Cannabis in Oregon

In recent decades, the U.S. state of Oregon has had a number of legislative, legal and cultural events surrounding the use of cannabis (marijuana, hashish, THC, kief, etc.).

In 2015, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed an emergency bill declaring marijuana sales legal to recreational users from dispensaries starting October 1, 2015.

Effective January 1, 2017, dispensaries were no longer permitted to sell cannabis for recreational use unless they applied for, and received, an OLCC license for such sales.

[4] According to a 2006 report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in 2003–2004, Oregon ranked in the top fifth of states for cannabis usage in three age categories: 12 to 17, 18 to 25, and 26 and older.

[6] The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimates and publishes the number of people to have used cannabis in the previous 30 days, as compiled by the Oregon chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML):[7] Large indoor and outdoor growing operations have been discovered on private, state, and forest lands, with plants numbering in thousands.

[8] In the 1990s, Oregon was a national leader in indoor cannabis cultivation, along with California, Washington, Kentucky and South Florida.

[15] While organizers insisted smoking would not be tolerated, the smell of marijuana lingered in the air and some festival goers chose to consume various forms of cannabis foods.

The first International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC) took place in Portland, on September 13 and 14, 2014, at the Oregon Convention Center.

The conference brought together entrepreneurs, professionals and advocates from across the globe, with the goal to further mainstream the global cannabis industry.

Johnson has served as chief petitioner of statewide cannabis reforms and is currently Director of the Oregon Cannabis Industry Association; Rogers is CEO of Northwest Alternative Health and lead producer of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Business Conference; Goldsberry is a co-founder of the Berkeley Patients Group and serves as an ambassador for Magnolia Wellness.

[21] There is one exception, however, which is: if possession of such an amount occurs in a public place within 1000 feet of a school attended by minors, the person committing the offense is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor instead.

According to bill sponsor Jerry Grisham (R–Beavercreek), HB 3466 was meant to counter a circulating initiative petition called The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act of 1997, which would have allowed state liquor stores to sell marijuana and permitted hemp production for paper, fabric, oil, and protein.

[27] The bill would have passed according to the positions of state senators, but was blocked on a technical basis which prevented it from coming to the floor the same day it was read—which allows public input—unless overridden by a vote.

[27] In 1997, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 3643, making the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana a Class C misdemeanor,[30] which added a possible jail sentence of up to 30 days.

According to Eric Schlosser of Rolling Stone, John Kitzhaber, then Oregon's governor, signed the bill because he did not want to appear soft on crime.

John Sperling, Peter Lewis, and George Soros were the principal financial backers of the referendum signature drive.

Bernie Hobson, spokesman for the DEA's Seattle regional office, said "From a federal standpoint, there is no such thing as medical marijuana.

"[38] Four other western states (Alaska, Arizona, Nevada and Washington) and the District of Columbia passed similar measures legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes in the same election.

[41] Multiple states have requested information on Oregon's program to use as a model for their own medical marijuana initiatives and registration systems.

[48] The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act qualified for the November 2012 state ballot, with the petition having 88,887 valid signatures.

[2] Measure 91's success legitimized the marijuana reform movement and added to the momentum built from Initiative 502 in Washington and Amendment 64 in Colorado, which passed in 2012.

Additional legislation signed into law by Governor Brown in March 2016 allowed the sale of medical and recreational marijuana from the same outlets.

Further, "cannabis business owners and community members have not been involved in budget decisions and the city has not reported on how it has used those tax revenues, according to the audit.

The case, Dr. Marcus Conant, et al., v. McCaffrey et al., arose from two events: the November 1996 passage of California Proposition 215 which authorized medical marijuana, and a December 30, 1996 response to the law by the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy which said: A practitioner's action of recommending or prescribing Schedule I controlled substances is not consistent with the 'public interest' (as that phrase is used in the federal Controlled Substances Act) and will lead to administrative action by the Drug Enforcement Administration to revoke the practitioner's registration.

Inspector General for Health and Human Services to exclude individuals from participation in Medicare and Medicaid programs, such as physicians who recommend marijuana to patients for medical purposes.

In November 2007, a California appeals court ruled that "it is not the job of the local police to enforce the federal drug laws."

The charge against him was later dismissed, but the city refused to return his confiscated eight grams of marijuana, even after being instructed by Orange County Superior Court.

Salem police estimated they received 30 or 40 calls for marijuana activity in 2007 which were not pursued because the grow operations were legal, even one next to a high school.

One grower, a previously convicted felon, was found with evidence of making hash oil, which is not protected, though a grand jury did not indict him.

[59] After a federal agent from the Department of the Interior used a thermal imaging device to determine that Danny Lee Kyllo was using grow lamps to grow marijuana in his Florence, Oregon home, the Supreme Court of the United States determined that the use of a thermal imaging device from a public vantage point to monitor the radiation of heat from a person's home was a "search" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, and thus required a warrant.