The Oregon Legislature Failed to Pass These Very Important Pot Laws

THE SPECIAL SESSION of the Oregon Legislature has ended-all 35 days of it-and they won't be meeting again until next year. Some bills about cannabis moved through the legislative process, made none the easier by Republicans being childish dicks and slowing down things by forcing Democrats to read aloud every bill. (Guess which party drinks, and which one smokes weed.)

What passed? I was prepared to write an entire column answering that question, but it turns out my cannabis columnist colleague Vince Sliwoski has already written a fine rundown, because great pot minds think alike. Check out his write-up in last week's Mercury ["Ask a Pot Lawyer," March 9].

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After reading the never-ending series of articles about marijuana's legalization and the impact on our county, my dad's words echo in my ears: "There is a reason they call it 'dope,' son. Because it turns you into one."

From people who burn their houses extracting THC, down to North Medford students who are oblivious to its harmful effects on their still-developing brains, it is clear that my very wise father was right.

Tracy Van Hee

Eagle Point

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OLCC Members Toured Pot Grows Thursday to Learn About Security Measures

Tall fences are sprouting all over the Rogue Valley as pot growers gear up for tough new security measures required by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission this year.

OLCC officials toured the area Thursday to learn what they might expect during inspections - and in the process they learned that the inspections themselves might help spread russet mites from crop to crop.

"A lot of people were hit hard last summer by mites," said Brent Kenyon, who owns The Wharf in Medford and has been an active member of the cannabis community. "Some lost a quarter-million dollars worth of crops last year."

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Medford's wall against pot dispensaries crumbled last year, and cannabis entrepreneurs have wasted no time getting licenses from the state to open medical marijuana stores.

"It's good to have quite a few stores in town," said Nina Crawford, a 21-year-old bud tender at the newly opened Kush Gardens at 1067 Court St.

Kush Gardens is the second legal store to open. Patients Helping Patients was the first legal dispensary in Medford, but the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program has issued five licenses for businesses within city limits. Medford is already surrounded by a half-dozen cannabis dispensaries. In Jackson County, 22 licenses have been issued to dispensaries, though not all are open for business.

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HIGH TIMES and their events are having a rough go of it lately. The all-things-weed publication had to withdraw from Washington and Oregon last year after failing to secure locations for their Cannabis Cup events. And amid complaints, their annual 4/20 party had to move to a new location in Colorado. You might be wondering: When will the long-running pot magazine be able to hold an event with thousands of revelers consuming cannabis openly in Oregon?

They did already, nearly 20 years ago. And I was there.

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Affordability, availability and more potent forms of marijuana are spurring alarming trends in pot use among teenagers, law enforcement and school officials say.

Not only are more youths being cited for minor in possession, but how they view and use the drug is shifting as marijuana becomes more socially acceptable - and legal.

"Pot's chill," says Kate, a 17-year-old North Medford High School student whose name has been changed to protect her anonymity. "It just chills you and opens your eyes. I don't see it as a bad thing."

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The bill, which clarifies several aspects of hemp cultivation in Oregon, now goes to Gov. Kate Brown

The Oregon Legislature has approved a bill to aid the state's fledgling hemp industry, including a local operation near Murphy.

The measure now goes to Gov. Kate Brown for her signature.

Among provisions in the bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Carl Wilson, R-Grants Pass, is one that addresses a concern that male hemp plants might cross-pollinate and harm the potency of nearby female marijuana plants.

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PORTLAND, Ore. - The owner of the World Famous Cannabis Cafe announced she will close her doors next week after another warning by public health officials that the establishment violates indoor air rules.

The cafe will host its final Stoner Bingo session Sunday, said Madeline Martinez, a longtime marijuana legalization advocate and owner of the business, which offers people 21 and older a place to socialize and use cannabis.

She doesn't want to face fines for violating the law, she said.

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Canna Juice Cures What Ails Ya

There are many ways to consume cannabis for recreational purposes. There's smoking, vaping, dabs, topicals, suppositories, edibles, and sex lube, to name a few. (Actually, that might just about cover it. If you know some other way, I'd love to hear about it.)

But there's one way to use the cannabis plant that you maybe haven't thought of. It's possible to juice cannabis, and it's good for you even if it doesn't get you high. (Cue the sound of numerous readers clicking off this page.)

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Bill Still Needs to Clear Oregon Senate

The Oregon House of Representatives has passed a bill that would grandfather in existing medical marijuana grows on rural residential land as long as the grows meet certain restrictions.

The bill still needs to clear the Oregon Senate and be signed into law by Gov. Kate Brown, Mary Beth Williams, chief of staff for Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ore., said on Friday.

Rapidly changing marijuana legislation in the Oregon Legislature has been keeping local officials, growers and neighbors off balance as state legislators meet in a short session this year that is expected to wrap up in early March.

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A bill pending in the Oregon Legislature would bar medical marijuana grows on land zoned for rural residential use - a change that would be welcomed by neighbors upset over nearby grows but decried by people already growing medical marijuana in those zones in Jackson County.

A vote on Senate Bill 1598, which was in committee Thursday, could happen within the next several days as the Oregon Legislature pushes to wrap up this year's short session in early March.

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Symposium to Educate Pot Growers About Water and Environmental Laws

Marijuana cultivators flocking to Southern Oregon to grow pot know pot farms are now legal, but it doesn't mean they know how to farm pot legally.

The Josephine County Soil and Water District is offering a crash-course in environmental laws and other aspects of marijuana farming to keep growers from running afoul of laws protecting streams, fish and wildlife.

More than 100 people have signed up for the one-day seminar Thursday at the Josephine County Fairgrounds, where there is room for 1,000 people who want to bone up on water-quality, water-rights and diversion laws, fisheries protection and other rules that regulate agriculture, including cannabis cultivation.

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I SPENT SEVERAL MONTHS foolishly forgoing my regular massages. This came with a price-namely, some serious pain issues after my LMT worked out the kinks and knots I had neglected for so long. It was bad, people. So bad, I had to skip a concert I had just bought tickets for. So bad, I was unable to turn my neck without pain, or shrug, or really do much of anything that required movement.

I knew I had stumbled into a new territory of pain, because a vape session with some high-THC indica gave me scant relief. As I don't tolerate opioids or most any painkillers terribly well, I was considering a megadose of edibles when I recalled receiving a product sample that seemed designed for just this occasion: a THC-infused pain patch.

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Marijuana (cannabis) is a medicine. Edibles, tinctures, creams and oils are potent medicines and should be recommended by a physician who understands their properties and side effects.

Allowing a person to get anything they want at a dispensary is the same as allowing them to go to a pharmacy and get medicine without seeing a doctor or a pharmacist.

Our bodies, just like the cannabis plant, make cannabinoids (major ingredients) and we have receptors for them everywhere including the brain, blood system, liver, lungs, ovaries, kidneys, etc. The cannabinoids in marijuana are very therapeutic.

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Lawmakers in the Oregon Senate are taking a rational approach to the regulation of marijuana by blending the long-established medical marijuana program with newly legal recreational sales.

Lawmakers last year agreed to allow existing medical marijuana dispensaries to sell to recreational customers on a temporary basis while the Oregon Liquor Control Commission prepares to license recreational retailers later this year. Senate Bill 1511, which cleared committee on Tuesday, would allow those recreational retailers to produce, process and sell medical marijuana products to cardholders tax-free.

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I SAY, "Weed News Roundup"! And you say, "Cool, let's do it." Because you went to a private school that didn't have a sports team with call-and-response cheers. Way to go, Waldorf.

Ida-No, You've Got to Be Kidding-Last year, two very stoned and stupid young men, driving from Las Vegas to Montana in a vehicle filled with 20 pounds of cannabis, made a stop in Idaho. Not for french fries, but to call the cops on themselves, asking to be arrested. No, really. Here's a portion of the transcript of their 911 call:

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It's a message as old as the War on Drugs: If there's anything you need to know about marijuana, just ask a cop.

For some members of the Massachusetts state legislature, faced with the possibility that voters will legalize marijuana in November's election, the old playbook is the only one they have. So they invited some police in to explain drugs to them.

The results were as predictable as a middle school D.A.R.E. assembly. The cops, including an officer from Colorado traveling the country warning about the danger of legalizing recreational marijuana use, advised Massachusetts to "Just Say No."

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IT'S VALENTINE'S DAY, which can be difficult for single people. (Who are only alone because something is wrong with them. WHAT? I'm right. You know I'm right. Think of all your single friends, and name two who aren't that way because of a deep, twisted, untreatable inner flaw. Yikes.)

But even for those of us who are happily coupled-and don't hate-there are expectations forced upon us that this has to be the most romantic, multi-orgasmic holiday of the year, right after Arbor Day or when a new dispensary opens down the block.

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A state task force has recommended that Oregon create an independent institute for research into the medical uses of marijuana. The reasons for doing so are sound, and lawmakers should follow the recommendation. But not right away.

The task force, created by the 2015 Legislature under the auspices of the Oregon Health Authority, issued its report Monday. The report recommends creating the Oregon Institute for Cannabis Research. The institute would conduct studies both within the university system and outside it, and would raise private funds as well as relying on a dedicate source of state funding.

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The Oregon Department of Agriculture stopped the sale of a pesticide used by marijuana growers because one of its active ingredients is not listed on the product label.

The agency says the product, Guardian, identifies itself as 100 percent natural and lists its active ingredients as cinnamon oil and citric acid. A state lab, however, found the presence of abamectin, a widely used insecticide.

A company official said the product has been pulled nationwide.

Times staff and news services

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