New Approach Oregon’s petition to make marijuana legal for adults has qualified for the ballot this coming November, Huffington Post reports. More than 87,000 valid signatures were collected for the petition, which allows adults age 21 and older in Oregon to possess up to eight ounces of marijuana privately and one ounce in public and would have the marijuana market regulated by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. Any sales taxes collected would be distributed to schools, law enforcement, and drug…

Late last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-2 to advance a proposal that would put an initiative on November’s ballot asking if marijuana should be taxed and regulated like alcohol. The vote means the proposal made it past the first committee deadline. The bill now goes to the Senate Rules Committee. If you are an Oregon resident, please email your lawmakers today and ask them to support this sensible idea. The bill, SB 1556, would ask voters in November if adults 21 and older should be…

On Monday, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber signed into law two bills that make sensible changes to Oregon’s marijuana laws. These new laws, which took effect immediately, reduce the severity of the punishment for certain marijuana crimes. SB 40 reduces penalties for possession of more than an ounce of marijuana. SB 40 reduces the criminal penalty for possession of more than four ounces of marijuana from a class B felony, which carries up to 10 years in prison, to a class C felony, which has a maximum…

[caption id="attachment_6646" align="alignleft" width="240"] Gov. Kitzhaber[/caption] On June 25, the Oregon Legislature sent two bills that would make sensible changes to Oregon’s marijuana laws to Gov. Kitzhaber for his approval. If enacted, these proposals would reduce the severity of the punishment for certain marijuana crimes. SB 40 would reduce the penalties for possession of marijuana. Possession of under an ounce of marijuana is currently punished by a civil violation. This bill reduces the…

On Thursday, in a 36-21 vote, Oregon lawmakers approved a bill that would allow individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to register for medical marijuana cards. Currently, Oregon’s medical marijuana program only permits patients with certain debilitating medical conditions such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, and Alzheimer's disease to register. Senate Bill 281 would add PTSD to this list. According to the National Center for PTSD, approximately 5.2 million adults in the nation…

In a live televised debate Wednesday night between Oregon’s two Democratic candidates for governor, one — former Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury — said he thinks “it might be” a good idea to legalize and tax marijuana like we do alcohol. While his complete statement didn’t come off as a whole-hearted endorsement for marijuana policy reform, Bradbury’s answer was much more promising than that of his opponent, former Gov. John Kitzhaber, who said plainly, “I do not support legalizing marijuana…