People convicted of certain drug felonies out of state would not be allowed to operate medical marijuana retail establishments under an amendment approved today by a senate committee.

Medical Marijuana

The amendment was one of a handful of changes made by the Senate Committee on Rules to a bill that would legalize medical marijuana establishments. The revisions came after Oregon

.

The

, which initially opposed the bill, switched its position to neutral after the changes were made.

Originally, the bill excluded people with certain Oregon drug convictions from operating medical marijuana facilities. It applied to people with more than one conviction. Under the changes approved Saturday, people convicted of manufacturing or delivering a controlled substance in Oregon or elsewhere would be prohibited from registering a marijuana facility with the state. The restriction would apply to people convicted once.

Prosecutors sought the change out of fear that people with out-of-state drug convictions would open medical marijuana retail establishments.

Under the bill, rules for medical marijuana facilities would not be in place until next year. The original bill included a provision that potentially limited the criminal liability of existing medical marijuana facilities if they were prosecuted before rules are in place. That provision has been eliminated.

House Bill 3460 would create a statewide registry of medical marijuana retailers. Business owners would have to pass criminal background checks, document the amount of marijuana coming into their establishments and verify that it's from state-registered growers. Operators of these establishments would set their own prices for cannabis.

The bill was approved by the Oregon House last week. The senate is expected to take up the bill this week.

-- Noelle Crombie