for Medical Rights, proponents of Ballot Measure 67, lists Kitzhaber as one of the "supporters of the medical use of marijuana."

Bob Applegate, a Kitzhaber spokesman, said the governor, a former emergency room physician, does believe marijuana has some legitimate medical uses, including the alleviation of nausea due to chemotherapy and in the treatment of glaucoma, an eye disease.

But he said the governor also believes there are synthetic substitutes for marijuana that are just as effective as the plant itself.

Applegate said Kitzhaber "will not support the bill and will not vote for it."

The governor, he said, sees too many problems with implementation of the measure, which would permit ill Oregonians to grow and smoke marijuana. One question, Applegate said, is where they could obtain marijuana seeds without breaking the law.

He compared marijuana with morphine.

"Everybody supports the use of morphine in pain relief," he said. "But we're not suggesting that people grow their own opium poppies."

Morphine, one of the most powerful painkilling drugs, is derived from the sap of opium poppies.

Geoff Sugerman, spokesman for the pro-medical marijuana measure, said information for the pamphlet was compiled before Kitzhaber had taken a public stand against the ballot measure. Sugerman said the campaign staff relied on earlier statements of Kitzhaber's about the likely therapeutic value of medical marijuana.

"Since we have received further information on the governor's stand, we are not distributing the brochure any more," Sugerman said.

Opponents of the measure strongly objected to the use of Kitzhaber's name in the brochure.

Dan Noelle, Multnomah County sheriff and a principal opponent of the measure, said he was astounded to see Kitzhaber's name associated with the pro-medical marijuana campaign.

"Having the governor also be a doctor gives him kind of a double-whammy on this issue," Noelle said. "People generally like and respect him. People would look to him on this important issue."

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