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I f marijuana has a smoking chance of becoming legal in Oregon, Roy K a u fm a n n is the m a n to see it through
BY JAKE THOMAS
S T A F F W R IT E R
I
t ’s going to h a p p en . M a riju a n a ’s legalization is
inevitable.
B u t inevitable d o e s n o t have a tim e line, as
O reg o n v o te rs d e m o n s tra te d in 2012 w h e n th e y
tu rn e d dow n M e a su re 80, a b allo t initiative th a t
w ould have legalized w eed. In th e sa m e electio n ,
v o te rs in C olorado and W ashington m ad e h isto ry
by approving m e a su re s th a t e n d e d p ro h ib itio n on
m ariju an a.
B u t 2014 will b e different. So says Roy
K aufm ann. A one-tim e sp o k e sp e rso n for P o rtlan d
M ayor Sam A dam s, K aufm ann is c u rre n tly a vice
p re s id e n t a t H ubbell C om m unications, an advocacy
firm th a t is w orking on a legalization cam paign in
O reg o n on b eh alf of th e N ational C annabis
C oalition.
F o r K aufm ann, th e q u e stio n of legalization is n o t
a m a tte r of if, b u t w h en , and, ju s t as im portantly,
how. H e says th a t th is new cam paign w on’t r e p e a t
th e m ista k e of 2012 an d will d raw on le sso n s from
m arijuana-legalization e ffo rts in C olorado and
W ashington, as well as a sm all S o u th A m erican
c o u n try th a t could so o n b e a h ea d of m u ch of th e
U.S. on th e issu e.
A lthough language for th e new ballot initiative is
b ein g finalized, K aufm ann is bullish on its
p ro sp e c ts. H e says th a t th e la st legislative se ssio n
in O reg o n w as a “m ile sto n e se ssio n for th e
can n ab is advocacy com m unity,” w ith legislation
p assin g th a t will add p o st-trau m atic s tre s s d iso rd e r
to th e list of m alad ies tre a ta b le w ith m edicinal pot,
provide b e tte r reg u latio n of d isp e n sa rie s and
re fo rm se n te n c in g for d ru g o ffen ses. E v en th o u g h
law m ak ers sto p p e d s h o r t of full legalization,
K aufm ann th in k s th a t v o te rs will g e t a h e a d of th e ir
e le c te d le a d e rs in th e n e x t electio n .
“W hat th e polls show is th a t m o re th a n 80
p e rc e n t of O reg o n ian s said th e y saw m ariju an a
legalization and reg u la tio n as in ev itab le,” says
K aufm ann. “I th in k w h a t w e ’re se e in g is th a t th e re
is a sm a rt, ratio n al fram e w o rk th a t is b ein g
p ro p o se d , an d th e y w a n t to h e a r th e a rg u m e n ts for
th e r e is going to b e a logical re g u la to ry fram ew o rk
th a t is w orkable, even as p eo p le a re v e ry m u ch
feeling o u t w h a t th e b e s t a p p ro ach is. So th e
su b sta n c e of th e actu al ballot initiative is ju s t as
im p o rta n t as th e overall arg u m e n t. In O regon,
anecdotally, I sp o k e to a lo t of v o te rs a fte r th e
e lectio n w ho w e re clearly o n b o a rd w ith
legalization b u t d id n ’t s u p p o rt M e a su re 80 b e c a u se
th e y felt th a t th e su b sta n c e of th e initiative w a sn ’t
so m e th in g th e y could su p p o rt. So th a t’s w h a t w e ’re
going to c o rre c t th is tim e a ro u n d and b e su ccessfu l
w hy it’s b ein g p ro p o se d .”
J.T.: What was wrong with M easure 80? Was it
bad framework or was it sold badly?
J a k e T h o m a s: Seeing the national shift in
attitudes an d laws on m arijuana legalization and
what happened in Colorado an d Washington, what
are the lessons fo r getting it legalized in Oregon?
R oy K a u fm a n n : I th in k overall th a t th e
W ashington and C olorado initiatives w e re
su ccessfu l b e c a u se th e y d e m o n s tra te d th a t th e r e
w as b o th a com pelling c ase fo r w hy p ro h ib itio n
n e e d e d to e n d an d w hy it h ad failed in ev ery
p o ssib le way. T h e y also m ad e th e a rg u m e n t for n o t
only why, th e y m ad e th e a rg u m e n t for how.
A nd I th in k th a t’s w h e re th e M e a su re 80
cam paign in O regon d id n ’t b e n e fit from so m e of
th e a d v an tag es th a t C olorado an d W ashington had.
A t th e e n d of th e day, p eo p le w a n t to know th a t
n e x t year.
Roy Kaufmann
R.K.: T h o se tw o a re n o t m utually exclusive. I t’s
really h a rd to g e t public s u p p o rt o r financial
s u p p o rt w h e th e r it’s in O reg o n o r o u tsid e if it
d o e sn ’t have a voice in c re atin g th e fram ew ork.
M e a su re 80 w as d ra fte d w ith sta k e h o ld e rs in
O regon, b u t w ith o u t a lo t of in p u t from
o rg an izatio n s a ro u n d th e c o u n try th a t have b e e n
w orking o n th is issu e fo r a long tim e.
I th in k th e o th e r p iec e w as leg itim ate criticism
of so m e of th e e le m e n ts of th e p roposal. F o r
exam ple, u n lim ited p e rso n a l p o sse ssio n and
cultivation a re ju s t a little beyond w h e re th e v o te rs
a re o n th e issu e. T h e av erag e v o te r’s th in k in g is
"P eople w a u l
to know th a t
there Is g o in g
to be a lo g ic a l
re g u la to ry
fram ew ork th a t
Is workable^
o w n as people
are v e ry m uch
fe e lin g owl
w hat the best
approach I s / r
See POT, page 4
Inside
Street papers
Kids these days
On holiday
converge
Is psychiatry
falling short in
helping troubled
youths?
Journalist
Elizabeth Becker
on becoming a
responsible
tourist
Social media and
excelling in the
digital age dominate
international talks
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