I recently had an enjoyable time at the NW Cannabis Club, one of the only non-residential places in Portland where you can—for a membership fee—legally smoke weed. In a recent column, I decried the lack of other such establishments and laid blame at the feet of the OLCC and the city of Portland, because they make the rules.
Then I got an email from Brandon Goldner, coordinator for the Cannabis Program at the City of Portland. Was he writing to tell me not to worry—that he was from the gubbermint, and here to help?
Actually, yes! And he wanted to help me get my facts straight. Goldner clarified the city’s position of several matters, which led to us discussing other common misperceptions about where the city of Portland stands on consumption of cannabis outside the home.
CANNABUZZ: What am I getting wrong?
GOLDNER: The City of Portland doesn’t have any rules on the books about where or where not to consume cannabis; more importantly, Portland supports spaces for social consumption of cannabis! Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Chloe Eudaly wrote a letter in support of Senate Bill 307, a 2016 Oregon bill that would have created a framework for social consumption. Staff from the city’s Cannabis Program testified in support of SB 307 as well. We want legal, regulated cannabis consumption spaces for consumers in our community and to encourage cannabis tourism.
While we may be limited by state law and administrative rule, we can provide guidance on what’s legal today, and advocate lawmakers to change what can be legal tomorrow. This is also an issue of equity, as those who were most likely to receive citations for consuming cannabis in public were communities of color.
So why aren’t there more cannabis clubs?
