Cannabis in Oregon
the ballot. In 1986, by some estimates, cannabis was Oregon’s largest cash crop, estimated in 1985 at between billion and .15 billion. The ballot measure was rejected by Oregon voters with 279,479 “Yes” and 781,922 “No” votes, or 26.33% support.
In 1995, Oregon House Bill 3466, which would have recriminalized marijuana in Oregon, died. According to bill sponsor Jerry Grisham (Reavercreek), HB 3466 was meant to counter a circulating initiative petition called The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act of 1997, which would have allowed state liquor stores to sell marijuana and permitted hemp production for paper, fabric, oil, and protein. Taxes on these products would to go schools to replace funding allegedly lost by Measure 5. The petition was sponsored by a political action committee named Pay for Schools by Regulating Cannabis.
HB 3466 would have increased penalties for possession of under an ounce of marijuana from an infraction (traffic ticket-like offense) to a Class A misdemeanor, the worst non-felony offense, with a fine of 0 to ,000 per gram, up to a maximum of ,000. The bill also would have created a new crimeeing under the influence of marijuanaunishable by a fine of up to ,000. The bill would have passed according to the positions of state senators, but was blocked on a technical basis which prevented it from coming to the floor the same day it was readhich allows public inputnless overridden by a vote.
In 1997, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 3643, making the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana a Class C misdemeanor, which added a possible jail sentence of up to 30 days. According to Eric Schlosser of Rolling Stone, John Kitzhaber, then Oregon’s governor, signed the bill because he did not want to appear soft on crime. Activists collected twice as many signatures as were required to force a referendum on the bill. John Sperling, Peter Lewis, and George Soros were the principal financial backers of the referendum signature drive. Measure 57, which would have upheld HB 3643, was turned down by a margin of 21.
The Oregonians For Cannabis Reform 2010 hope to make cannabis products legal and available in a retail environment by enacting the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act of 2010 (OCTA). Backers of the initiative say 90% of the proceeds from the state’s sale of marijuana would go to Oregon’s general fund (as much as 0 million), lowering the state tax burden, while 10% of the revenue would be used to fund drug abuse education and treatment programs. Advocates claim the marijuana market would be removed from the underground economy, where young people and drug abusers often take control, and place it in liquor stores regulated by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission so the minimum age of 21 can be enforced. Supporters have until July 2, 2010, to collect nearly 83,000 signatures to get the measure on the 2010 November ballot. According to Madeline Martinez, Executive Director of NORML’s Oregon chapter, U.S. Congressman Barney Frank (Dassachusetts) has endorsed the idea, though support from Oregon state officials has been limited.
Medical cannabis
Main article: Oregon Medical Marijuana Act
The Oregon Medical Marijuana Act was established by Ballot Measure 67, a citizens’ initiative, in November 1998, the same election as the referendum Measure 57. It modified state law to allow the cultivation, possession, and use of marijuana by prescription by patients with certain medical conditions. The ballot measure passed by a margin of 54.6% to 45.4%. The Act does not affect federal law, which still prohibits the cultivation and possession of marijuana. Bernie Hobson, spokesman for the DEA’s Seattle regional office, said “From a federal standpoint, there is no such thing as medical marijuana.” Four other western states (Alaska, Arizona, Nevada and Washington) and the District of Columbia passed similar measures legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes in the same election.
The act created “The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program,” which administers the Medical Marijuana Act approved by the public in November 1998. The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program administers the program within the Oregon Department of Human Services. As of April 1, 2009, there were 20,974 patients registered, with 10,626 caregivers holding cards for these patients. Virtually all patients benefiting from the program (18,000+) suffer from severe pain and more than 3,200 from nausea. The other conditions are given as epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, cancer, cachexia, chronic glaucoma and tremors caused by Alzheimer’s disease. Multiple states have requested information on Oregon’s program to use as a model for their own medical marijuana initiatives and registration systems.
In 2004, an Oregon ballot measure that would have increased the amount of cannabis a patient can legally possess to six pounds was defeated by Oregon voters. In 2005, the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program brought