My columns with the fewest number of “likes” are ones that deal with cannabis policy. However, the least sexy topics—like the wonkery surrounding the bills that pertain to how we produce, sell, and consume cannabis in Oregon—are of far greater importance than my hot take on the new OG Purple Ghost Rider Cookie Kush. (“It tasted of pot, and I felt high.”)
With that in mind, let’s talk about two bills in the current Oregon legislature: Senate Bill 1057, which just became law, and House Bill 2198, which is under consideration as of this writing and will most likely pass. These bills could mean some big changes, good and bad. HB 2198’s primary function, for example, would be to change the official name of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission.
SB 1057 specifies, among other things, that an Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) cardholder can have six medical cannabis plants as permitted by OMMP rules, in addition to the four additional plants allowed under Measure 91, the 2014 ballot measure that legalized cannabis in the state. This is progress, because some medical patients use FECO (full extract cannabis oil) daily, and growing what’s needed to produce a year’s supply is more than most can harvest from six plants.
SB 1057 also allots certain OLCC-licensed growers to tack on an additional 10 percent of their existing canopy square footage to produce cannabis for medical use, as long as they donate 75 percent of the crop for free. I know recreational growers who would love to grow for medical patients, and this will allow them to do so at no cost to the patient. So far, so good.
But then there’s an amendment that allows select medical growers, if they meet certain requirements as laid out in House Bill 2198, to transfer up to 20 pounds of their crop to a recreational wholesaler or processor. Does that sound fair? It’s not.
