A couple of months before the Oregon primary, a funny thing happened. Ninjasmoker received a Facebook request from Oregon Republican candidate Chris Dudley. It was very interesting to me that a self proclaimed conservative would try to network with a 100% self proclaimed stoner, even on Facebook. I chalked it up to the fact that Chris Dudley’s campaign probably sent out requests to anyone and everyone that was based out of Oregon. After all, Republicans are not exactly the most tech savvy crowd, and therefore probably just did as many requests as FB would let them.

Since the approval by Ninjasmoker, Ninjasmoker has ‘liked’ and commented on just about everything that Chris Dudley puts on his page. It’s really funny to see Chris Dudley put up some conservative rant, and to see a picture of Bob Marley smoking a joint, and a comment from Ninjasmoker saying ‘Go Blazers!’ The irony is very thick too, considering the fact that Chris Dudley refuses to take a stance on marijuana policy in the State of Oregon. Apparently marijuana consumers are good enough to receive his FB propaganda, but not good enough to deserve ANY attention during his campaign.

Every lunch break for the last two weeks I have called Chris Dudley’s campaign headquarters. My questions were the same every time; ‘What is Chris Dudley’s stance on marijuana issues in Oregon? Specifically, how does he feel about legalization, the current state of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program, and whether or not Oregon should allow medical marijuana dispensaries?’ The answer I received for the first week was always the same — ‘We are not sure, we will get back to you.’ Considering the fact that I call conservative campaigns almost every week day, and I NEVER get a call back, I didn’t sit around waiting for their answer. Instead, I just called back every lunch break.

By the second week (last Monday), their answer was updated to ‘He has not issued an official stance on any of your questions.’ Naturally, I asked ‘when does he expect to make an announcement?’ At which point, the campaign reverted to their original answer of ‘We are not sure, we will get back to you.’ By Friday, the campaign was getting a little tired of my questions, which is funny, considering that I am an unaffiliated voter in Oregon, and they should be frothing at the mouth to get my vote. Instead, their last response was ‘If this is that same guy that has been calling all week, Chris Dudley has not issued an official position on marijuana, and probably won’t before the election, so quit calling.’

It’s nice to know that Chris Dudley cares so much about the marijuana voting bloc in Oregon…HEY CHRIS DUDLEY, BEFORE YOU PUSH US ASIDE, MAYBE YOU SHOULD CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:

DHS’s current stats on the OMMP lists close to 50,000 participants (patients and caretakers). This of course doesn’t include their friends and family, who are also sympathetic to marijuana related public policies.

According to Oregon NORML’s stats found on Wiki, almost 1 out of every 10 Oregonians has consumed marijuana in the last 30 days — which doesn’t include the countless others that won’t admit to it, but will surely let it be known at the ballot box.

Oregon is one of the most marijuana friendly states in the nation for a reason. We were the first to decriminalize, the second to approve medical marijuana, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we were one of the first to legalize it outright. Why Chris Dudley and his campaign staff don’t realize this, is beyond me. Oh wait, maybe it’s because Chris Dudley is new to voting. By his own admission, Chris Dudley voted less than half of the time in the last 13 elections. While he was a professional athlete, he didn’t vote AT ALL. Sounds like a well qualified candidate huh?!

Luckily for Oregonians, there is an alternative. Democratic candidate (former Oregon Governor), John Kitzhaber has issued an official stance on marijuana policy in Oregon. While he does not support outright legalization, he is, and always has been, a firm supporter of medical marijuana in Oregon. He is in full support of medical marijuana dispensaries, and will fight on behalf of the OMMP, because after all, it was implemented while he was the previous Governor of Oregon (1998). It’s not quite a full endorsement from me due to his unwillingness to support full legalization — but it’s a hell of a lot better than Chris Dudley’s response which was…oh that’s right, NOTHING!

If you want to contact Chris Dudley’s campaign, and tell them how you feel about his efforts to duck and dodge this important public policy issue, click this link. I suggest you call them, every day.

Go to NotDwightHolton.Com to find out why you should not vote for Dwight Holton for Oregon Attorney General, and ‘like’ the Not Dwight Holton Facebook Page!