It should be noted that this article is for information purposes only and should not, under any circumstances, be accepted as legal advice.

Just about everybody has heard the news that the USA’s first ‘official’ marijuana café opened in Portland, Oregon in 2009. It is dedicated to allowing people the use of medical marijuana.

It is necessary to be able to show that you hold a medical marijuana user’s card and you can then join what is, technically, a private club.For anyone in favor of the de-criminalization of marijuana for medical purposes, and those that are best described as ‘neutrals’ in the debate, this has to be a good step. Of course, it has to be accepted also that for some, this is not an agreeable move and no doubt the debate will continue. In passing, several other establishments in California (and elsewhere) bitterly dispute the Portland café’s claims, pointing out that they were previously established before all the hype.

The position overall

At the time of writing, the position remains difficult to summarize in terms of the West Coast and western USA in general (as it does for the whole country). Some state legislatures have passed resolutions allowing the use of medical marijuana but the control, distribution and public consumption of it, appears to be not only variable by state but also in terms of local interpretations of what the state position actually is. If that’s not bad enough, the position with respect to federal law, which clearly conflicts with state law in some cases, is even more confused with the issue having been effectively ‘parked’ by the current administration.

In California there are now licensed distributors, or more correctly, dispensaries, of medical marijuana to people that have been duly certified and prescribed as being in need.

In Oregon, notwithstanding the Portland café, some hold the opinion that it seems as if state law may permit personal cultivation and use of small amounts by individuals with medical authorization. By contrast, in Washington, the position appears to be that possession of medical marijuana remains a state offence. Bizarrely, the state allows a physician to issue a qualifying patient (qualifying in terms of the affliction they’re suffering from) a note indicating that marijuana would be beneficial to their medical condition with the expectation that the patient may choose to use that note as a defense if the state decides to prosecute them. Work that one out if you can! Also, the above is only interpretive of what is a confused and rapidly changing position. This may already be out-of-date as it’s being written!

The meaning

Whatever adjectives you choose to use to describe the above position, "simple" is unlikely to be among them! Although the benefits of medical marijuana as a pain and symptom alleviator are more and more widely claimed, the position in terms of formalizing the prescription and use of it seemingly becomes more chaotic with each year. To be fair, this isn’t just a West Coast or even USA issue. Many other countries around the world seem to be struggling to get to grips with how to sort out sometimes conflicting legislation.

However, there are some differences that maybe make the US position a little different. In many other countries, there doesn’t seem to be the same public inclination to make this a moral issue, as is the case in the USA. There seems to be a greater public tendency to recognize the differences between the use of medical marijuana and excessive recreational misuse.

For example, in the United Kingdom the private ownership and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes is not recognized and is prohibited. Yet 2010 saw the first release of a medically approved and licensed drug made from natural marijuana (used via oral spray), specifically aimed at symptom relief for sufferers of multiple sclerosis. This was approved and use commenced with little or no great public debate, concern or controversy. Hopefully the debate in the US will also become increasingly pragmatic.

There are now widespread claims of the benefits of marijuana use in certain medical conditions.

In some West Coast states, this may be able to be achieved with relatively little fuss and bother though the exact legal positions remain, at best, ‘unclear’. As always, if you are unwell, it’s a smart idea to avoid self-diagnosis and self-prescription for anything, including medical marijuana, without first taking qualified medical advice from a physician.