PORTLAND, Oregon – Oregon folks are second in line to look at legalizing marijuana for recreational use, and a group is gathering signatures so it gets on the November ballot. California was the first to consider recreational use of marijuana. There are enough signatures presently for a vote in the next election this fall. What the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act says specifically is it would“legalize the sale, possession and personal private cultivation of marijuana.”
The Act maintains that those who grow and those who sell marijuana would have to have a state license to do so and only sell the drug in cannabis-only stores. California led the way to passage of medical marijuana laws, with Oregon following suit in 1998. Presently there are 24,000 people who use medical marijuana. The Oregonian has had a number of articles on marijuana bars where people gather to purchase and use pot. Presently an individual can only legally secure cannabis with a medical condition considered debilitating by a doctor. Organizers will start collecting signatures Saturday.
Kyndall Mason with the DemocracyResources.com organization said in a statement given to the press yesterday, “Oregon has a long history of laws that conflict with federal law, that includes the Death with Dignity Act,” Mason said. “The feds have (recently) given states more autonomy, specifically regarding medical marijuana laws,” she said.
At a time the Obama administration has tread lightly on the Federal Government’s interaction with the states on the matter of marijuana, a number of other states are reported to be interested, in addition to Oregon. These include Washington State, Michigan, Montana and Maine.
Do people think Oregon will pass the measure to legalize marijuana. Mason thinks it will and concludes: “As the years have gone by, a lot of people are kind of fed up with the drug war.”
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