Salem, OR: Election officials on Friday affirmed that proponents of a statewide ballot measure to allow authorized patients to legally obtain medical cannabis from state-licensed facilities has qualified for the 2010 November ballot.
Under the proposed measure, private facilities would be able to obtain permits to engage in the production and not-for-profit distribution of marijuana for medical purposes. Both dispensaries and private producers would be subject to inspection and auditing by the health department. Dispensaries will not be allowed to operate within 1,000 feet of any school or within residential neighborhoods.
The ballot measure is sponsored by Voter Power and the Coalition for Patients Rights.
Oregon voters initially legalized the physician-authorized use of marijuana in 1998. Patients may grow their own marijuana under the law or designate a caregiver to cultivate for them.
Voters in Arizona, California, and South Dakota will also decide on statewide marijuana law reform initiatives this fall.
For more information, please visit: http://coalitionforpatientsrights2010.com/.