Rumors and stories are circulating about Oregon permit holders having their indoor and outdoor gardens ripped off. I know of 2 genuine incidents that occurred in Eugene and another that occurred in Southern Oregon, and we are the ones who will be looked to for some response. Because language is power, should we call the incidents "medicine diversion" to turn down the volume of the inevitable stories, like many of us use "failed drug war". If a working, effective Drug Policy or response can be fashioned it will probably be a group effort.

A grow was ripped off near Brookings recently, and some others up here in Eugene, and elsewhere. And some of you already know that my very own grow was ripped off two weeks ago. I have a DPC (designated patient caregiver) because I can't grow my own as I live in the "Eugene Group Home for Quadriplegics that are dependent on a Ventilator to breathe". The "Senior and Disabled Services" State agency lets me eat medical marijuana brownies but will likely not allow me to grow medical marijuana plants for many years if ever! So I am a charity case again, relying on the generosity of other permit holders.

I would just caution people to BEHAVE just like people behaved before getting their permits. If a "little voice" is telling you to NOT tell THAT particular person, LISTEN TO IT, for pete's sake !! Remember the saying "Need to know". Must you REALLY tell this and that person? And remember that when several people know that you have already told alot of other people, they will realize that you could not narrow down the "List of possible Suspects" because it is so large!

That is a bad position. And consider this thought … The thieves also know that indoor plants have a life span of three months more or less. Will they return because they left the young plants as a deliberate plot, or will the thought come to them several weeks later? The thing is, will those REAL drug criminals return just when they calculate that the grow is just starting to have the twelve hours cycle begun again? I haven't mentioned that fear to any other permit holders that have also been ripped off, because the idea is something powerfully bad to contemplate.

Each victim was left the young plants, just like me, and if some of the thieves are planning another visit, we will hear about the return visit in around ten weeks. For now it looks like all we can do is wait to see what happens. Or we can get busy making submissions to send to the Letter to the Editor if any more medicine diversions happen. Some of you are talented writers and you might try to have your writings ready to upload to media websites.

What about a quick response team that could get to the scene of the incident before the right wing film crews and could film short interviews with the police where the police are asked already made questions like maybe "Why were no police watching the house when the police knew that a return visit was likely?" What about "If the Medical Marijuana users were to submit maps that show the locations of the participating permit holders, would the police increase their attention on those ... and further what if the map was regularly updated to show when each grow is being finished. It would indicate the window of several weeks where each grow is in the primary period where the marijuana is most at risk because the crop is getting finished. Just ideas. I personally would go with what my DPC chose. What do YOU think? What ideas do YOU have?

First read this. I just had a phone call from a person on the central coast that I sent forms to recently who told me that he had changed his mind and did NOT want to complete the process of getting his permit because he lives in a wooded area with no close neighbors and because he has two children and he did not want to take the chance that robbers might do a "home invasion" when the family was at home. I had a friendly doctor who would examine him the 29th of November... the permit seemed assured. But he would rather grow illegally without a permit after he heard about a Home Invasion at a West Eugene home from watching a Eugene television news show several weeks ago.

I think that that story got extreme exposure because the Old Boys here want to discourage people from joining the program. I haven't seen a single news story that was positive about the program here. The newspaper story about the Eugene Millennium Marijuana March last May consisted of one small photo that focused on the usual "hippie types" and the text was the least amount that could be used. See story and photo

Voter Power has about a waiting list of 50 permit holders who want connect with a DPC but there is usually a shortage of potential DPCs. (Send some of your friends to visit Voter Power website to join up!)

The ranks of the people willing to be a DPC might be impacted if/ when these incidents get more press. If these outrages are not stopped, paranoia will quickly increase until Email will stop maybe even between activists.

(Here is one thing that we have to accept and work around) We can't reduce the high street price of marijuana, which is the fact that makes our Medical Marijuana plants and medicine so valuable to the thieves.

(Here is another thing that we also have to accept and work around) I believe that MANY permit holders or DPCs will continue to tell many people about the (very interesting) subject of growing Medical Marijuana, and will continue to give tours to relatives and friends, etc. I think that Human nature will mean that each individual person will think that they are superior judges of character and further believe that it will always be "the other guy" that will "trust the wrong person".

If the media splashes just a few more stories and photos on the evening news and newspaper, and everybody in Oregon may make a connection between Medical Marijuana and home invasions, and just try to fix the damage done. It is possible that the voters would vote to eliminate the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act. And we could probably not resist a move in the Oregon State legislature to butcher the Act beyond recognition. Imagine the situation if just one permit holder is hurt or worse or God forbids that a child is hurt.

Attention, Oregon website operators! Here is your chance to write YOUR own listing that will be seen on two of my webpages. See the CURRENT listings. Oregon Medical Marijuana and More Website:

We need any Halide lights, etc., in any condition, to distribute to some permit holders who need it the most! We pick it up! Have secret joy knowing that it is helping a neighbor grow marijuana!

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