News » Measure 74 Could Bring Marijuana Dispensaries to Oregon





Oregon approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes in 1998, joining four other states in following California’s landmark legislation. Nearly 40,000 patients now possess medical marijuana cards which amounts to 1% of the population of the state.

What the law did not allow for was a statewide system of dispensaries, meaning that the path to obtaining medicine is not clear for patients in the state. Measure 74 hopes to change this, providing a system for accountability and regulation around the process of distribution in the state. The proposal follows similar laws passed in Rhode Island, New Mexico, and Maine, however detractors feel that there are too many loopholes and claim that Measure 74 is a veiled attempt to move towards legalization.

This system differs from the one currently in place in California, as the law there depended on local municipalities to dictate how dispensaries operate in their jurisdictions. Cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose passed laws controlling the dispensaries – limiting the amount of marijuana patients may grow, and the proximity to schools, playgrounds, churches, and parks – while Los Angeles failed to do so. In the last three years, between 700 and 1000 dispensaries opened there, leading officials to clamp down in January and closing the doors of many dispensaries.

Jill Harris of the Drug Policy Alliance says that “Los Angeles didn’t create any regulation. The lesson is that state regulation is better than a lack of regulation… Regulation means more control, not less.”

Measure 74 would bring this regulation to the state, as well as a mechanism give the state additional revenue. As written the law would require the following:

– Initial fees of $1000 to $2000

– A yearly 10% tax on gross income paid to the state

– A limit of 24 plants or 6 pounds of marijuana – enough for 4 patients

– A ban on operating near schools and residential neighborhoods

– No limit on the number of dispensaries, but a framework to allow the Oregon Department of Health to set rules on inspections, safety measures, locations, and potential penalties

[source Oregon Live]

[via The Crime Report]

Tags: Oregon