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Proposals to charge higher income taxes on the wealthy were trailing in Illinois but leading in Arizona, where the new revenue would fund pay raises for teachers and other school personnel. In Florida, voters approved a measure gradually increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026. Oregon voters also approved a measure making the state the first to legalize the therapeutic use of psychedelic mushrooms. “Today’s victory is a landmark declaration that the time has come to stop criminalizing people for drug use,” said Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which backed the measure. That brings to 15 the number of US states that have approved the drug for recreational purposes since 2012. “Punishing people for drug use and addiction is costly and hasn’t worked. More drug treatment, not punishment, is a better approach,” the groups said in a statement.
A cottage industry of laboratories, including one in Portland that employs a chemist, screen samples for pesticide exposure and THC, the component of marijuana that gives users a high. A handful of lawyers specialize in advising entrepreneurs on marijuana-related businesses in Oregon. The cannabis measures are also aimed at addressing the consequences of the war on drugs, with laws that have disproportionately targeted Black and brown people for arrests and jail time. Arizona’s law allows people with pot convictions to petition courts to have their records cleared. Ballot measures also can’t be as comprehensive as bills produced by a legislature and governor. A legislature could, at least in theory, enact many of the necessary reforms in a single piece of legislation.
In reality, only 1 in 5 people are in jail or prison right now for drug offenses, and the majority of those in state prisons, where most of America’s incarcerated population is held, are in for violent offenses. What sets America’s massive prison population apart isn’t so much its drug war but punitive practices elsewhere, such as its relatively long prison sentences for even minor crimes. But now Oregon has declared a truce of sorts, and it’s showing the rest of the US what an end to the drug war might look like. Under Measure 110, possession of small amounts of illicit drugs in Oregon would be considered a civil violation and more money will be earmarked for addiction treatment and other services for people with addiction disorders. Arizona’s measure legalizes possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for adults and sets up a licensing system for retail sales, which could start in March. The state already has medical-marijuana dispensaries in operation.
One of Eastern Oregon’s top craft cannabis boutique operations, Kind Leaf goes big when it comes to flower. Drive north from California’s Emerald Triangle and soon enough you’ll hit Talent, Oregon, and Green Valley Wellness. Shoppers can expect some seriously sweet promotions on all types of cannabis products. A state responsible for a sizeable slice of the West Coast’s natural splendor, it’s safe to say Oregon is an OG when it comes to progressive pot reform. She spends most of her time in Florida while her husband travels back and forth to Oregon when needed.
Questions about the Oregon Health Plan?
Further, patients are allowed to cultivate up to six mature cannabis plants and 12 immature plants. Patients can also designate a home grower, but they must notify the OMMP with details about their personal supplier. Oregon does not offer reciprocity to out-of-state medical marijuana patients, but visitors can always look at the Oregon dispensary list to find a retail cannabis store nearby.
A 2010 study for the Rand Drug Policy Research Center found production costs range from a low of $1.25 an ounce for marijuana grown outdoors to a high of $25 an ounce for indoor plants. Charging memberships, the career prosecutor said, is “clear profit” from the sale of marijuana. McDonnell said the provision in the law allowing growers to be reimbursed isn’t regulated. “The problem is the law is so vague, there are so many loopholes. It’s hard to determine.” The employees balked but relented when Schrunk offered to return with a search warrant.
While she and her family live in Florida, they fell in love with Oregon after visiting a few times. Cambron pleaded guilty to delivery of marijuana and is serving three years of probation. “Someone has got to make a decision about what is the most important,” he said. “If all of a sudden we devoted 25 percent of our prosecutorial resources to marijuana dispensaries without a damn good reason, you ought go be running me out of town on a rail.” “The main thing is being in Multnomah County,” said Tony Merton, a 32-year-old former real estate agent who runs Rip City Remedies on Southeast Division Street, where marijuana patients can choose from up to 40 strains of the drug. Add to that cash-strapped law enforcement agencies swamped with pressing public safety concerns and you’ve got an environment ripe for dispensaries.
Oregon’s voters have forced significant reforms to end the war on drugs. First they decriminalize hard drugs and next they legalize medicinal narcotics. Suddenly every toothless dirt bag will have a sore foot and get issued a medical meth card.
America’s war on drugs has failed. Oregon is showing a way out.
Cambron told The Oregonian that the money patients paid for marijuana went back to the growers. She said the place was staffed by up to 20 volunteers and that she was never paid a salary. Growers paid her a fee, but that went toward renting a large safe where she stashed marijuana each night after closing. But Price and other marijuana establishments seem to count more on the public’s shoulder-shrugging attitude about pot. After all, while Oregon voters soundly rejected a marijuana dispensary initiative two years ago, nearly two-thirds of Multnomah County voters supported it.
The Oregon drug initiative will allow people arrested with small amounts of hard drugs to avoid going to trial, and possible jail time, by paying a $100 fine and attending an addiction recovery program. The treatment centers will be funded by revenues from legalized marijuana, which was approved in Oregon several years ago. A nationwide push to relax drug laws scored significant victories on 30 days no alcohol what to expect, benefits & safety Tuesday as four states voted to legalize marijuana, and Oregon became the first state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of hard drugs. Oregon, like other states that have relaxed their drug laws, didn’t do so because political leaders woke up to the problem and pushed serious reforms. The three major steps Oregon has taken, instead, were all done through ballot initiatives.
- Also Tuesday, four US states — New Jersey, Montana, South Dakota and Arizona — voted to legalize recreational marijuana, which remains illegal at the federal level.
- The hope is that more emphasis on public health, through treatment and harm reduction , will address the problems caused by drug use that criminalization failed to address.
- South Dakota voters approved proposals to legalize both medical and recreational marijuana, a major shift after the state overwhelmingly rejected a medical pot measure four years ago.
- The measure creates an exemption to a state law that would have made drivers eligible for benefits that come with being company employees.
- For $20 a month, Oregon medical marijuana patients could buy up to an ounce of marijuana at a time.
Reputed for its knowledgeable staff and reasonable pricing, High Quality prides itself on providing friendly, helpful answers to every question. And with a menu currently 294 items strong, High Quality has earned its name and place as the state of Oregon’s top rated dispensary, according to Leafly users. Leona and her husband decided to open the dispensary in Northeast Portland.They found that Oregon was more progressive, free, and open to cannabis as a whole versus those in Florida. Also, the cost to get a similar business up and running in Florida was very high. Before opening last year, he invited a Portland police officer, a Multnomah County deputy district attorney and the crime prevention coordinator for the neighborhood association to come by. Price said the group was more worried about keeping the business safe than in the pot.
In his skinny suit, T-shirt, and wing tips with no socks, he looks the part. It’s a low-slung brick building that used to be a gas station in the former mill town of Athol, population 12,000. It still could be mistaken for one, except for the bright green marijuana leaf balloons hanging from the ceiling, the pre-rolled joints under the counter, and the rainbow of artisanal glass pipes on top.
Oregon becomes first US state to decriminalize possession of hard drugs
Some other states, including Arizona and Montana, meanwhile appeared poised in early results to legalize recreational marijuana in line with a trend sweeping the country in recent years. Oregon voters also approved a measure making it the first state to legalize the therapeutic use of psychedelic mushrooms. “Today’s victory is a landmark declaration that the time has come to stop criminalizing people for drug use,” said Kassandra Frederique, the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which backed the measure. The AP called the races hours after polls closed, and early results appeared to show wide margins in favor of legalization. Earlier this month, Schrunk visited one of the Portland area’s marijuana businesses. He and his senior drug prosecutor, Mark McDonnell, drove around the county in Schrunk’s Subaru, armed with a list of a half-dozen businesses where patients can pay for marijuana.
The legalization of recreational marijuana was approved by voters in Montana, and medical marijuana won approval in Mississippi. “Treated me as a friend even though we just met.” Licensed for both medical and recreational sales, Apothecaria has also earned praise for its clean, welcoming aesthetics and always affable and knowledgeable staff. Some experts have also pushed against the notion, perpetuated by books like Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow, that the war on drugs is a main driver of mass incarceration.
At some point, America will have to do more than ballot initiatives
Several states also were considering measures affecting voting rights. Louisiana voters passed a measure asserting there is no state constitutional right transitional and sober living house in boston, ma to abortion — something that could come into play if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
From there, recreational narcotics will be legalized and crack dispersers will go up right next to dare care centers. Earlier this year, Oregon decriminalized leftist violence, rioting, and looting so it makes perfect sense the they’ve done the same thing with hard drugs like crack and meth. Everybody knows it’s more fun to burn down a federal courthouse when you’re whacked out of your gourd on heroin and now it’s possible. It’s also a lot more fun to be in Antifa with all of their criminal activities now completely legal in Oregon.
Voters in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota passed state ballot measures to legalize recreational cannabis use, major victories in the movement to undo the harms of cannabis criminalization. Cannabis news, reviews and education resources from black women, including artist spotlights, poetry, community support and—when the public health crisis abates—events. That the Obama administration decided to take a hands-off approach to states legalizing, and President Donald Trump’s administration followed a similar model, is a matter of executive discretion, not a reflection of changes in federal law. That means a future administration, or less cooperative federal law enforcement agents, could still crack down on drugs in Oregon and elsewhere.
Users can find a gram of cannabis for as little as $5, though high-quality or rare strains can cost as much as $20 per gram from some dispensaries. Products like edibles and concentrates typically cost twice as much as dry flower. The drug measures were among 120 proposed state laws and constitutional amendments that were on the ballot in 32 states. They touched on an array of issues that have roiled politics in recent years — voting rights, racial inequalities, abortion, taxes and education, to name a few. However, opponents, including several local groups working on addiction policy, said the measure undermines local efforts and does not guarantee a set budget for treatment.
A Quick-Hit Guide to Black-Owned Cannabusinesses in Oregon
Despite the historic nature of Oregon’s moves, some experts and advocates continue to caution that more action is needed to roll back the state’s — and the US’s — war on drugs. A decade ago, recreational marijuana was illegal in all 50 states. Voters allowed it in Colorado and Washington in 2012, sparking a movement that already included 11 states and Washington, D.C., heading into Tuesday’s elections. Supporters hope additional victories, especially in conservative states, could build pressure for Congress to legalize marijuana nationwide. The proposal was endorsed by the Oregon Democratic Party, as well as some nurses and physician associations. The Oregon Republican Party had denounced the drug decriminalization measure as radical, and some prosecutors called it reckless.
It polls extremely well, with some surveys showing that even a majority of Republicans, who are typically more skeptical of bigger reforms, back legalization. That’s how you get the situation in Montana and South Dakota this year, where state voters simultaneously picked Trump for president and elected to legalize marijuana — while both Trump and Biden opposed legalization are alcoholism and drug addiction disabilities at the federal level. Earlier this year the city of Portland voted to defund the police department by radically slashing its budget. Before that, the liberals in charge decided that rioting, looting, and assaulting people with different opinions was totally cool. Now that hard drugs have been decriminalized things are going to get real interesting.
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