The Oregon Weed Thread -Grows, News and Laws and Whatever

[Robrites]

Oregon Sees Consumption Rise, Arrests Plummet

Oregon Sees Consumption Rise, Arrests Plummet

When we first put humans into capsules and shot them into space, we weren’t exactly sure what would happen. So with electrodes and blood-pressure cuffs we meticulously tracked astronauts’ vital signs as they ventured into the unknown.

The same thing, in a sense, is happening in Oregon. As the state blasts into the cannabis frontier — recreational markets opened Oct. 1 — officials want to keep tabs on the vitals. This month the Oregon Health Authority published its first-ever report on cannabis use by residents, full of brightly colored charts and detailed demographic information. It’s meant to be a snapshot of attitudes and behaviors at the dawn of a new era.

“The purpose of this report was not to lay out any policy,” Oregon’s state health officer and epidemiologist, Katrina Hedberg, told Leafly. “The policy is being discussed, and I believe strongly that it’s important to ground that in data.”

Hedberg, who oversaw the report’s production, said at least one takeaway is clear: Oregon loves its cannabis. In the past decade, while consumption in the rest of the nation rose just a smidge, the percentage of Oregonians 25 and older who use cannabis regularly has more than doubled. It stands at 11 percent, according to the latest available numbers, much higher than the U.S. average of 7 percent. “There are different attitudes out here in the Pacific Northwest,” Hedberg said.

 

[Robrites]

Many dispensaries haven't registered to pay pot sales tax

Many dispensaries haven't registered to pay pot sales tax

About 1/3 haven't registered, few are set to remit taxes

SALEM, Ore. -

The clock is ticking for medical marijuana dispensaries selling recreational products. By rule, recreational marijuana tax payments are due monthly, starting in February.

"Before making their first payment, dispensaries must register with us so we can create a tax account for them," Marijuana Tax Program Manager John Galvin said in Friday's announcement. "It's the law."

As of now, 120 of the 309 dispensaries selling recreational marijuana, according to the Oregon Health Authority's public list, still haven't registered with Revenue. Also, only five of those 309 dispensaries have scheduled an appointment to remit the taxes they collected from customers in January.

Here's what dispensaries need to know to stay compliant:
* They must register with Revenue before they can make a payment.
* Payments are due monthly. For cash payments, they must call (503) 945-8050 for an appointment at least 48 hours in advance.
* Returns are due quarterly.
* They must issue a receipt to every customer, showing the retail price and tax paid.

Dispensaries can set the price for their products, but the price must be determined prior to calculating the 25 percent tax. The temporary 25 percent tax is applied to the retail price of all recreational marijuana products sold by dispensaries through December 31, 2016.

http://www.ktvz.com/news/many-dispensaries-havent-registered-to-pay-pot-sales-tax/37718612

 

[Robrites]

Oregon Coast Town of Gold Beach Getting a Marijuana Drive-Thru

Oregon Coast Town of Gold Beach Getting a Marijuana Drive-Thru

This probably won't last...


Would you like highs with that?

A rural Oregon coastal town is getting a recreational marijuana store with a drive-thru window.

Green Life Oregon plans to open this April in Gold Beach, a town in the economically-strapped timberlands of Curry County.

The owners bragged this morning to the local paper, the Curry Coastal Pilot, that Green Life Oregon's drive-thru window will be the nation's first.

That's almost certainly not true. A medical-marijuana dispensary in Olympia, Wash. added a drive-thru window in 2012. As recently as last September, Detroit officials were fretting about several dispensaries with weed drive-thrus.

"Dozens of dispensaries line 8 Mile and other major thoroughfares in the city," wrote the Detroit Free Press, "and a Free Press investigation found that at least three offer drive-through service."

Green Life Oregon can still likely claim a spot as Oregon's first weed drive-thru: The state's medical marijuana program had barred drive-up and cart sales of cannabis.

wweek.com

 

[Robrites]

Oregon lawmakers consider proposal to sell medical pot at recreational stores

Oregon lawmakers consider proposal to sell medical pot at recreational stores

SALEM — Recreational cannabis retailers would be able to sell tax-free medical marijuana to patients under a bill being considered by Oregon lawmakers.

Senate Bill 1511 would allow businesses with recreational licenses to produce, process and sell medical marijuana products. The provision is one of many in two separate marijuana bills moving through the Legislature's 35-day session, which began Monday.

The House-Senate legislative committee overseeing marijuana legalization held hearings Tuesday on both bills — which include a flurry of small and large proposals sought by marijuana industry representatives and medical marijuana advocates.

Oregon currently treats medical and recreational marijuana as separate enterprises. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which oversees the recreational market, has opposed mingling the two because the state does not track medical marijuana production. The proposed legislation, however, would require that any medical marijuana product sold in recreational stores be tracked the same as recreational cannabis, from seed to sale.

Rep. Ann Lininger, D-Lake Oswego, said the proposals reflect the committee's attempts to respond to problems raised by the industry and medical marijuana advocates. "I hope you are hearing us try to respond to concerns that we are hearing," she said.

Lininger, who co-chairs the committee, told the crowd that filled the hearing room, "I hope what you are hearing is we are making a good-faith effort to meet people's needs. We will try to get as far as we can in this session."

Among the changes being considered:

• Allowing recreational marijuana producers to continue to grow for medical marijuana patients.

• Allowing people 21 and older to buy marijuana-infused edibles and concentrates during the state's so-called early sales program. Under that program, medical marijuana dispensaries may sell to recreational consumers, but those sales have been limited to flowers, seeds and young marijuana plants.

• Reducing criminal penalties for some marijuana-related offenses, including the delivery and manufacturing marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school.

• Treating medical marijuana the same as prescription drugs when setting conditions for people on probation or post-prison supervision.

• Prohibiting marijuana retailers from collecting taxes from medical marijuana patients or their caregivers.

• Prohibiting the Oregon Health Authority, which oversees medical marijuana dispensaries, from imposing rules related to potency and packaging on products sold in medical marijuana dispensaries.

• Protecting marijuana social clubs and lounges from the state's clean air law. House Bill 4014, the other marijuana bill, would remove existing residency requirements for investors and owners of recreational marijuana businesses, a controversial issue that has divided the cannabis industry.

The Oregon Cannabis Association, which represents some growers, producers and retailers, has lobbied for removing the residency requirement, saying outside investment is essential to fuel the industry's growth. Others spoke in favor of keeping it during Tuesday's hearing.

"Oregonians have a chance with the business," said Wendy Reordan, a longtime medical marijuana grower in Williams. "I don't want big business to come in from out of state. I want us to have a chance."

State officials also said they are working to bring smaller growers into the regulated recreational marijuana program through a so-called micro-canopy license.

Rob Patridge, the liquor control commission chairman, said growers with fewer than 100 plants could apply for the license, which would come with lower fees and requirements.

Also on Tuesday, health authority officials said the agency has retreated from proposed medical marijuana production rules related to security and water use. Medical marijuana advocates, growers especially, balked at the rules, calling them costly and unnecessary, and saying they would drive out smaller producers.

André Ourso, manager of the health authority's medical marijuana program, said the agency replaced a rule for fencing and cameras with a broad requirement that leaves it to growers to "prevent public access and keep plants out of public view."

While growers are still required to follow laws related to water rights and pesticides, the agency removed those references from its rules.

-- Noelle Crombie

oregonian.com

 

[Bradley_Danks]

State officials also said they are working to bring smaller growers into the regulated recreational marijuana program through a so-called micro-canopy license.

Rob Patridge, the liquor control commission chairman, said growers with fewer than 100 plants could apply for the license, which would come with lower fees and requirements.

That's pretty sweet for the micro growers producing those small batches of premium quality

 

[Robrites]

That's pretty sweet for the micro growers producing those small batches of premium quality

I hear they are calling it the "bigdank" clause.

There has been a lot of bad news for small growers lately...maybe it won't be all bad.

 

[Robrites]

Cannabis conference opens in Portland this week

Cannabis conference opens in Portland this week

PORTLAND — About 2,500 prospective marijuana growers, investors, marketers and other entrepreneurs are expected to attend the Cannabis Collaborative Conference Feb. 3 and 4 at the Portland Expo Center.

The conference features more than 90 exhibitors and 80 speakers, highlighted by a keynote address by Cliff Robinson, the former Portland Trailblazers basketball player who now counts himself a cannabis activist.

Robinson, who was nicknamed “Uncle Cliffy” during his 18-year NBA career, reportedly plans to open a marijuana store called “Uncle Spliffy.” A spliffy is a marijuana cigarette.

The conference’s technology presentations will include the latest in growing, marketing and security products.

Conference organizers tout cannabis as the “fastest-growing agricultural businesses in North America” as more states legalize recreational and medical pot use.

The District of Columbia and four states, including Washington and Oregon, have legalized pot for recreational use by adults. Twenty-three states allow medical marijuana use. Seven states will vote this year on legalizing adult recreational use.

A conference news release said 2016 “will be the tipping point in which a majority of U.S. states transition from cannabis prohibition to some form of regulated legal market.”

A couple of cannabis industry consulting companies, New Frontier and ArcView Market Research, recently released a State of Legal Marijuana Markets report that said the industry is growing at a rate of 30 percent annually.

In 2015 it reached a estimated value of $5.4 billion. “Adult use” sales of pot grew from and estimated $351 million in 2014 to $998 million in 2015, a 184 percent increase, according to the groups.

Despite the growth, there doesn’t appear to be much room for conventional farmers in the pot market. Seth Crawford, an Oregon State University instructor who specializes in pot policy studies, told the Capital Press in 2015 that the entire Oregon demand could be met on 35 acres in Southern Oregon, and the entire U.S. demand could be grown on 5,000 acres.

Crawford said marijuana probably is Oregon’s most valuable crop, worth close to $1 billion. But he said conventional farmers would swamp the market if they started growing it, and quality might suffer.

capitalpress.com

 

[Bradley_Danks]

Despite the growth, there doesn’t appear to be much room for conventional farmers in the pot market. Seth Crawford, an Oregon State University instructor who specializes in pot policy studies, told the Capital Press in 2015 that the entire Oregon demand could be met on 35 acres in Southern Oregon, and the entire U.S. demand could be grown on 5,000 acres.

Crawford said marijuana probably is Oregon’s most valuable crop, worth close to $1 billion. But he said conventional farmers would swamp the market if they started growing it, and quality might suffer.

capitalpress.com

Not sure a large scale outdoor op is going to meet everyone's desires though. Well see

 

[CannaBossFarms]

Subscribing for the updates

Thank you for posting the information

 

[mfdoo0mm]

OLCC Announces Workshops for Cannabis Tracking System (CTS)

Licensees Required to Understand, Implement CTS

First Workshops Slated for Portland - February 3rd & 4th

January 26, 2015

Portland, Oregon – The Oregon Liquor Control Commission along with Franwell Metrc™, its vendor partner, will provide a series of workshops across the state of Oregon to give prospective licensees in Oregon’s Recreational Marijuana system an overview of the state’s Cannabis Tracking System (CTS). The workshops are the first of four phases of training that will be made available to prospective licensees and licensees.

The first workshops will be presented on Wednesday, January 3 and Thursday, January 4, 2016 at the Portland Expo Center. There will be two sessions each day; the morning session starts at 8:30 a.m., and the afternoon session begins at 1 p.m.

Additional workshops are scheduled in:

Ashland on Wednesday, February 10

Salem on Thursday, February 11

Eugene on Wednesday, February 17

Newport on Thursday, February 18


A workshop will be scheduled for the Bend area the week of February 22 – 26. Locations will be announced at a later date.

Participants can register for the workshops here.

The workshops will be open to the following: a recreational marijuana businesses’ primary point of contact (e.g. – business manager, operations manager) plus one employee who has submitted recreational marijuana applications to the OLCC; Oregon Health Authority Medical Marijuana Dispensary licensees; law enforcers. Other individuals, who have a compelling reason for attending, may contact the OLCC to attend a workshop, but attendance is at the discretion of the OLCC and Franwell and will be on a space available basis.

During the half-day workshops, Franwell will provide a detailed overview and demonstration of the Metrc CTS. Workshop participants will learn about Metrc’s functionality, its utilization, and how it will be deployed. Franwell and OLCC representatives will lead a discussion and answer questions about Metrc and the CTS program.

The workshop will include a presentation covering the importance of the CTS, the Metrc implementation schedule, system hardware and cloud requirements, credentialing, serialization and tagging, transfers and sales, and technical support.

An on-demand video version of the workshop will be available to the general public in late February.

A link to the workshop registration tool can be found on the OLCC Recreational Marijuana website at www.marijuana.oregon.gov.

=============

This METRC stuff is insane!

RFID tags?! Seriously?

And I quote:

Q – Why does the Metrc system utilize RFID tags?
A - The CTS tags have multiple modalities that include human readable information, barcodes and RFID. RFID specifically offers a higher degree of accuracy, improved speed of reading and ultimately makes reporting for both the industry and the OLCC more cost efficient.

Q – How much do the tags cost?
A – Plant tags are .45 cents each and package tags are .25 cents each.

 

[IndicaIsland]

subbed

 

[frostqueen]

Oregon's medical marijuana advocates say the state's proposed rules for production impose expensive and unnecessary burdens on growers and will ultimately harm patients who rely on the drug to cope with a wide range of health problems.

The Oregon Health Authority's draft rules, set to take effect March 1, are part of a sweeping law passed last year that regulates Oregon's cannabis industry.

The proposed requirements represent regulators' efforts to put some checks on medical marijuana production in a state where growers have operated largely without oversight for more than a decade. The rules call for round-the-clock security and regular reports to the health authority about how many plants a grower has and where their harvests ended up.

The health authority also may inspect grow sites with more than a dozen plants or those selling marijuana to processors or dispensaries.

Growers who plan to move cannabis into the dispensary market or those who grow for more than two patients or for a patient who doesn't live on the property are most affected by the proposed rules. Patients who grow their own medical marijuana or those who grow for one other person on their property also face new requirements, though they are not as extensive.

Many in Oregon's medical marijuana community have pressed the state to delay implementing the rules until next year. They argue that the health authority has not notified growers of the particular changes that impact them and that those who do know about the rules don't have enough time to comply.

"Most growers and patients have no idea about this yet," said Cedar Grey, a Williams grower with the Oregon Sungrown Growers Guild, which represents outdoor growers in southern Oregon. "And it completely changes the program."

Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, a staunch advocate of the state's medical marijuana program, blasted the health authority in an interview Thursday with The Oregonian/OregonLive, saying the agency has "run amok."

"The proposed rules are a direct assault on the (medical marijuana) program and the small family farm," said Prozanski.

Among the new requirements:

Record keeping: Growers must establish online accounts with the health authority where they are required to file monthly reports on the number of plants they have, their harvests and how much they transferred overall to dispensaries and patients.

Reporting requirements: Medical marijuana growers producing cannabis for dispensaries, more than two patients or patients who live off the property must track their use of pesticides and fertilizers. They are required, under the draft rules, to list the names of products they use, the dates they used them, the names of those who applied them and how much was used. Those records must be kept for two years.

Plant limits: Starting March 1, medical marijuana growers who grow in residential areas within city limits can have up to a dozen plants. If the site isn't in a residential zone or is outside of city limits, then growers are allowed up to 48 plants.

"Grandfathered" grow sites: Some medical marijuana producers may be eligible to have more plants, depending on the number of patients who were on their rolls on Jan. 1, 2015. Those limits are capped at 24 plants for people living in residential areas within a city and 96 for those outside of those areas.

Residency requirements: For the first time, the Oregon Legislature has imposed a residency requirement for growers and patients. People registered as growers on or before Jan. 1, 2015, must prove they've lived in the state for the past year. Otherwise, they must show proof that they've lived in Oregon for the previous two years. Patients also must be Oregon residents.

Water rights: The proposed rule requires that growers have a water right for irrigation or "nursery use" and that they have "legal authorization" to use the water.

Under a provision of last year's landmark marijuana regulatory law, growers may be reimbursed by patients for their labor, something previously not allowed.

That change, health authority officials said, means marijuana production becomes a "commercial enterprise," which subjects growers to "existing water laws that they haven't been subject to before," health authority spokesman Jonathan Modie said.

Security: Growers must install round-the-clock camera surveillance with video backup for two years. The system must be equipped with motion sensors. Cannabis must be stored in a locked safe or vault.

Ourso said growers may apply for waivers from the security requirement. He said growers may cite cost and practicality as reasons for the request.

Can you post your source for this?

 

[Robrites]

Can you post your source for this?

I usually try to do that... not sure, might have been the registerguard or the oregonian. If I run across it I will update.

 

[mfdoo0mm]

No this is all very real and they are hosting workshops for METRC learning as we speak. OMMP growers + rec growers are encouraged to attend. It will be used as a POS device for logging data and tracking. They are heavily suggesting using RFID tags and/or barcodes to make all product traceable from seed to sale. This is still being debated currently, but it COULD, if the new draft rules are accepted, affect OMMP as well as Rec.

 

[Dinja]

Here is the link to the proposed changes
http://www.oregon.gov/oha/mmj/Docum...ers-processors-dispensaries-proposed-text.pdf

 

[IndicaIsland]

Good info. thanks.

 

[Robrites]

Oregon reps intro bill to allow published marijuana ads

Oregon reps intro bill to allow published marijuana ads

WASHINGTON -

Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined with Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici Thursday to introduce a bill that would allow publications in Oregon and other states where marijuana is legal to mail their publications containing written advertising for the product.

The Marijuana Advertising in Legal States (MAILS) Act would reverse the outdated declaration by the U.S. Postal Service in December 2015 that prohibited the mailing of newspapers with ads offering to buy or sell marijuana, even if the marijuana-related ad complies with state law.

“Federal agencies must respect the decisions made by law-abiding Oregonians and small business owners in the state,” Wyden said. “Our bill updates the federal approach to marijuana, ending the threat to news publications that choose to accept advertising from legal marijuana businesses in Oregon and other states where voters also have freely decided to legalize marijuana.”

“Oregon voters have made it clear that they support marijuana legalization, but in area after area, federal regulation makes it difficult for legitimate marijuana businesses to operate. It’s time the federal government starts updating its rules and regulations in states where marijuana is now legal,” said Merkley. “This is common sense legislation to ensure that the U.S. Postal Service treats marijuana advertising like any other regulated product.”

“Regardless of how you feel about our failed prohibition of marijuana, every American should agree that the U.S. Postal Service should not be censoring what is or is not published in newspapers,” said Blumenauer. “This USPS policy is outdated and ignores reforms happening in Oregon and across the country. The federal government must stay out of the way of these state legalization efforts.”
ktvz.com

 

[Robrites]

Hey Oregon brothers and sisters I am going to be visiting my in-laws in Oregon the second half of March we will be in vacouver Washington also and this is a borderline cry for help.... I would love nothing more than to find some quality seeds to bring back to my prohibition state if anyone knows how or could help me make this happen I would be extremely grateful.

Answers to most questions can be found with a google search.

 

[Robrites]

Here is the link to the proposed changes
http://www.oregon.gov/oha/mmj/Docum...ers-processors-dispensaries-proposed-text.pdf

Thank You, Dinja.

 

[Robrites]

Oregon wants its marijuana tax now

Oregon wants its marijuana tax now

SALEM — A temporary 25-percent tax is now in effect for all recreational marijuana products sold at medical marijuana dispensaries through December 31, 2016. The tax is applied to the retail price of the recreational products. Dispensaries must list the retail price and total tax separately on customer receipts.

Right now, medical dispensaries are the only Oregon facilities authorized to sell recreational marijuana products. Their sales are currently limited to flowers, leaves, immature marijuana plants, and seeds. Medical marijuana remains untaxed.

Visit oregon.gov/dor/marijuana for more information on the marijuana tax program.

Dispensaries must register with the Department of Revenue before remitting payments or filing returns. This allows the department to create a tax account for them. About half of the dispensaries (140 out of 284) publicly listed as recreational marijuana retailers with the Oregon Health Authority, have not registered.

Payments are due monthly starting in February. Returns are due quarterly. Returns for the first quarter are due by May 2,2016. Subsequent returns will be due at the end of the month following the end of the quarter. On Dec. 31, 2016, dispensaries must stop selling limited recreational marijuana products. After that date, only retailers licensed through the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) may sell recreational marijuana products. OLCC started accepting license applications last week. Its goal is to start issuing retail licenses by late 2016.

The permanent, 17-percent tax on the sales price of all recreational marijuana products will take effect once a facility is licensed. Cities and counties can decide whether or not to adopt an additional local tax of up to 3 percent on retail sales. Revenue is not involved in the collection of local marijuana taxes.

dailyastorian.com