So Totally Harsh

[September 1st, 2004] Back in 1998, Stormy Ray was medical marijuana's mascot. When reporters wanted a flesh-and-blood argument in favor of that fall's initiative making Mary Jane a legal medicine for ailing Oregonians, proponents steered them to the 48-year-old, wheelchair-bound woman. Ray starred in wrenching TV commercials, describing how cannabis eased the agony of her multiple sclerosis.

Her barnstorming paid off: Oregon voters approved medical marijuana by a margin of more than 100,000 votes. Six years (and more than 10,000 registered medical-marijuana patients) later, Ray is back on the political warpath. But this time she's battling against former allies in the medicinal-pot movement.

Ray is actively opposing Measure 33, an initiative that would legalize marijuana "dispensaries," nonprofit shops and farms that could sell "the medicine" to registered patients or to each other. Under the 1998 law, patients or designated caregivers can grow and trade their own, but no one may buy or sell marijuana.

Proponents say creating a for-pay dispensary system would improve the quality, variety and supply of legal cannabis, as well as making it easier for patients to get their hands on the medicine they need. "This leaves no patient behind," says Leland Berger, an attorney who helped draft Measure 33.

Though Measure 33 contains other significant reforms--expanding the amount of dope a patient can possess at one time, for instance--the introduction of commerce is what fires Ray up the most. She claims market forces would destroy a cooperative, cash-free system that empowers the sick.

"Patients have done a phenomenal job of managing the system," she says. "They own the medicine, they own the plan, and they network with each other. I've seen people rise above their own illnesses to work together. Measure 33 would destroy that heart and soul."

Ray says she expects an official anti-Measure 33 campaign to register with the secretary of state's office within a week or two. When it does, it will be up against Ray's erstwhile friends.

"It's unfortunate that she's willing to be manipulated by opponents of medical marijuana," says John Sajo, a leader of the Portland medical-ganja activist group Voter Power.