Last month, amid a sudden shift in federal marijuana prosecution policy, U.S. Attorney Billy Williams, of Oregon, shared with the public his concerns over legalization efforts. The U.S. Department of Justice had just suddenly shifted its position on marijuana-related prosecution and granted more discretionary power to federal attorneys like Williams. More than two years into adult-use sales in his state, Williams said that Oregon faces significant challenges in its cannabis market.
“I have significant concerns about the state's current regulatory framework and the resources allocated to policing marijuana in Oregon,” he said in an op-ed for The Oregonian.
With that in mind, Williams convened Oregon’s first “cannabis summit” on Feb. 2.
The all-day meeting included presentations from members of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), FBI, Port of Portland, IRS, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), the Oregon Health Association(OHA), the governor’s office and a spectrum of district and U.S. attorneys from California, Washington, Colorado, Idaho and Nevada. The Oregon Cannabis Association (OCA), a representative advocacy organization helmed by attorney Amy Margolis, thanked Williams for including them, as well.
According to an update provided by Margolis, the OCA presentation focused on the benefits of cannabis legalization in Oregon: “jobs, tax revenue, decreased crime and the positive impact legalization has had on the opioid epidemic.”
She noted, though, that law enforcement representatives in the room asserted their concern over the handling of state regulations, the reality of overproduction and the question of diversion into black markets.
“It is also extremely clear that federal and state law enforcement believes that cannabis poses a public safety threat and that legalization has not curbed ‘cartels’ and other violent crime associated with cannabis,” Margolis wrote, “contrary to evidence presented. It is also clear that there are only so many resources to address unlawful cannabis activity in comparison to other more serious threats.”
In particular, according to Margolis, representatives from rural and southern Oregon voiced a need for more resources and greater control in law enforcement. Oregon’s southern border “is being watched carefully as a source for diversion.” The OLCC has joined federal and state law enforcement in forming a new task force to address this issue.
“I have significant concerns about the state's current regulatory framework and the resources allocated to policing marijuana in Oregon."
- Billy Williams, U.S. attorney for the District of Oregon
The diversion threat ties back to Williams’ comments about overproduction. Returning to his January op-ed: “In 2017 alone, postal agents in Oregon seized 2,644 pounds of marijuana in outbound parcels and over $1.2 million in cash. For comparison, postal agents in Colorado seized just 984 pounds of marijuana during a four-year period beginning in 2013,” he wrote. “Overproduction creates a powerful profit incentive, driving product from both state-licensed and unlicensed marijuana producers into black and gray markets across the country. This lucrative supply attracts cartels and other criminal networks into Oregon and in turn brings money laundering, violence, and environmental degradation.”
As the Associated Press reports, one possible rebuttal to those statistics is that Oregon’s legal market makes it easier than ever to track distribution channels and marijuana destinations. Williams promised on Friday to lean into this problem—“And make no mistake about it, we’re going to do something about it,” he said—and determine how and why production is spiking as it is.
With several years of legal adult-use sales under its belt, Oregon is among just a few states now serving as an example to the prospective U.S. cannabis industry. Williams joins the spectrum of stakeholders in hoping that the state is a good example.
Margolis anchored her email with a word of optimism for her OCA constituents. “United States Attorney Billy Williams does not appear to be inclined to shut down the regulated market but is extremely interested in ensuring that participants in both the OLCC and OHA programs follow the law,” she wrote.
Top photo courtesy of Adobe Stock
