Home » Marijuana » In OR Recreational Marijuana Legal July 1st – But You Can’t Sell It?
That’s right folks. Come July 1, 2015 you may legally possess up to 8 ounces of marijuana in Oregon for recreational use. However, the voter approved law did not implement how this law would regulate the sale and distribution of marijuana. This creates an interesting quagmire, where residents can grow their own, but technically, there is not a mechanism for licensed sale and distribution.
When Oregon voters approved Measure 91 in November 2014, legalizing recreational marijuana possession, they left the job of writing rules for pot shops to the Legislature and the state liquor control agency, which so far haven’t gotten it all figured out. So come July 1, users won’t have a legal way to buy what they can use legally.
SO WHEN THE HELL ARE THEY GOING TO MAKE IT LEGAL TO SELL WHAT IS ALREADY LEGAL?
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission is writing rules for growing and selling legal pot. It plans to accept applications from prospective farmers January 1, 2016. Retail sales could start in early fall. Last week, the Legislature’s joint marijuana committee voted to start retail sales sooner, by Oct. 1 this year, by going through the existing medical marijuana dispensaries, now more than 300 strong. Legislators say it will take a few months to write rules for the medical dispensaries to sell to non-patients, but the fall crop should be in by Oct. 1, ensuring enough for recreational and medical customers alike.
Some cities are restricting the placement of pot businesses or passing odor ordinances to thwart outdoor gardens. Also unhappy are advocates of hemp, the marijuana strain that doesn’t get you high but is good for clothing, food, rope and other utility purposes.
A legal pot measure will be on the ballot next year in Nevada. The national advocacy organization NORML reports there are plans or hopes for 2016 initiatives in four to six more states. In California proponents hope that shifting opinion and the presidential election will attract young voters. Votes are also possible in 2016: Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Arizona, and Missouri.
Many people may not realize this because it snuck under the radar, but so is the case in our nations capital, Washington DC. You can possess it, but you can’t sell it. So in theory, the politicians that rail against legalizing marijuana could step outside the doors of congress and blaze up a fatty on their way home. Hypocrisy much?
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT WITH POT – CALL LEGRANDE LAW!