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

[Aotf]

Really cracking down on OMMP, even though most of this seems Fed related and the state classification of Schedule 2 is undoubtedly ignored and after reading yesterday, there doesnt seem to be an equal protections clause either in the State constitution.

The underground has never been safer. All I see is carrot on a stick, ie monetized prohibition, tell me I am woefully wrong, but this is getting serious for patients, on the real.

 

[PDX Dopesmoker]

Yeah wow, $7 million bucks to make sure that medical marijuana patients don't have too much medicine. I wonder how much money the state food stamp program spends to make sure the poor and hungry aren't eating too much, but least we can all rest comfortably knowing that the people who run our state's elected single party government don't place themselves above the law or we'd really be getting screwed over.

Measure 91 (2014), Full text of measure
SECTION 1.

(1) The People of the State of Oregon declare that the purposes of this Act are:

(a) To eliminate the problems caused by the prohibition and uncontrolled manufacture, delivery, and possession of marijuana within this state;
(b) To protect the safety, welfare, health, and peace of the people of this state by prioritizing the state's limited law enforcement resources in the most effective, consistent, and rational way…

The word "rational" in there means that its possible to legally challenge the sanity of government in court.

 

[PDX Dopesmoker]

This is what the recreational cannabis industry's top lobbyist has to say on the topic

The OCA continues to support patients' access to medicine. We are actively engaged with the OLCC to ensure that there is emergency rule-making to determine a path forward to combat the illicit market and diversion, while ensuring patients everywhere have access to the amounts of medicine that they need.

Loosely translated it says "At the behest of the corporate cannabis business owners as well as the government regulators that the recreational cannabis industry supports financially, we conspired with the OLCC and federal government to place this new restriction on Oregon medical marijuana patients."

 

[Aotf]

This is what the recreational cannabis industry's top lobbyist has to say on the topic



Loosely translated it says "At the behest of the corporate cannabis business owners as well as the government regulators that the recreational cannabis industry supports financially, we conspired with the OLCC and federal government to place this new restriction on Oregon medical marijuana patients."

Was it Anthony Johnson? Or maybe the guy registered as the treasurer of Johnsons group, who just happens to be self proclaimed former top lobbyist for Oregon Department of Justice. What a hoot.
Ps That business has the same mailing adress as the legalization group and another coincidence is that they have provided lobbying for just about every entity that has ruined the programs both conserve and liberal.
Courtney and Kotek. Burdick too along with T. Read who has budget under Kotek.
Oregon trial lawyers association and sheriff craig roberts (what do you think their stance on cannabis is?, lol)
One big clusterfuck for a long time, Stanford part of the shit show clearly, no other lawyer could try and be as incompentent.

 

[PDX Dopesmoker]

Was it Anthony Johnson? Or maybe the guy registered as the treasurer of Johnsons group, who just happens to be self proclaimed former top lobbyist for Oregon Department of Justice. What a hoot.

No, that was in Amy Margolis' OCA email

 

[PDX Dopesmoker]

On the topic of Amy Margolis and the OCA, I just got this email from them in which they openly peddle their influence with elected officials, political appointees and other members of our single party government. Good thing collusion isn't a crime.

Dear OCA Members and Friends,

Please join us on September 21st for an OCA Political Meet & Greet with members from all branches of Oregon's government. We will also be providing a legislative preview.

The OCA will be hosting a Meet & Greet Happy Hour on Friday, September 21st from 5:30-7:30pm at The Commune. This is your opportunity to come meet and mingle with politicians from all different branches of Oregon politics who will be making crucial policy and legislative decisions for your cannabis future including:
- Social Consumption
- Merger of Medical and Recreational
- Event licensing
- Patient purchase limits
and much more!

As always, there will be food, drinks, and networking with other industry professionals.

Our lineup of speakers for this event include Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, Rep. Ken Helm, House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson, BOLI Commissioner Val Hoyle, and more. Proceeds go to the OCA Political Action Committee.

Members, make sure to pick up a new OCA door decal for your business at the event!

Please contact [email protected] if you are interested in sponsoring this event! Tickets can be purchased here and will sell out soon!

Onward,
The Oregon Cannabis Association

 

[Oregonism]

Downpour east Clack County. Soggy as fudge right now. Just a little early fudge you, I am still here....from PNW MotherNature.

 

[OregonBorn]

Moved my plants into the GH yesterday. High and dry. Crowded, but dry. I forced some of my later bloomers like Maui and Durban to bloom earlier this year. I have fat buds on them now. This moisture event is supposed to blow out tomorrow late afternoon. Then more rain this weekend, then dry and clear next week. That is the PDX forecast anyway. Southern Oregon is dry and supposed to stay dry through next week. Smoke down there will be variable though. NorCal fires are still blazing, sadly.

 

[Dankwolf]

Moved my plants into the GH yesterday. High and dry. Crowded, but dry. I forced some of my later bloomers like Maui and Durban to bloom earlier this year. I have fat buds on them now. This moisture event is supposed to blow out tomorrow late afternoon. Then more rain this weekend, then dry and clear next week. That is the PDX forecast anyway. Southern Oregon is dry and supposed to stay dry through next week. Smoke down there will be variable though. NorCal fires are still blazing, sadly.

Nice will you help me move my plants to a green house lol.

 

[Robrites]

Josephine County's Attempt To Upend Oregon Cannabis Laws Has Failed

Josephine County's Attempt To Upend Oregon Cannabis Laws Has Failed

One of Oregon’s largest cannabis-producing counties likely isn’t going to be able to unravel the state’s permissive marijuana laws, after all.
RELATED COVERAGE

Josephine County Sues Oregon To Invalidate Cannabis Laws


A U.S. magistrate judge has recommended dismissal of a lawsuit Josephine County filed against the state of Oregon, finding the county has no standing to sue the state, and hasn’t proved it’s been injured by laws allowing growth and consumption of recreational and medical cannabis.
The recommendation will now go before a U.S. district judge, who will decide whether to dismiss the case.
The finding caps a case that cannabis-industry attorneys worried could have nationwide effects, even as they scoffed at the legal theories behind it.
In its suit, filed in April, Josephine County argued that Oregon’s marijuana laws — enacted via ballot measures and legislation over nearly two decades — amounted to a violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act. The county essentially asked a judge to invalidate Oregon’s laws.
The suit grew out of Josephine County’s struggles to regulate marijuana grows.
In late 2017, the county adopted rules strictly limiting the size of commercial grows on land zoned for rural residential purposes. But growers appealed the decision to the state’s Land Use Board of Appeals, which found Josephine County officials hadn’t given adequate notice about the zoning change. The county appealed, ultimately unsuccessfully, but in the meantime filed suit against the state of Oregon.
In a recommended order issued August 30, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Clarke found the lawsuit shouldn’t move forward. The primary reason: Clarke found an Oregon county can’t sue the state over a state law.
“The Ninth Circuit has long held that a political subdivision of a state lacks standing to challenge a state law in federal court on supremacy grounds,” Clarke wrote.
Even if that weren’t the case, the magistrate judge wrote, the county hadn’t showed that the state’s marijuana laws had prevented it from enacting its regulations. The state’s land use board only told the county it hadn’t followed the correct process to enact them.
“Unless and until the state substantively prohibits the county from enacting a regulatory ordinance, there is no controversy for this court to address,” Clarke wrote.
Finally, the judge found that Josephine County couldn’t show it was in danger of being prosecuted under the federal Controlled Substances Act, which lists cannabis as among the most serious drugs.
Clarke ended on a fairly scathing note.
“The county has provided no evidence to the court that it has attempted to ban any and all marijuana use and production, as would be theoretically required by full compliance with the CSA,” he wrote. “Instead, the county merely seeks to limit the use and production in rural residential zones, while continuing to allow marijuana use and production in other instances. Apparently the county is only worried about aiding and abetting federal felonies on certain kinds of land and not others.”
Wally Hicks, the county counsel for Josephine County and a former state legislator, took the ruling in stride.
“For basically the cost of a $400 filing fee and staff time, Josephine County has obtained invaluable clarity on the subjects of marijuana legalization and ‘Home Rule’ in Oregon,” he wrote in a statement to OPB. “The court’s ruling seems to extend much further than the single topic of marijuana regulation. But this decision could be writing on the wall that the federal government will soon drop marijuana to a lower schedule.”
OPB reporter Conrad Wilson contributed to this report.


https://www.opb.org/news/article/josephine-countys-attempt-to-upend-oregon-cannabis-laws-has-failed/

 

[OregonBorn]

Nice will you help me move my plants to a green house lol.

Y'all have to build a greenhouse around them. I purposely downsize my plants and grow them in 15 gallon tubs. That is so I can manage mites more easily if I get them (spider mites one year, broad mites last year). I move them inside the GHs for frost and rain protection and in cool weather. I move them out of the GHs during heat waves (avoid too much stretch) and for spraying. I move them into the light dep accessory building to force early blooming. I also move them indoors under lights if the frost hits early here, or if I want to re-veg them in the fall. I also grow a manageable amount. I used to grow 30+ pounds of bud a year in Southern Oregon, but that took so much time managing the grow and trimming. I mainly grow for breeding new strains and personal smoke now, and not for being up to my elbows in buds. Been there, done that. I mean, y'all have a truckload of bud growing there even with only 4 plants.

Freakin' raining small animals here right now. Its coming down. Plants are nice and cozy though.

 

[OregonBorn]

One of Oregon’s largest cannabis-producing counties likely isn’t going to be able to unravel the state’s permissive marijuana laws, after all.
RELATED COVERAGE

Yeah! Stick it to Grant's Ass and Jo Co.

 

[OregonBorn]

Looks like the rains are here really early this year. Rain and more rain.

 

[Robrites]

Cannabliss owner sentenced to 7 months in federal prison for tax crimes

Cannabliss owner sentenced to 7 months in federal prison for tax crimes

Matthew Price, part owner and operator of Portland and Eugene medical marijuana dispensaries called Cannabliss, was sentenced Monday to seven months in prison, marking what a prosecutor called the country's first federal sentencing of a legal marijuana business owner for tax crimes.
Price, 32, pleaded guilty to four counts of willfully failing to file income tax returns, a misdemeanor. He was ordered to pay $262,776 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for the tax loss.
Price must turn himself in on Nov. 1.
The court must address a unique question in the case: Can Price continue working in his marijuana business until his surrender or after he completes his prison term? A hearing is set Friday to decide.
The matter arises because using or selling marijuana remains prohibited under federal law and is a standard prohibition during federal supervision.
As he was cheating on his taxes, Price was advising the Oregon Liquor Control Commission on appropriate rules for the state's recreational marijuana businesses, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Uram.
Oregon lawmakers approved a medical marijuana dispensary registry system in 2012, regulating an already-robust retail market for medical cannabis. Two years later, Oregon voters said yes to recreational marijuana, allowing anyone 21 and older to possess and grow marijuana and creating a taxed and regulated system for retail sales. Oregon issued its first licenses to recreational cannabis retailers in the fall of 2016.
With almost 1,000 new retail marijuana businesses in Oregon "ripe for tax cheating,'' the prosecutor urged the judge to send Price to prison for a year and one day to foster tax compliance. A sentence of probation would encourage similar tax cheating in a lightly regulated industry, Uram argued.
"Cash-intensive businesses of all kinds are notoriously susceptible to tax cheating, and Oregon's retail marijuana businesses are no different,'' he wrote in a sentencing memo. "The court should not forego an opportunity to deter tax cheating by state-legal marijuana business owners who are going to wake up the day after Price's sentencing hearing, read an article about his sentence, and decide what to do next April 15.''
Price failed to report nearly $1 million of income and disregarded advice from three different certified public accountants who for years warned him not to use his business money to pay personal expenses, the prosecutor said.
But Price did anyway, spending $67,000 in cash on a sports car, $15,000 in cash on a Rolex watch and other income on tropical vacations, expensive homes and season tickets to the Portland Trail Blazers, Uram said.
"He essentially treated his business as a personal piggy bank,'' he said.
Price's defense lawyer, Whitney Boise, urged a sentence of probation. He said Price has no prior criminal record and has accepted responsibility for his stupid mistake.
Price has nearly paid off the $262,776 in restitution and already has suffered substantially, Boise said. Price wasn't sure what could or couldn't be deducted from his taxable income, was unorganized and wasn't comfortable with the advice he received from his accountants, the defense lawyer said.
Boise said his client's taxes essentially will double through penalties and interest owed. He and his business have endured negative publicity due to the criminal case and he's spent money to hire lawyers and accountants to "clean up the mess he created.''
"I just want to apologize to everyone ... you, my family, my friends. It was never my intent to end up in a place like this, but I did,'' Price said, standing before U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman in federal court in downtown Portland. "I take full responsibility for my actions.''
Mosman dismissed the government's plea to send a message to the marijuana industry through Price's sentence.
"The fact that the product involved here is marijuana is utterly meaningless to me in passing a sentence,'' the judge said. "It's a tax case to me.''
Mosman said he didn't fully accept the defense's explanation that Price didn't comprehend his tax obligations.
"It's true you didn't walk into this with an MBA,'' Mosman said, but it's also clear Price has the intelligence to understand "one of the most basic obligations of running a business.''
Citing Price's lack of a prior criminal record and his extraordinary efforts to pay off his restitution, the judge arrived at the seven-month prison term.
Price, seated beside his lawyer at the defense table, sat quietly holding his head in his hands, after court was adjourned.
The investigation into Price began after the IRS discovered he hadn't paid employment taxes for his Cannabliss employees. Undercover IRS agents posed as prospective employees and Price shared with the agents his scheme, complained that he was "getting ripped'' on taxes, how he used company money for personal payments and knew it wasn't legal.
He later claimed to the IRS and his business partner that one of his accountants had died, which wasn't true.
Price admitted that he didn't file individual tax returns from 2011 through 2014 for income received from the operation of the dispensaries. During those years, he failed to report to the IRS of $976,349 in gross income. His income ballooned from $42,000 in 2011 to $590,000 in 2014.
In 2011, 2012 and until August 2013, Price partly owned and operated a legal marijuana farmers' market under the name Cannabliss in the Portland metropolitan area, according to prosecutors. After August 2013, he and his partner closed the market and opened a legal marijuana dispensary at the same location under the same name.
In 2014, they opened two additional locations, one in Portland and one in Eugene, across the street from the University of Oregon.
Uram said there was a tax-related prosecution 12 years ago in Detroit of a "back-door''-type marijuana dispensary, but not a legal business such as the one Price ran.
It would fall to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to evaluate Price's conviction to see if it provides grounds for revoking his state marijuana license. The commission would do its own inquiry and make a determination, said Mark Pettinger, spokesman for the commission's recreational marijuana program.
Under state statute, violating a federal law if the conviction is "substantially related to the fitness and ability of the applicant'' to lawfully carry out activities under the license would be grounds for revocation, suspension or restriction of a license.


https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2018/09/first_marijuana_business_owner.html

 

[Robrites]

Oregon regulators cancel license of marijuana farm tied to accidental blast

Oregon regulators cancel license of marijuana farm tied to accidental blast

Oregon's marijuana regulators have canceled the license of a grower whose operation was linked to a butane honey oil explosion that burned two people.
The Bulletin reports the Oregon Liquor Control Commission announced Friday that High Cascade Farms will have its recreational marijuana producer license canceled for 13 violations.
Seven of the 13 violations relate to misrepresentation in the statewide database used to track marijuana plants and seeds.
In one instance, someone at the Deschutes County farm — using an account tied to an employee — reported two marijuana plants as destroyed because of pests. But the commission says those plant tags were recovered from the scene of a butane honey oil explosion March 18 at a Bend duplex.
The agency cited High Cascade for not disclosing that one of the people injured in the blast, David Paulsen, had was a part owner. Paulsen's wife was also injured in the explostion. Their 3-year-old child did not suffer serious injuries.
Charles Ringo, who is listed as president and secretary of High Cascade's holding company, Byzantium Corp., couldn't be reached for comment Friday.
-- The Bulletin


https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-...f/2018/09/regulators_cancel_license_of_m.html

 

[Robrites]

Pot business break-up gets ugly, lawsuit says

Pot business break-up gets ugly, lawsuit says

The Oregonian/OregonLive
A founder of a central Oregon marijuana company says a former business partner encouraged anti-Semitic attacks against him online after their relationship soured amid significant crop losses, according to a lawsuit filed this month in Deschutes County Circuit Court.
Aviv Hadar, CEO of Oregrown, is asking the court to order Justin Crawn and his nephew, Jordan Crawn, to stop harassing him online. He is seeking $700,000 in damages.
The lawsuit is one of two legal claims related to Oregrown and grower Justin Crawn. In a separate lawsuit filed last month, Oregrown accuses Crawn of defamation and trademark infringement among other allegations. It claims that Crawn's inability to produce "marketable flower with any sort of consistency" cost the company millions of dollars. It seeks $2.6 million.
"Many of the crops grown under Crawn's care were complete losses in terms of producing shelf-worthy flower," the lawsuit claims.
Oregrown operates an 84-acre production facility in Deschutes County and a retail store in downtown Bend. The business has an active retail license for a Eugene store as well and has submitted applications for stores in Portland and Cannon Beach, according to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.
It also holds state licenses for processing, production and wholesale operations.
Its processing license was suspended in August for violating state rules regarding hemp, according to the commission. The suspension extends until Oct. 5.
Crawn is listed as an interested party on Oregrown's retail licenses. That means he owns or controls at least 10 percent of the business.
Hadar's lawsuit says Justin Crawn was a grower in Oregon's medical marijuana program with a track record of successfully operating small-scale grow sites when he was brought into Oregrown to oversee production.
But the business saw multiple crop failures under Crawn and, according to the lawsuit, Hadar and his partners early this year approached Crawn with the idea of separating from the company.
After the meeting, Crawn returned to the production site and removed cannabis seeds and plants that had been entered into the state's tracking system, the lawsuit alleges.
Sometime after that, Crawn returned to the facility with his nephew and "ransacked" the place, taking plants and specialized lights, the lawsuit claims.
Justin and Jordan Crawn could not be reached Tuesday for comment.
The Crawns later engaged in a "virulent campaign of harassment" that has "spiraled into incitement of naked anti-Semitism and threats of violence," Hadar's lawsuit claims.
Hadar claims Crawn published "blatant lies" on social media, including accusations that Hadar "ordered the sale of mold-contaminated cannabis."
The attacks devolved into a "campaign of hate, anti-Semitism, intimidation and violent threats" as others on social media chimed in on the posts, the lawsuit states.
Hadar's reputation suffered and he fears he and his wife and their young child will be victims of a hate crime, according to the lawsuit.
Members of Oregon's marijuana industry "have stated that they will no longer do business with Oregrown or Mr. Hadar," the suit says.

 

[PDX Dopesmoker]

Hadar is a greedy carpetbagger from LA, based on what i've seen of him its surprising they were able to confine his ego to 84 acres.

 

[PDX Dopesmoker]

Matthew Price, part owner and operator of Portland and Eugene medical marijuana dispensaries called Cannabliss, was sentenced Monday to seven months in prison, marking what a prosecutor called the country's first federal sentencing of a legal marijuana business owner for tax crimes.
Price, 32, pleaded guilty to four counts of willfully failing to file income tax returns, a misdemeanor. He was ordered to pay $262,776 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for the tax loss.
Price must turn himself in on Nov. 1.
The court must address a unique question in the case: Can Price continue working in his marijuana business until his surrender or after he completes his prison term? A hearing is set Friday to decide.
The matter arises because using or selling marijuana remains prohibited under federal law and is a standard prohibition during federal supervision.
As he was cheating on his taxes, Price was advising the Oregon Liquor Control Commission on appropriate rules for the state's recreational marijuana businesses, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Uram.
Oregon lawmakers approved a medical marijuana dispensary registry system in 2012, regulating an already-robust retail market for medical cannabis. Two years later, Oregon voters said yes to recreational marijuana, allowing anyone 21 and older to possess and grow marijuana and creating a taxed and regulated system for retail sales. Oregon issued its first licenses to recreational cannabis retailers in the fall of 2016.
With almost 1,000 new retail marijuana businesses in Oregon "ripe for tax cheating,'' the prosecutor urged the judge to send Price to prison for a year and one day to foster tax compliance. A sentence of probation would encourage similar tax cheating in a lightly regulated industry, Uram argued.
"Cash-intensive businesses of all kinds are notoriously susceptible to tax cheating, and Oregon's retail marijuana businesses are no different,'' he wrote in a sentencing memo. "The court should not forego an opportunity to deter tax cheating by state-legal marijuana business owners who are going to wake up the day after Price's sentencing hearing, read an article about his sentence, and decide what to do next April 15.''
Price failed to report nearly $1 million of income and disregarded advice from three different certified public accountants who for years warned him not to use his business money to pay personal expenses, the prosecutor said.
But Price did anyway, spending $67,000 in cash on a sports car, $15,000 in cash on a Rolex watch and other income on tropical vacations, expensive homes and season tickets to the Portland Trail Blazers, Uram said.
"He essentially treated his business as a personal piggy bank,'' he said.
Price's defense lawyer, Whitney Boise, urged a sentence of probation. He said Price has no prior criminal record and has accepted responsibility for his stupid mistake.
Price has nearly paid off the $262,776 in restitution and already has suffered substantially, Boise said. Price wasn't sure what could or couldn't be deducted from his taxable income, was unorganized and wasn't comfortable with the advice he received from his accountants, the defense lawyer said.
Boise said his client's taxes essentially will double through penalties and interest owed. He and his business have endured negative publicity due to the criminal case and he's spent money to hire lawyers and accountants to "clean up the mess he created.''
"I just want to apologize to everyone ... you, my family, my friends. It was never my intent to end up in a place like this, but I did,'' Price said, standing before U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman in federal court in downtown Portland. "I take full responsibility for my actions.''
Mosman dismissed the government's plea to send a message to the marijuana industry through Price's sentence.
"The fact that the product involved here is marijuana is utterly meaningless to me in passing a sentence,'' the judge said. "It's a tax case to me.''
Mosman said he didn't fully accept the defense's explanation that Price didn't comprehend his tax obligations.
"It's true you didn't walk into this with an MBA,'' Mosman said, but it's also clear Price has the intelligence to understand "one of the most basic obligations of running a business.''
Citing Price's lack of a prior criminal record and his extraordinary efforts to pay off his restitution, the judge arrived at the seven-month prison term.
Price, seated beside his lawyer at the defense table, sat quietly holding his head in his hands, after court was adjourned.
The investigation into Price began after the IRS discovered he hadn't paid employment taxes for his Cannabliss employees. Undercover IRS agents posed as prospective employees and Price shared with the agents his scheme, complained that he was "getting ripped'' on taxes, how he used company money for personal payments and knew it wasn't legal.
He later claimed to the IRS and his business partner that one of his accountants had died, which wasn't true.
Price admitted that he didn't file individual tax returns from 2011 through 2014 for income received from the operation of the dispensaries. During those years, he failed to report to the IRS of $976,349 in gross income. His income ballooned from $42,000 in 2011 to $590,000 in 2014.
In 2011, 2012 and until August 2013, Price partly owned and operated a legal marijuana farmers' market under the name Cannabliss in the Portland metropolitan area, according to prosecutors. After August 2013, he and his partner closed the market and opened a legal marijuana dispensary at the same location under the same name.
In 2014, they opened two additional locations, one in Portland and one in Eugene, across the street from the University of Oregon.
Uram said there was a tax-related prosecution 12 years ago in Detroit of a "back-door''-type marijuana dispensary, but not a legal business such as the one Price ran.
It would fall to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to evaluate Price's conviction to see if it provides grounds for revoking his state marijuana license. The commission would do its own inquiry and make a determination, said Mark Pettinger, spokesman for the commission's recreational marijuana program.
Under state statute, violating a federal law if the conviction is "substantially related to the fitness and ability of the applicant'' to lawfully carry out activities under the license would be grounds for revocation, suspension or restriction of a license.


https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2018/09/first_marijuana_business_owner.html

"The fact that the product involved here is marijuana is utterly meaningless to me in passing a sentence,'' the judge said. "It's a tax case to me.''

Yeah thats big of him considering that paying taxes on a federally illegal marijuana business constitutes money laundering, but not paying is tax evasion. Having a judge willfully ignore extenuating and inconvenient complexities is extremely impartial.
And the guy got 7 months for tax evasion on a six figure income, when was the last time you saw a doctor get time inside for simple tax evasion?

 

[OregonBorn]

Well, moving politics aside.

Indian summer is here! I got no rot on my girls in the rain and cold weather here last week, as I had feared. Now they can finish in the heat and be harvested and curing by the end of Oktoberfest (Oct. 7).

 

[Robrites]

Pot in the workplace: Oregon is No. 1 for positive drug tests

Pot in the workplace: Oregon is No. 1 for positive drug tests

The Oregonian/OregonLive
We're number one! In people failing drugs test for weed!
According to a report from the Drug Testing Index, Oregon has a higher percentage of workplace drug tests that are positive for marijuana than any other state in the country.
Feeling proud? You're about to feel prouder because this is the third year in a row that Oregon has achieved this honor.
According to the index, culled from more than 10 million drug tests administered at workplaces throughout the country, a whopping 4.64 percent of Oregon's workplace drug tests in 2017 were positive for pot. That's up from 2016's 4.5 percent and 2015's 3.43 percent.
That means the trend is going up.
So. Hmm. What happened in 2015? Oh! It was July 15 when recreational cannabis went on sale for everyone over the age of 21!
Still, other states with legal recreational cannabis land further down on the list. Massachusetts came in at number three with 3.56 percent of tests coming back as positive, Washington was sixth with 3.18 percent and Nevada and Colorado were eight and 10, both with just under 3 percent.
Oregon's enthusiastic cannabis consumption might be turning into an issue for the state's employers.
"One labor issue that continues to crop up is drug testing," state economists told Willamette Week earlier this year. "At least anecdotally, more firms are reporting trouble finding workers who can pass a drug test."
Some companies are opting to drop the THC part of a drug testing altogether, according to a report from The Denver Post.
But, don't forget, in Oregon, even though weed is legal, employers can still test employees for it and fire them, or decline to hire them, if they test positive. A bill to ban employers from firing employees for off-duty cannabis use died in the Oregon Senate in 2017.
Maybe someday this will change, but for now, don't be surprised if a prospective employer asks you to pee in a cup and then isn't cool with your before-bed edible habit.
-- Lizzy Acker