Editor's Note: I have had very high hopes (no pun intended) for Oregon's regulations surrounding the newly legalized recreational marijuana market. Oregon legislators and those who supported Measure 91 were making it clear they wanted to learn from the mistakes and successes of Colorado and Washington, and have been talking about very positive approaches to taxing, fostering a healthy marketplace for business and avoiding supply problems like what happened in Washington.
While the new regulations haven't been finalized, there is talk of simply wiping out the state's existing medical marijuana program and shifting medical marijuana cardholders to the retail market. It seems like this would be harmful to medical marijuana patients, who require specific strains, often oils or other related products that may not be sold at retail. Plus, no guarantee exists that retail dispensaries will have staff trained on medical properties of various strains, whereas this is the foundation of medical marijuana dispensaries. In fact, most probably wouldn't, I would venture to guess. What do you think of the possibility of ending the state's medical marijuana program?
SALEM -- Oregon legislators took their first action Wednesday on the state's new marijuana law -- approving $583,000 to hire state regulators -- as several seemed eager to dive in and rewrite sections of the initiative.
Ideas expressed during a legislative Emergency Board meeting ranged from keeping pot stores away from day-care centers to simply abolishing the medical marijuana program and shifting all users to the new retail market.
In the end, legislators may be more cautious about fiddling too much with an initiative that passed with support from 56 percent of voters.
But even the strongest supporters of Measure 91 said they expect the Legislature to pass some kind of bill giving the Oregon Liquor Control Commission further directions on how to regulate the marijuana market when retail sales start in 2016.
