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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (June 20, 2014)
street roots 2 Juné" 20, 2014' F n V T A R T We are reaching a tipping point in Portland S T Oregon should support the legalization of marijuana Being able to vote on the regulation, taxation and legalization of marijuana for recreational use in November looks like a reality in Oregon. Oregonians should vote yes. According to New Approach Oregon, th e campaign working on the legislation, revenues generated by taxation of recreational marijuana will go towards funding schools (40%), state and local police (35%) and drug treatment, prevention and mental health funding (25%). It’s projected that the revenue will be in the tens of millions of dollars. U n d e r th e c u rre n t ; : proposed legislation the state would regulate the amount of allowed purchase, sale, production, processing, transportation and delivery of marijuana item s—as well as granting, refusing, suspending or cancelling licenses. They also would regulate operating hours, security, quality control, labeling, and other health and safety issues. The measure prohibits minors from buying, selling, manufacturings possessing or consuming marijuana. It also prohibits minors from entering marijuana stores under penalty of losing driving privileges. Individuals would have to be 21 and over to purchase. The reality Is, marijuana Is already widely available in Oregon. By regnlating, taxing and overseeing the sale of marijuana, Oregon can shift its resources to target drug prevention. _________________________ T h e reality is , m ariju an a is alre a d y w id ely a v ailab ly in O regon. By regulating, taxing and o v erseein g th e sale of m ariju an a, O reg o n can sh ift its re s o u rc e s To ta rg e t d ru g p rev en tio n an d tre a tm e n t. It will also ta k e th e profits off the sale of marijuana off the criminal market and allow hard working Oregonians to access new and emerging jobs created by legalization. “We’ve got 20 states that have either explicitly authorized hemp cultivation, or they are tairing steps to promote it, Oregon being one of them,” Congressman Earl Blumenauer recently told Street Roots. “It’s one of those moments in history that is .• ripe, and Oregon* this year, is poised to be the turning point nationally. We’ve got these two states, Colorado and Washington, which have legalized it. Everything’s going to be trained on Oregon. People think that if they can beat it in Oregon, they can beat it anywhere. If it wouldn’t pass in Oregon, where would it pass? If it* passes, Thè wave will crest. We’re a cheap state to campaign in, so there will be energy and attention. If it passes here, California is a foregone conclusion, as is Maine.” We look to other civic leaders and elected officials around Oregon to show courage and to be bold, understanding that this is smart and effective policy. Let’s help make history. IM W Portland is reaching a tipping p o in t Couple the decline of affordable housing units with the increase rental prices from around the city and we re heading into a perfect storm. In fact, some might say th e storm has already arrived on our shores. It sure feels that way. We are' dangerously close as a city to following in both Seattle and S a n , Francisco’s ~ B y Israel Bayer footsteps when it “ ■■■■ comes to becoming a city w here only concentrated wealth, (mostly white), and the m ost destitute live side by side. It’s not a joke th at small business owners, teachers, baristas, to name a few, now have to look outside of the , city just to be able to maintain a lifestyle where they aren’t spending a large percentage of their income on housing alone. Understanding th at they’re in the midst of a housing crisis — San Francisco voters passed a Housing T rust Fund in 2012 with a goal o f ,, # building and preserving m ore than 30,000 affordable housing units in the city. The fund requires th at the city sets aside, general fund revenues beginning in 2013-2014 and ending in Fiscal Year 2042-2043 to create, acquire and rehabilitate affordable housing and promote affordable home ownership DIRECTOR'S DESK Israel Bayer is the executive director o f Street Roots. You can reach h im a t ’ 1 israel@streetroots. org orfollow him on Y Twitter @israelbayer. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Send letters to the editor to the Street Roots office, 211 NW Davis St, Portland, OR 97209, of e-mail to joanne® streetroots.org program s in the city. In Seattle, w here a similar setting exists, they are working hard to connect transportation, density and housing through a range of different programs. T he city also h a s a housing levy that has been overwhelmingly . supported by voters since the 1990s. These are just a few examples. If I’ve said it once in this column, I’ve said it a million times. We m ust be thinking bigger if we are going to combat the rapid economic and racial gentrification of our city. In order to do this we need leaders not thinking about the status quo, but thinking about how they are going to develop a plan to support working Oregonians. In order to get to a m ore equitable / Portland it’s going to take m ore than just charity. It’s going to take real infrastructure — like raising the minimum wage and creating something like a Housing T rust Fund. Currently, we are moving from year to year with patchwork like strategies that have us falling woefully behind. The reality is if Portland wants to be a world-class city, it’s going to have to take steps in these directions anyway. The question is w hether we have the leadership to make that happen today instead of waiting until we can no longer even tackle the i issue with a systemic approach. We have the political will to make it happen. It’s just a m atter of having elected leaders who are willing to do something about it. A n individual experiencing homelessness sleepsnext to an A T M machine in downtown Portland. PHOTO BYISRAEL BAYER ■■ O urm issbn staff Board o f Directors Street Roots creates income opp<xtunities fo r' people experiencing homelessness and poverty by producing a newspaper and other media that are ■ catalysts for individual and social change. ’ Executive Director Israel Bayer Bruce Anderson (Chairman), Michael Anderson (Vice* chairman), Heather Stadick (Treas.), Eddy Barbosa (Sec);' Rich Rodgers, Brad Taylor, Leo Rhodes, Nora Coon, Darren Alexander, Amber Bielman . . Street Roots publishes every tw o weeks, launching. ; on Fridays, and is available exclusively through our street vendors dr by subscription. We are proud members of the international Network o f Street Papers. Street Roots 211 NW Davis St. Portland, OR 97209 503-228-5657 Fax: 503-227-3117 streetroots.org news.streetroots.org israel@streetroots.org Managing Editor Joanne Zuhi joanne@streetfoots.org Vender Coordinator Cole Merkel cole@streetroots.org Operations Director Sarah Beecroft Program Assistant Grace Badik, Jesuit Volunteer, grace@streetroots-.org Development Director Sarah Cloud Office Assistant Amber Bielman Reporters Jake Thomas, Alex Zielinski, Nathan Gilles, Sue Zalokar, Ann-Derrick Galliot Photographers Kristina W right, Christopher Onstott, Adrienne Burkett Volunteers Jan Bayer, Elizabeth Tierney, Rob Shryock, Ann- Derrick Gaillot, Stacey Heath, Vinnie Kinsella, Michelle Breslau, Paula Cracas, John Barker, Mary Locke, Lucas Manfield, Jessie Carver, Cherie Vedal, Sam Bouman, Isaac Hastings Hauss, Emily Green, Tom Ray, Sarah Hansell, Afana Kansaku-Sarmiento, Kyle Craven, Audrey Benison Street Roots Rose City Resource Street Roots publishes the Rose City Resource, a comprehensive booklet o f services for people experiencing homelessness and poverty. To inquire about getting guides, call 503-228-5657. Resources'are online at www.rosecityresource.org. Venders Sheet Roots vendors buy thenewspapers for- 25 cents' ’ each and sell them fo r |1 , keeping the 75 cents in .' . profit fo r themselves, In order to keep the cost low to our vendors, we receive additional support from donations and in-kind contributions. 75 ' goes directly to the vendor who sold you the paper 25 goes toward printing costs Vendor orientations are. at 1 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Street Roots office’
