Transcript:JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If marijuana has a future as a legitimate business in this country, Paul Stanford of Portland is a true pot pioneer.
PAUL STANFORD, MARIJUANA ADVOCATE: I feel a little bit more relaxed. I can feel that I've had a couple of little puffs here.
JOHNS: Call it his Oregon Trail. For 25 years he's pushed to legalize marijuana. In fact for the last decade, he's hosted a cable access show on it.
STANFORD: Our infamous dancing cannabis leaves.
JOHNS: He founded what he says was the fist medical marijuana consultation and referral service in Oregon. The company has amassed files on 64,000 patients in eight states where medical marijuana is legal, matching people who want it to doctors who can provide it. Stanford says it's a $3 million a year business.
These plants are also Stanford's. He's licensed by the state to grow them for medical marijuana. He gives it away in closed-door meetings like this.
The next frontier for this pioneer?
STANFORD: We need to take this market out of the hands of the kids and substance abusers who control it today and put it in the hands of the state, where the age limit is strictly enforced and where we can get tax revenue.
JOHNS: He's trying to get an initiative on the ballot here in Oregon that would allow for a state taxation and regulation of marijuana. But he's failed in past efforts to legalize it here.
(on camera) It doesn't cost much to raise these plants. The whole operation runs on a shoe string, basically. But if this were scaled out so that marijuana was being sold all over the country and it were legalized, there are some people who say the costs to society would be much greater than the benefits.
(voice-over) It's a guessing game, but a moderate estimate says if marijuana were decriminalized, it would save about $13 billion for not having to enforce marijuana laws. And if pot were taxed like alcohol and cigarettes, it would mean about 7 billion, a net gain for government of $20 billion.
(on camera) But that's not a complete pictures. Comparing alcohol to pot, one professor at USC said alcohol taxes only cover about 10 percent of alcohol related costs like drunk driving. And tobacco taxes only cover about 20 percent of tobacco-related medical costs.
(voice-over) So what about marijuana? If legalized, would we see more accidents or lower worker productivity? And what about health effects, higher insurance rates? In Paul Stanford's garden, it's all blue skies.
STANFORD: That's assuming that marijuana is like alcohol and tobacco, and it isn't. Marijuana is a healthy alternative and much safer than alcohol and tobacco.
JOHNS (on camera): But what about the cartels and the brutal international drug trade? Those who support legalization say it will stem the violence. But critics say the cartels will simply slash their prices or ramp up trade in other drugs, like cocaine or methamphetamine.
(voice-over) Stanford says there's no proof that would happen, and he remains confident in the mantra of legalization.
STANFORD: Marijuana is a lot safer than alcohol, has a lot of medicinal benefits. And so if we look at the science, we're going to win. JOHNS: But given the national experience with legalized recreational drugs, who knows where this Oregon Trail will lead.
Joe Johns, CNN, Portland.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: Well, there's of course a very brutal side to the business of pot. And a documentary filmmaker describes one chilling encounter. You can read about that at AC360.com.
What's the truth about pot? We're going to get some medical facts, particularly about medical marijuana, from Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Text us your questions for him to 94553. The message has to start with the letters "AC," then a space, then your name and question. If you don't include "AC" first and a space, we're not going to get the text.
Plus brazen and truly bizarre. A guy is accused of posing as his dead mother, all police say, in a scheme to steal thousands of dollars. The story and pictures ahead.
And breaking news from Iran. We'll have the latest details on the protests and the violence. Be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Before the break, we introduced you to a man in Oregon, a pot pioneer of sorts, who believes that science shows marijuana has health benefits. Does it? One doctor we spoke to this week called pot the best medication he's ever worked with. Others say it's a potent, addictive, gateway drug with dangerous side effects that ruins lives and families. Both sides have studies to prove their case.
So what exactly are the facts? To try to get some answers, 360 MD Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us.
Now Sanjay, let's get at it. Are there benefits to medical marijuana? Is there a case for its use, because the patients we talk to swear by it?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the answer is yes. I mean, there are some medical benefits to marijuana, and this is more than just anecdotal evidence now, Anderson. There are some studies to sort of back that up.
We know that there are receptors in the brain, cannabinoid receptors. And they control things like your pain levels, your hunger levels, things related to your mood. And therein lies some of the possible benefits, medically, of marijuana.
For example, someone who's having terrible malnourishment or terrible nausea as a result of chemotherapy or the effect of HIV/AIDS, using marijuana could stimulate appetite.
Neuropathic pain, Anderson, something I deal with quite a bit as a neurosurgeon. It's that lancinating nerve pain that's often caused by trauma or some sort of injury or surgery. Sometimes it can be very refractive to pain medications. Marijuana can help there, as well.
Multiple sclerosis, something else that I treat. That's something that can cause significant tremors, for example. Marijuana can help.
But the caveat, Anderson, is that sometimes other medications which we know more about may be better alternatives. So it can help, but there might be other things that are even better.
COOPER: Is there medical evidence that it can be dangerous? What do doctors say?
GUPTA: Well, most of the studies on this really look at some of the shorter term effects of marijuana. It is hard to make the statement right now about the longer term dangers of marijuana.
The medical community as a whole, for example the American Medical Association is against the smoking of marijuana. That is a stance that they take as an organized medical association.
But there are several areas in the brain, again, that marijuana affects. The hippocampus, Anderson, is an area that's responsible for memory. So short-memory problems is something that is often cited.
Also the developing brain. Is marijuana -- does it have somehow a greater impact on the developing brain? There are studies on this, although as I looked at it today, it is not conclusive. It's a real concern.
There's also, you know, this idea that you talk about THC, the active ingredient that Joe Johns was talking about in a lot of the other pieces this week. But there are 300 other compounds or so, as well. And what exactly do they do?
And finally, this issue that you raised, Anderson, about addiction. Is it addictive? You're going to find conflicting studies, not an exact number. But anywhere between 5 and 9 percent of people who smoke marijuana regularly could become addicted. Take a look there, as compared to other substances: tobacco, 31 percent; heroin, 23; cocaine 17. You can see the numbers there, and you have cannabis at the bottom, 9 percent.
So there is that risk, as well, Anderson.
COOPER: Because, I mean, other people like Melissa Etheridge. I said the addictive question. She basically just laughed and said, "Absolutely not. There's no way it's physically addictive."
Other people say, well, maybe psychologically it has some addictive. Does one make a difference between possible psychological addiction and physical addiction?
GUPTA: That's a great question. And when you talk about addiction, typically, from a medical standpoint, you are talking about some sort of physical addiction. So the body changes in some way. It could be a mood related thing, but associated with that mood that may have -- you know, some sort of physical manifestations of the withdrawal. So there are criteria for withdrawal.
COOPER: We got a text question I want to get to. Matthew from New Mexico asks, "Can we not obtain the medical benefits of marijuana without smoking it?" So how about that? I mean, there is this federally-approved drug on the market, Marinol, that treats the same symptoms as the medical marijuana does. Some people say it doesn't work fast enough. Is Marinol just not a decent substitute?
GUPTA: I don't think we're there yet. It's a synthetic form of THC. So the disadvantage, you get rid of a lot of those other compounds that we don't know a lot about.
One of the disadvantages, just mentioned, it's a pill, so it may not work fast enough. One thing about using marijuana, either smoking it or vaporizing it, is you can titrate it a little bit more easily. So you can get the appropriate dose. With the pill, you may take too much or too little. It's a little bit harder to titrate.
COOPER: All right. Interesting information. Sanjay Gupta, appreciate it. Thanks, Sanjay.
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