Tweet
The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act initiative has officially qualified for the November ballot, according to the Oregon Secretary of State office. If approved by voters the initiative would make both marijuana and industrial hemp legal under state law. Marijuana would be legalized for adults over the age of 21, and the initiative would allow the commercial sale of marijuana through highly regulated state-licensed stores.
The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act will appear on the ballot as “Measure 80.” The vast majority of the tax revenue generated by the sale of marijuana would go to the state general fund. Eight percent of the money raised as a result of the initiative would be set aside for drug treatment and education programs. An additional two percent would be used to promote hemp products.
A survey from earlier this month by Public Policy Polling found Oregon voters closely divided on the issue of marijuana legalization. According to the poll 43 percent of Oregon voters think the use of marijuana should be legal, while 46 percent think marijuana should be illegal.
This makes Oregon now the third state this year to have a marijuana legalization initiative qualify for the November ballot. It joins Washington State and Colorado, both of which had legalization initiatives qualify for their respective ballots earlier in the cycle.
3 Comments
Thanks Jon. I didn’t realize this issue would be up for vote in three separate states.
Sad thing is that a “yes” vote in either Oregon, Washington or Colorado may effectively be vetoed by the feds (and their actions to date suggest they would do so).
At some point, there needs to be a SCOTUS states’ rights challenge to the Feds around some state’s laws on pot. Maybe one of these will be that challenge? Recall that our current, newly sworn AG was elected with pot money, specifically money opposing her former Fed USAtty primary opponent, Dwight Holton.
The secondary press here in Portland is already full of articles whining “What does Oregon’s new AG owe the pot lobby?” as if no AG had ever been elected with the support of other lobbies.
Nik, even if Oregon, Washington and Colorado did vote to legalize marijuana like wine, the federal government would still have to oppose them because that’s what they agreed to in 1961 when they signed the United Nation’s “Single Convention” treaty.
We like to think that we make our own decisions, but when it comes to marijuana the UN doesn’t let us. No matter how much harm it causes, no matter how much money it costs us and no matter how little benefit it gives us, the UN will NEVER let us end the federal marijuana prohibition.
We’re supposed to be the greatest country in the world but the Single Convention turns us into a lapdog for the UN! This is not only unnecessary, it’s fundamentally WRONG – the United States of America does NOT need to be told what it can and cannot do!! The American people are quite capable of making their own decisions for themselves, and if we *choose* to legalize marijuana like wine then NOBODY should be able to tell us that they won’t allow us to do this!