You Might Be Able to Legally Purchase Weed by October

Portland Mercury:

Straight arrows rejoice! Legal pot sales may be coming to Oregon a lot sooner than expected. The joint House and Senate committee that's been hashing out recreational marijuana laws this legislative session just unanimously passed a bill that would let non-medical pot users buy up to a quarter-ounce of pot a day from Portland's ever-growing stable of medical dispensaries. If it's voted into law by the full house and senate, and signed by Gov. Kate Brown, you'd be able to purchase dispensary pot in October. That's not as early as some had hoped. There was another version of the bill considered that would have allowed dispensary purchases starting July 1, when pot becomes legal in Oregon. "It seems to me having the regulated system up and running earlier would be better," Sen. Floyd Prozanski (D-Eugene) said before this morning's vote. Prozanski said the system legislators appear ready to roll out is not the environment voters thought they were approving in November. "We're not giving them a legal path to what is legal next week." "I can't argue with that," said Sen. Ginny Burdick (D-Portland), co-chair of the committee. Still, October is much sooner than if recreational users had to wait for the OLCC to trundle out a recreational pot shop system at some point next year. Here's the bill. The idea for earlier sales was first proposed by Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli (R-John Day). "On July 1, Oregonians will be able to possess, grow and gift marijuana...but they won't be able to legally buy it," Ferrioli told the Oregonian back in April, shortly after suggesting a medical dispensary solution. At the time, Ferroli's colleagues on the pot committee were interested but wary. Now, they're on board. Whether or not that enthusiasm extends to the rest of the legislature remains to be seen. Legislators in the Oregon House have so far been happy to go with the pot committee's work. They resoundingly passed a bill earlier this week that will make it easier for 15 Oregon counties who voted against last year's Measure 91 to outlaw pot businesses. It's a strange bifurcation, one that a lobbyist pushing for the special treatment could only find one prior instance of in Oregon history. The bill committee members passed today would allow cities or counties to create laws barring early pot sales—though that's not going to hamper you, Portlander. Beyond purchasing dried marijuana, the bill would also let non-medical patients buy up to four non-flowering pot plants. That's because Oregonians 21 and up are allowed to grow up to four marijuana plants in their homes, but there's currently no legal way to come by those plants. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

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