Editor's Note: As Oregon and the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) begin efforts to craft regulations surrounding the state's newly legal recreational marijuana market, the OLCC has been asked to submit a proposal with "changes it would like to make to the law." (Note the assumption of Sen. Lee Beyer, D-Springfield, paraphrased by the Statesman Journal as, "that Oregonians support recreational usage and not that they support the specific details of Measure 91." The SJ reported, "His assumption is that most voters 'didn't pay a heck of a lot of attention' to or read all the fine print in the proposal." On such a major issue for the state, I don't think he's giving voters enough credit.)
Included in the regulatory review: How the state's existing medical marijuana programs will exist–most likely to be absorbed under the new regulations.
By the end of a legislative meeting with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission on Wednesday, one thing was clear to the lawmakers involved: There is a lot of work to be done before recreational marijuana sales start in January 2016.
"The seed has just been planted," Rep. Margret Doherty, D-Tigard, said.
Oregon voters approved the sale and consumption of recreational marijuana 56 percent to 44 percent this November, but the ballot initiative's 36 pages left a lot of the regulatory details up to the OLCC to figure out by January 2016.
That's left some of the state's lawmakers wondering whether they should step in during the 2015 legislative session to modify the law or create additional statutory requirements.
