Licensed marijuana retailers can sell their pot curbside to promote social distancing and help stem the spread of the coronavirus.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission has approved a temporary rule allowing the curbside delivery.

The rule permits retailers to take orders and deliver marijuana to a customer who is outside and within 150 feet of the licensed premises. The sales can take place only during normal business hours, no earlier than 7 a.m. and no later than 10 p.m.

The commission adopted the temporary rule at an emergency meeting Sunday.

Retail marijuana stores remain open but the changes will help decrease in-store activity, according to the commission.

Another temporary rule approved will allow Oregon Medical Marijuana Program cardholders and caregivers to buy more marijuana a day, up to 24 ounces. The rule, however, doesn’t change the total monthly amount a cardholder or caregiver can buy from a state-licensed retailer.

“Every single decision that this agency is making, both for the liquor and the marijuana industries, are there for the consideration of helping people make a living and continue to make a living,” Paul Rosenbaum, chair of the regulatory commission, said in a prepared statement.

From March 1 to March 18, state-licensed marijuana retailers saw a 25% to 30% increase in sales compared to the same period last year

If any individual licensee takes advantage of the temporary rule by disrupting public safety or public health, the rule could be suspended for the entire industry, the commission warned.

“We’re asking our retailers to make sure to work with the community and local officials so that this can happen in a safe and non-obstructive way to city services, otherwise we’ll need to make changes,” said Steve Marks, the commission’s executive director.

--The Oregonian/OregonLive

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