On Friday, March 17, I got up at 4:30 am, left the house at 6:30, and arrived in Salem before 8. Was I super eager to get to Salem for… uh, whatever it is Salem is so well known for? No, friends, I was dressed in my finery to lobby my elected officials on the dangers of balloon animals and children. Wait, no… sorry. I was there to lobby for cannabis.
This is a challenging time for Oregon. We are staring down a $1.6 billion budget shortfall, and any potential solutions are going to cause some real pain and suffering. At the time of my visit to the State Capitol, the legislature was wrestling with nearly 3,000 House and Senate bills, so I wasn’t exactly expecting a laser-like focus on my specific, cannabis-related concerns.
That said, I was pleasantly surprised at the number of meetings I was able to take with representatives and their staffs, and the genuine interest and thoughtful questions that each get-together produced.
There are numerous upcoming bills relating to the jazz tobacco, but I was there to specifically advocate for one of them and against two others. If you can stay awake through the rest of this wonkfest of a column, here are the positions I’m taking on each.
