Regulations permitting state-licensed medical cannabis dispensaries to also engage in retail sales to those ages 21 or older take effect on Thursday, October 1. An estimated 200 facilities are anticipated to begin providing cannabis to adults.
Customers will be permitted to purchase up to a quarter ounce of herbal cannabis daily, as well as up to four non-flowering plants, but they will not be allowed to obtain cannabis-infused products until early next year.
Legislation approved by voters in November and enacted on July 1 allows those over the age of 21 to legally possess up to one ounce of cannabis and/or to engage in the non-commercial cultivation of up to four marijuana plants (yielding up to eight ounces of marijuana). Separate provisions in the law license, regulate, and tax retail sales of cannabis beginning next year. However, separate legislation (Senate Bill 460) signed into law in August permits licensed medical dispensaries the option to engage in provisional, tax-free retail sales of cannabis until January 4, 2016.
Colorado and Washington presently permit retail sales of cannabis, while similar regulations are forthcoming in Alaska. (A voter-initiated law in the District of Columbia permits adults to possess and grow marijuana legally, but does not provide for a regulated commercial cannabis market.)
Tax revenue derived from retail cannabis sales in Washington have total $90 million in the first 15 months, while taxes derived from sales in Colorado have totaled $70 million in the past year.
Weed for sale is just one part of the deal. A buyer can also pick up four clones and there is no limit on seeds.
I envy the good people of Oregon, as I do those of the three other legalized states. Perhaps one day . . .
Only thru the magic of government can something they would have jailed you for last year now be okay as long as you give them money.
Government morality = oxymoron
This is great! I’m wondering how Oregonians will feel about having to shoulder the increase once the taxes go in effect.
MPP is soliciting for donations, donations in general.
I would prefer to donate, knowing the money is targeting Ohio’s legalization initiative this November. I think it’s extremely important to have a geographically large state (not a district like DC) east of the Mississippi legalize adult recreational.
Love it for Oregon. However, getting just a decrim bill through my state is like pullin theeth from a angry rino. Too mant state legislatures (where no ballot initiative exists) listen to prohibitionist law men and CCA instead of looking at valid poll numbers.
Sorry for the typos. My keys are sticky; LOL.
Its good news to grow marijuana legally for its medical purpose, Marijuana plant contains useful chemicals which is used for treatments.
Oregon disappoints me deeply. 25% tax when the time is correct. There’s no sales-tax in OR. So my question becomes………What shall we call the tax on retail pot sales?
Seriously, what is the tax for? Is this the product of legalization? The bribe that must be submitted so that we can sin in peace? Probably the best I come up with is it’s a tax on evil, ala Pope Francis.
Evil tax in Oregon, a state proud of it’s long history of disallowing excess taxation.
Just simply 1 word…..AMAZING !
Win/win for all parties.
@Rod is on the gas,
I was especially surprised by the pope’s derrogatory stance on marijuana legalization, what with visiting a US prison in Phili full of nonviolent people with small possessions, visiting the mentally ill in Washington, (Besides Congress, I mean breaking bread with homeless people), and with all the good examples of legal legislation like Colorado and now Oregon. I thought such an intelligent, progressive pope that stared into the face of climate change, embraced science and the poor would have developed a better understanding of what legalizing cannabis means for socioeconomic income equality, disproportionate incarceration and renewable ethanol fuels. HELLO? POPE FRANCIS? CAN YOU READ THE HEADLINES? Jeez… somebody send him a link to the NORML website…
Clearly, I missed the condemning coverage several years ago; http://www.newsweek.com/pope-francis-says-he-opposes-marijuana-legalization-255708
So this guy lives right across the bay from Uruguay, the first country to legalize marijuana, it doesn’t cause violence or blow up, but then… Hey actually that might be the problem… Legal marijuana or not Uruguay’s socioeconomic inequality is so badly disproportionate that even Syrian refugees are like “Let me out! We can’t find work,” just a year later.
Ok, so bad example.
But look at Oregon! Even Colorado has some things they could learn from such a fair and effective policy. The pope has some real explaining to do, and by that I mean to the general public who suffers under a black market for marijuana, not the mafiosos infiltrating the Vatican. Hasn’t he read Mathew 27:17? Doesn’t he know what was in the incense our ancestors have been burning? Doesn’t he know what Jesus was consuming during his time with the Scythians? How do you think he “cured” epilepsy? With frankinsense and myrrh? Gimme a break, Francis. May God give you the strength to forgive and correct yourself. And soon, because children are dying!
Disapointed? Sure. And I’m going to have a good discussion with my local priests about it and bring it up at the next men’s axe retreat. If legalization begins from state to state than so will it be from church to church. The pope’s stance on marijuana legalization is a blatant hipocrisy for someone who uses our living planet as a teaching tool for the Holy Spirit. Someone has a “perhaps I’ve been misled about marijuana” speech coming on, and I’m not just talking about Hillary Clinton. Hey, it worked for Dr. Sanjay Gupta! 🙂
Congratulations Oregon! Don’t forget to keep it safely out of the hands of children and pets!
Legalization won’t work very well if everyone is peeing.
Oregon was the first to accept out of state patients. They will always be at the top of my vacation stations.
Digging deeper into the recent comments and actions by Pope Francis, I found this:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pope-francis-prison_56047991e4b0fde8b0d1f983
“just and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of hope and the goal of rehabilitation.” -Pope Francis
I remember hearing this on the radio. So do we need to educate the pope on how drug rehabs, federal grants and fraud work? LEGALIZATION= REGULATION + EDUCATION
C’mon Francis, get over the hump: Drug addiction and medicinal recommendation is a HEALTH issue, NOT a CRIMINAL JUSTICE issue.
http://marijuanapolitics.com/pope-francis-drug-war-threatens-the-credibility-of-our-institutions/
“Francis argues that the negative result is not just the availability of drugs, but a surplus of criminal activity and violence. [Propped up by PROHIBITION! HELLO?] Without naming individual countries, [The US & Argentina] the Pope told the U.N. General Assembly that the Drug War was failing.” [For Crissake, FINALLY!]
“Longtime critics of the Drug War, especially many that previously served in law enforcement, know that prohibition increases the price of the drugs, making corruption of officials inevitable. This corruption, Francis stated, “has penetrated to different levels of social, political, military, artistic and religious life, and, in many cases, has given rise to a parallel structure which threatens the credibility of our institutions.” [That reminds me of “parallel evidence” in the DEA’s S.O.D. program that fabricates evidence in order to win drug cases in secret courts without due process across the globe… is that the “parallel structure” you were referring to your Holiness? Forgive my sarcasm, but at this point, we’re treading on the edge of stupidity… just say you were mistaken about marijuana legalization being a “bad” thing Pope Francis, and stop with the ambiguous intellectual banter; innocent people are suffering for it, and we don’t need it].
“While Pope Francis, isn’t infallible on the Drug War (sorry), it is encouraging that he recognizes its failings. Hopefully soon, Francis will add his support to common-sense harm reduction policies and other crucial Drug War reforms.” [“Many more will have to suffer; Many more will have to die; Don’t ask me why” -Bob Marley, Natural Mystic]
A sad statement of catering to the edge of legalization as so many in power do, and yet; A powerful account of the changing times… Either the Drug War works or it doesn’t. Either full legalization is better than decriminalization or it isn’t. (Pope Francis, Bernie Sanders… we’re talking to you…)
Nonetheless, It appears that Pope Francis is re-tracking his stance on marijuana legalization in response to the growing criticism from Latin America on UN and US policies over drug enforcement and regulation. What a very interesting predicament for the pope to be in… Between being faithful to his most populated catholic constituents in Latin America, or the Usual Suspects donating to the Vatican back in Rome.
The hotter the battle, the sweeter the victory…
Just heard about the violence in Oregon… what a horrible interference with such an historic day. My only hope is that with a new availability of marijuana in Oregon society the incidents of violence and massacre will begin to diminish and we will soon use education and prevention through access to whole plant medicine like cannabis to treat mental health budgets in our nation with priority over more unjust law enforcement and interdiction.
I live in Portland, OR and went to two dispensaries today. Prices are very reasonable and the several dispensaries I popped into were well organized. The word on the street is that people creating regulations are very mindful of dispensary owners, and growers. From my perspective they seem to be generally respectful of this pre-existing industry. It’s all still a bit of a clusterf*ck, but kudos to going for it. A work in progress, but well on its way.
Gun violence soils historic day– coincidence? Or did some GothFraud media masterpiece a la “Man Shooterin’ Kennedydead” motivate/manipulate the latest Hamletoid Harvey nutcase to smear the “Oregon/Marijuana” pages on google?
Try drawing this: a pistol broken in half, out of the space-between a rieferlief upgrowing, slogan: “Ban Guns– Not Ganja!”
@ Julian,
You said, ” . . . So this guy lives right across the bay from Uruguay, the first country to legalize marijuana, it doesn’t cause violence or blow up, but then… Hey actually that might be the problem… Legal marijuana or not Uruguay’s socioeconomic inequality is so badly disproportionate that even Syrian refugees are like “Let me out! We can’t find work,” just a year later. Ok, so bad example. . . . ”
Julian, where do you get this terrible picture of Uruguay’s socioeconomic situation? All the information I see on the ‘net shows Uruguay’s socioeconomic situation as among the very best in the entirety of South America.
The “Gini Index” or “Coefficient,” according to Wikipedia, “is a measure of statistical dispersion intended to represent the income distribution of a nation’s residents, and is the most commonly used measure of inequality. It was developed by the Italian statistician and sociologist Corrado Gini and published in his 1912 paper “Variability and Mutability” . . .
According to The Council of Hemispheric Affairs, “Uruguay, at .433 in 2009, and Venezuela, at .412 in 2008, recorded lower Gini coefficients than the United States (.468) in 2009. [MY NOTE–the lower the index number the better.] Peru (.469), El Salvador (.478), Ecuador (.500) and Costa Rica (.501) all recorded Gini coefficients within range of the United States, and in 2009, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay each had lower poverty rates than the United States . . . ”
According to Wikipedia again, the USA’s Gini coefficient was 41.1 in 2010, and Uruguay’s 41.3 in 2012. Brazil, by contrast, according to that same chart was 52.7 in 2012, and Argentina’s 43.6 in 2011. I just wonder where you get your terrible socioeconomic picture about Uruguay? From what I see, they have legal recreational MJ, AND one of the best socioeconomic situations in our hemisphere!
@Mexweed,
Unfortunately, the “ban guns” argument weakens the much needed attention for marijuana to redirect our response to violence by investing fairly taxed marijuana revenue on public and drug education and mental health, all of which Oregon is doing. It would be very useful if not necessary to conduct a study on mental health and violence in Oregon before and after legalization with all of these investments in public education and mental health in place as revenue increases. I bet some good green violence decreases. Some LEAD programs and certified councilors recommending whole plant cannabis wouldn’t hurt either.
@Evening Bud,
Thank you for challenging my post, my friend, over such a contentious and interesting subject; As you can see from the link below, Uruguay is an expensive place to live, even as it is the most “socioeconomically equal.” My comment was based largely on the following article that mentions Syrian refugees who are unable to make the $1,500USD a month that their embassy promised could made in Uruguay.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/07/us-uruguay-refugees-idUSKCN0R72C720150907
Perhaps those who are accounted for are from a higher income; According to the following link, many who live in Uruguay are incapable of affording such an expensive cost of living, and that is why I call the Pope’s socioeconomic perspective a bit misaligned with the world’s general average, which is important if it is true, because Uruguay’s economic policies could have a marginal affect on the Pope’s perspective on marijuana policy world wide. As one Congressman once told me; “Dead People don’t vote.”
With that said, of course Uruguay enjoys the best “socioeconomic equality,” because Italian, German and Spanish immigrants long ago killed all of the indigenous people who lived off of the land, so there is very little base, self-sustained population to compare to in statistics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_in_Uruguay
http://www.nearshoreamericas.com/infographic-income-inequality-latin-america/
While the President of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, designates %90 of his income to the “poor” of Uruguay, a great and rare socialist agenda that you refer to, the reality persists that the far majority of the people live in poverty while very few live in absolute wealth because the cost of living is too high. Additionally, there is little “socioeconomic inequality” in Uruguay because all of the “poor” people were killed when Europeans arrived during the 1830’s.
This is a very important factor when the Pope, who influences so many people across the globe, has a perspective that is influenced by such a small country in the southern hemisphere that is “socioeconomically unequal.”
It pains me to recite the dark history of such a seemingly fair nation, mostly Italians, Germans and Spanish, that invaded those lands, and wiped out ALL of the indigenous peoples, only to create one of the most socioeconomically unstable regions on earth, if we are to include the numbers of recently deceased.
Argentines and people from Uruguay are still sensitive to this subject; highly aware that their existence on earth belongs to a race of so many people that their own ancestors killed; There exists a bit of nostalgia for the gaucho, or the Indian cowboy that is all that is left of what was once a fierce people of the plains.
This guilt must translate into the Pope’s interpretation of the world, where the living ratio of “socioeconomic stability” never accounts for those nations who have so recently died upon the lands we still harvest.
Sorry, Evening Bud, I didn’t mean to get so preachy; I suppose we are all living in the debt of our ancestors that died in the lands we are born, marry, bare children and die upon, whether they were killed or died of natural causes, (Which does happen to American Indians as well).
I guess what I’m getting at is that “socioeconomic equality” is a fairly relative term which depends upon a number of factors, including but not limited to 1). The ability to grow weed outdoors without considerable loss from pests, collateral climate and cost of fences, 2) The number of people living comfortably within the nation’s average cost of living and quality of life and 3) Fair representation from small farmers who strive to live sustainably off of their land.
And for South Americans, that last part is huge, considering that Europeans first encountered the vast Amazon fruit and mast as “wild” when in fact American Indians had been cultivating these trees with a rotating soil fertilization of slash and burn for thousands of years.
A great deal of the “equality” in question depends on fairly established taxes, not just dead people or their priceless agricultural practices, but nonetheless I felt obliged to point out this social indiscrepancy in Uruguay. 😉
All these good things about pot, you think we’re just making it up? Mary Jane is THE SAFEST DRUG!!! Sugar is more dangerous looking at the addictivness and the diabetes potential. People wanna do it and it makes money. Need I say more?
@ Julian,
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I did not know much of what you’ve written. I did know that Uruguay was a very small country in terms of size and population, and had some inkling that much of its former indigenous populations had been severely reduced.
I suppose I was enamored with their former president, his views and humble lifestyle. I’d also read that he’d given large tracts of land back to the still-existing indigenous peoples, but for the life of me can no longer find that info on the ‘net. Funny how some stories or news seems to virtually disappear from the ‘net sometimes.
I will have to delve deeper into the situation in that country; certainly, I will continue to follow the news coming out of there, try to discern fact from fiction.
South America, in general, seems to have swung somewhat to the left in this last couple of decades, to my surprise (and notwithstanding their history of genocide of indigenous populations, which, of course, is very similar to our own here in the USA).
I’m, of course, still very happy that they’ve chosen to legalize Rec pot, and hope that other South American (and Central American) countries will follow.
Thanks again for the thoughtful reply. Best wishes, Evening Bud