Soma.

Legalize it.

One of the quotes in the article highlights a reason that old, retired doctors are among ones issuing most of the medical prescriptions: "the patients' regular doctors are afraid of losing their licenses." (Dr. Richard Bayer). Why would a doctor in the prime of their career (with student loans, a mortgage, and children headed for college) risk their income when they could instead send the patient to a retired doctor (whose loans are paid, children are grown, and 401(k) is fully funded).

Amen to that. Legalize it.

Why are we surprised that someone saw this opportunity and stepped in to fill a speciality niche in the medical field? If not him, it would be someone else - just like any other area of practice.

Legalize it and what business is it of the Oregonian to stick its nose into the doctor patient relationship?

Why is that paper still in business shoving its right wing agenda down our throats?

Past time. Way past time. And one would think only a matter of time, though it's become a bit interminable, and in the breach we have imported high crime including the Mexican drug cartels.

The GONIAN right wing? Shirley, you jest!

Who've they been endorsing for lo these many years? Repubs? How'd I miss that?

Why is that paper still in business shoving its right wing agenda down our throats?

Controlling people's lives is not exclusive to the right wing. Lefties love it too.

Who've they been endorsing for lo these many years? Repubs? How'd I miss that?

Well, two really, really big ones come immediately to mind: George W. Bush in 2000 and Gordon Smith throughout his career. And they have fought virtually every progressive ballot measure that's come up for decades.

Granted, the O is not right-wing in the sense that Fox News is right-wing, and I know that to some people this is the very definition of "liberal media." But for those of us in the reality-based community, it is certainly a conservative paper on the whole, and has been throughout its history. If it has endorsed more Democrats than Republicans in recent years, that's because the GOP's center of gravity has shifted so far to the right that it can't really be called a "conservative" party anymore. The national Democrats (Obama, the Clintons, Wyden et al.) are today's mainstream conservatives.

But getting back to the topic at hand, since it's long past time that marijuana was legalized for adults, I don't see a problem with what these doctors are doing. The law gave them this authority, and they're using it. Good for them.

al m. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I've voted Republican my entire life and think it should have been legalized long ago. Short of sealing the border with the military and doubling the prison population, we'll never rid ourselves of it. The simple fact is that a lot of people want it, so it is here. At least, that's what 25 years in law enforcement proved to me. And the charade we have now is simply fostering a disdain for the law, and making us miss out on a huge source of tax revenue.

Oregon is going in the opposite direction on almost all issues, mostly because the money in politics has made our reps timid wimps.

The way things are going here, Mississippi will legalize MariJane before we do.

"The simple fact is that a lot of people want it, so it is here."

Great post, HMLA-267. I agree on every point. It's a bit puzzling to me that the media gives Obama an easy pass on his drug history(detailed with some elaboration in David Maraniss's biolgraphy) even while Obama's Justice Department is raiding Oregon for its current drug policy. A staggering hypocrisy in my view.

You could say the same thing about those doctors that write out prescriptions for ADD medications like candy. The real scandal is that ADD meds are potentially more harmful but sanctioned by the FDA, while cannabis is demonstrably less harmful than booze and cigarette but condemned by attitudes driven by the 60s culture war and bigotry against blacks and Mexicans.

Charade my ass. Federal prohibition deserves to be undermined. Legalize it.

Sally, maybe I don't know what hypocrisy is, but I really don't see what the media attitude toward Obama's drug history has to do with the Justice Department's drug enforcement policy. Does the Justice Department now control the media? Or vice (forgive me) versa?

There's a medical marijauna clinic a few buildings down from my business. All I see going in there are young 20 something males who look pretty darn healthy at first glance. No elderly people with walkers or frail cancer patients in sight. Yes, it's high time we let go of the charade.

Allan, I meant to assign the hypocrisy to Obama. The media I think does a lousy job covering the issue sans the background. I do believe the media gives Obama far more of a pass than ever it did Clinton or Bush43, just for two.