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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 2014)
LET TERS REMEMBERING EVE Bayard’s work for the UO in oceanography, and I still wonder if that influenced We have lost a smart and witty my student to attend the next lady! Eve McConnaughey year. always kept us enjoying life with her sharp and Last Thursday funny comments, night was the Eugene her important and Symphony and detailed testimony I missed seeing at city, county or her. Her love of state hearings, classical music had and with her large her attending many circle of Eugene musical events at friends. She was a the Hult and Beall true environmental and auditoriums. She also social activist along with enjoyed years of singing in E V E MCCONN AUGHE Y her husband, Bayard. the Unitarian Choir and was the Our community owes them a great church’s longest continuing member. deal as she served on boards and participated We will miss our smiling friend. with the Natural History Society, Audubon, Ruth Duemler Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition and Eugene CALC. Some of us had the pleasure of accompanying them to the one mile of coast FOLLOW THE MONEY just south of Yachats that they watched It’s been very confusing to watch the and protected for the Coastal Coalition. incoordinate motion about Eugene City They would make observations of sea- Hall, but I think I’ve figured it out. There life, measure the changing river patterns was a “design team” at work, and where and check for any sewerage outfall and there’s a design team there’s money to be dumping of trash. made. This group was convened without direction from elected officials, without Evelyn and Bayard wrote the classic budget and without goals. Do you really book Pacific Coast, and then she produced think they would search for the most her specialty book Sea Vegetables. I’ll never economical solution without budget forget when my new UO student roomer constraints? Do you think they would look came to the kitchen with a tattered book and for a small-footprint, minimally invasive I asked if he would like to meet the author. solution without direction? Not while I called and we had an invitation for dinner. there’s money to be made! Not only did we enjoy seaweed among The whole project is out of control. No the vegetables but we learned more about VIEWPOINT voter approval, no budget (we’ll find the money somewhere), no list of what needs to be included. I really hope we get some better answers soon. William (Chico) Schwall Eugene GRATEFUL FOR EUGENE I’ve lived in this delightful town for nearly a decade and enjoy perusing your periodical. This summer I spent a month in my home state of Ohio, and oooh-boy does absence make the heart grow fonder. Granted, there is room for improvement in Eugene, but there is much for which to be grateful. What follows is a list of things not readily available in towns of this size in the Midwest that some readers may be taking for granted: • Recycling as a way of life — in restaurants, public spaces and private homes — everyone recycles (there may be a few holdouts, but I’ve yet to find one). • Vegetarian and vegan options are readily available at the majority of restaurants — local salads noticeably bereft of iceberg lettuce. • Several farmers markets to choose from — also bereft of loathsome iceberg. • Organic produce can be found in markets of all types, not just remote, specialty grocers. • Bars, taverns and breweries with a staggering selection of craft beers. • Extensive bike paths/lanes and drivers who are comparatively conscious of cyclists. A QUEER VENUE COMING In response to Dani Davis [Letters, 10/9]: The feeling is mutual. Being from Minneapolis, the Gay ’90s and the Saloon are just two of the many LGBT establishments we could go to. Moving here was a culture shock for me! Not one place where we could go and feel at home. But there is hope. My colleague Andrew Clark and I are working on opening an all-inclusive queer establishment in Eugene. We would provide a restaurant, bar and nightclub inside an over-arching community center. We look to offer spaces for groups to rent out and to be a much-needed source of work for those in our community who have barriers to employment. What we need from our community is BY MITCH MONSOUR We Can Do Better THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST MEASURE 91 I n 2012 residents of Colorado and Washington bypassed their state legislatures and voted to legalize cannabis for recreational use, taking the first steps towards ending 77 years of prohibition. This one act changed the entire political landscape. For the first time a majority of Americans support legalization, and many states are already discussing change at the policy level. Measure 91, however, undercuts two of the central goals of legalization: eliminating the black market, and reducing the role of law enforcement in drug policy. As a result, even if it passes Measure 91 is bound to fail. One of the primary reasons is the way business licenses would be granted. M91 gives the Oregon Liquor Control Commission complete control over cannabis regulation, including the sole authority to issue licenses for cultivation and sales. Furthermore, it allows the OLCC to deny a license to anyone with a marijuana conviction in the past five years, or two convictions total, which includes a large number of people currently operating in the black market. People are unlikely to stop working in the underground economy unless they’re offered similar opportunities in the legal one — the creation of much touted “green” jobs will be mostly low-paying service sector work, hardly a replacement for the higher income people currently enjoy as a grower or seller on the black market. And if decades of failed drug policy has 4 • Spencer Butte, Ridgeline, Pisgah and Hendricks — just a few lovely hiking spots available here in town, to say nothing of majestic landscapes in the surrounding areas. • Good coffee — ubiquitous providers of said good coffee (I am not referring to a certain monolithic cafe — they peddle their over-roasted beans everywhere — shudder). • A free, local alternative newspaper (god love ya!). Just some things to consider the next time one hears/utters complaints of a canceled art class, a carnivore or a train whistle (oh, forevermore!). Elizabeth O’Harra Eugene October 23, 2014 • eugeneweekly.com demonstrated anything, it’s that the black market cannot be stopped by law enforcement. There is also enough ambiguity in the wording of Measure 91 that the OLCC could technically deny anyone a license. Specifically, it would allow the OLCC to deny a license to any person they consider “not of good repute and moral character” or “in the habit of using alcoholic beverages, habit-forming drugs, marijuana or controlled substances to excess.” Determining whether or not a person is of good moral character or has a substance abuse problem is a highly subjective process that should not be left to five people, in particular five people with no democratic accountability. Despite ostensible legalization, M91 maintains most of the criminal penalties for illegal possession, cultivation and sales. While the measure would allow up to four “mature” plants per household without a license, five to eight plants would be considered a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine. Just one additional plant (nine in total) changes the violation to a Class B felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Selling any amount without a license is also a Class B felony. For all the talk of protecting minors, the penalties are even more severe for individuals under 21. Growing any amount would be considered a Class B felony. Possessing seven or more grams of homemade solid product would also be a Class B felony — literally the equivalent of a few brownies. In addition, the law would allow a judge to suspend their driver’s license for up to one year, regardless of whether or not they were driving at the time. Far more egregious, however, is the penalty for giving cannabis to an individual under 18. Regardless of the amount involved, if the person convicted is at least three years older than the minor, he or she would be charged with a Class A felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $375,000 fine. In other words, an 18-year-old could spend 20 years in prison for giving a gram of cannabis to a 15-year-old. In comparison, the first offense for giving alcohol to a minor is only a $350 fine, irrespective of their age. The second offense is a $1,000 fine. Only after a third conviction does the defendant receive jail time — a minimum of 30 days. This isn’t public policy, it’s madness. Legalization is inevitable at this point, but the form it takes has yet to be determined. If we truly want to end the black market and stop sending people to prison, we need to take a different approach. Voters should reject M91 and support efforts towards a better initiative. In the interim we can pressure state and local representatives to expand decriminalization, which would significantly reduce the burden on the criminal justice system and protect people from the trauma and stigmatization of prison. It’s tempting to vote “yes” on M91 after such a long period of prohibition, but the social and economic gains from a sensible drug policy will be well worth the wait. Be patient Oregon — we can do better. Mitch Monsour is currently a doctoral candidate in the Department of Soci- ology at the University of Oregon.
