Washington Post, 17 May 2012 – Medical marijuana advocates have a message for Democratic leaders and federal prosecutors with an eye on political office: Don’t mess with pot. Pushing back against a federal effort to stem the proliferation of medical marijuana operations, one of the nation’s largest drug policy groups claimed credit Wednesday for the defeat of a former federal prosecutor who was the early favorite to win the Democratic primary for Oregon attorney general.

Albany Democrat-Herald, 17 May 2012 – Dwight Holton lost the Democratic primary for attorney general, according to the conventional wisdom, because he pledged to strictly uphold the law on marijuana. If so, he has become a casualty of a bad law. Holton was in charge of federal law enforcement in Oregon when federal agents investigated a large pot-growing operation in Southern Oregon last fall. Indictments have since been returned in that case.

Huffington Post, 19 Oct 2010 – While Democrats are watching turnout levels in California to gauge the ability of marijuana ballot initiatives to turn out young voters, organizers to the north point to a second case study, which concludes that such a referendum would dramatically bolster interest in voting. Backers of an Oregon measure to regulate the buying and selling of medical marijuana commissioned a poll to determine the effect of the question on young, progressive voters inclined to sit out the election. Pollsters quizzed 400 Oregonians who described themselves as Democrats or independents and rated their interest in the midterm election between one and five on a scale to ten. Half of the voters were given information about Measure 74 and the other half were told about the race for governor, currently a dead heat between Democrat John Kitzhaber and Republican Chris Dudley.

The Mail Tribune, 17 Oct 2010 – Virtually all who have evaluated Measure 74 agree that new steps need to be taken to provide safe, reliable access to medical marijuana. One way or another, Oregon will have to regulate the supply of this medicine. If we don’t seize this moment to step in and create a regulated production and delivery system, we could soon find the situation with medical marijuana spiraling out of control. Just ask the people of Colorado or Los Angeles — in each case, elected leaders were much too slow to create sensible regulations. Only after chaos reigned did they step in.

The Register-Guard, 12 Oct 2010 – I am sorry The Register-Guard does not support Measure 74, Oregon’s marijuana dispensary bill. I know how helpful marijuana has been for me as a patient registered with the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. I don’t understand why the editors don’t want me — and 40,000 other Oregonians — to have safe and easy access to my medicine. I also don’t understand why my medical issues and the medicine I choose depends on an election or why police feel they have a voice in my medical choices. My medicine is my business, between myself and my doctor. As Dr. Fred Oerther said, "The study of medicine begins and ends with patients."

The Register-Guard, 12 Oct 2010 – Oregon’s Measure 74 will create the best system in America for providing safe, legal and highly regulated access to medical marijuana for qualified patients. The measure creates a system of nonprofit dispensaries, much like pharmacies. It will bring order, transparency and accountability to a program that now serves approximately 40,000 ill, disabled and suffering Oregonians. The time has come to address these patients’ needs, and to place compassion and common sense above political infighting and cynicism. To do otherwise is simply not the Oregon way. The suffering of just one patient, for just one day, compels us to look for a better system.

The Register-Guard, 12 Oct 2010 – Oregon’s Measure 74 will create the best system in America for providing safe, legal and highly regulated access to medical marijuana for qualified patients. The measure creates a system of nonprofit dispensaries, much like pharmacies. It will bring order, transparency and accountability to a program that now serves approximately 40,000 ill, disabled and suffering Oregonians. The time has come to address these patients’ needs, and to place compassion and common sense above political infighting and cynicism. To do otherwise is simply not the Oregon way. The suffering of just one patient, for just one day, compels us to look for a better system.

The Mail Tribune, 10 Oct 2010 – Lately when I see the Mail Tribune rolled up at my door it seems that the main story is always about marijuana. Maybe your news team thinks that the public is as lit up about this cause as they seem to be … I don’t know. I’m sure you get a of lot brownie points from some readers who readily pass these articles around their circle of friends.

The Mail Tribune, 10 Oct 2010 – The Medical Marijuana System Is Flawed, but This Initiative Is Not a Good Solution Oregon voters, with the best of intentions, legalized marijuana for medical use in 1998. The system now in place allows Oregonians suffering from various medical conditions to use marijuana to relieve their symptoms if they obtain a medical marijuana card from the state.

The Mail Tribune, 09 Oct 2010 – Medical marijuana has been legal in Oregon since 1998 and if you notice, no one has gone berserk. Actually, the only problems I read are wasteful attempts by some local law enforcement officers to enforce growing laws. It is foolish to believe passing Measure 74 will increase recreational usage. Recreational usage was happening long before we legalized it and that won’t change if we open dispensaries.