[420 Girl]

Brenda Thomas knew her client needed a more effective painkiller. She was aware that the woman swallowed 150 Vicodin pills each month, and had done so for the better part of 12 years. Recovering from six major back surgeries, the woman was still "delirious with pain," she said, even after downing huge doses of the liver-damaging narcotic. Thomas, a caregiver and at the time a volunteer at a medical marijuana clinic in Medford, she helped the woman become registered in the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP). As is the case for many, marijuana eased the woman's suffering. Since obtaining her medical marijuana permit, she has cut her Vicodin prescription by more than half, Thomas said, requiring only 30 to 60 pills every month. She also noted that the decrease in narcotics has increased the woman's quality of life. "She can garden again," said Thomas. "She says she feels human again."

"I have another client, a 98-year-old woman who swears by (cannabis)," she said. "She has glaucoma and it eases the pressure tremendously."

Thomas, the office manager at the Herbal Resource Center in Rogue River, dispenses "compassionate care" as she guides clients through the process of obtaining medical marijuana permits. The facility, located at 204 Madrone Street, held its grand opening on November 8, and on November 13 and 14 conducted clinics for those interested in the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act (OMMA), how it works, how to qualify and the legal protection for patients, caregivers, growers and physicians.

Thomas knows that "not everyone will agree with what we do here." Medical marijuana, although legal, is still controversial.

The Rogue River City Planning Department approved the site plan for the property without any protest or appeals filed. "It is simply a commercial use within a commercial zone," stated City Planner Laurel Prairie-Kuntz. "They are allowed by state law to be there." Oregon voters approved the Medical Marijuana Act in November 1998. The 10-year-old law allows qualifying patients with debilitating medical conditions to use small amounts of marijuana, and registered growers to cultivate the herb for
medicinal purposes. The patients must be under doctor's care.

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