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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2015)
News Cannabis Association to Hold Expungement Clinic By Christen McCurdy Of Th e Skanner News T he Oregon Cannabis Association will host a legal clinic in North Portland Nov. 5 offering assistance in fi ling ex- pungement petitions for those with marijua- na convictions in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas Counties. The group has set up a website at newday- oregon.org where interested parties can fi ll out a form detailing the nature of their con- viction, so staff can determine whether or not they are eligible and sign them up for the clinic. Not all marijuana-related convictions are eligible for expungement – just those lined out in Senate Bill 844, which was co- sponsored by Sen. Ginny Burdick (D-Port- land) and Rep. Ann Lininger (D-Portland) and signed into law in August. That bill, an omnibus bill addressing mar- ijuana legalization issues, is the surviving version of a policy change initially proposed by Rep. Lew Frederick (D-Portland). That bill died in the legislature earlier this year. Cannabis Association spokesperson Karynn Fish told The Skanner News so far, Amy Margolis – who leads the association – plans to staff the clinic on a pro bono ba- sis with colleagues from Emerge Law Firm, where Margolis also works,. The associ- ation has been in conversation with other fi rms and will engage them if they see a high volume of applications for the event. In addition, Fish said, while the Novem- ber clinic is specifi cally for people in the Portland metropolitan area, the group is open to holding clinics for people outside the metro area. The Criminal Justice Policy Foundation estimates that as many as 50,000 Orego- nians – 20,000 of them in the Portland metro area – have marijuana-related convictions on their record. “It’s not clear whether all those people would qualify under the law,” Fish said, since the new legislation only addresses marijuana-related offenses that are now le- gal under Measure 91. Possession of more than one ounce of marijuana is still illegal for those without a medical dispensary li- cense, and licensing for recreational-only dispensaries is still in process, so distribu- tion-related offenses may also not qualify. In addition, the upcoming clinic is for mar- ijuana offenses only. (Metropolitan Public Defenders conducts weekly expungement clinics for offenses of all types.) “I think this is a really critical next step,” Fish said. “Oregon did something really special with passing these laws, bringing these laws into sync with how voters feel about marijuana.” Neither the press release nor the website list a specifi c location, but both note the clinic will take place in North Portland, in part to reach out to communities who were disproportionately likely to face arrest or prosecution for drug-related offenses. Ac- cording to the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, African Americans are twice as likely as Whites to be arrested for marijuana-related offenses, though accord- ing to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse and Health, Whites are more likely to have used the drug. “This is an issue of equity,” Fish said. Fish said the Oregon Cannabis Associa- tion – an advocacy group representing those in the marijuana industry – is holding this clinic in the last months before the Oregon Liquor Licensing Commission begins ac- cepting applications to process and distrib- ute recreational marijuana, to help ensure diverse communities have a chance to enter the industry. On Oct. 1, medical dispensa- ries began selling to recreational customers, but aspiring recreational dispensary opera- tors sit in a regulatory limbo, with applica- tions not being accepted until January. According to OLCC’s website, the agency may reject applications from anyone who “has been convicted of violating a general or local law of this state or another state, or of violating a federal law, if the conviction is substantially related to the fi tness and ability of the applicant to lawfully carry out activities under the license.” Marijuana Pesticide Brings Lawsuit in Colorado DENVER (AP) — Two marijuana users in Colorado fi led a lawsuit Monday against a pot business they said used an unhealthy pesticide to grow their weed in a case law- yers say is the fi rst product liability claim in the nation involving the legal marijuana industry. The case underscores disagreement over what chemicals should be allowed in the cultivation of pot and leaves the plaintiffs facing a dilemma. That’s because the U.S. government still regards almost all marijuana as an illicit drug and there are no federal safety guide- lines for growing it. The state of Colorado has approved a list of pesticides that are acceptable to grow pot, but it’s far from complete and leaves out several pesticides that are commonly used on both food and tobacco. The lawsuit fi led in state court targets use of a fungicide called Eagle 20 EW by a Denver-based pot company called LivWell, where authorities quarantined thousands of plants earlier this year, saying they had been treated with the pesticide. Eagle 20 EW is commonly used on grapes and hops but can become dangerous when heated and is banned for use on tobacco. No research exists on whether the fungi- cide is safe to use on pot that will be eaten. Authorities released LivWell’s confi scated plants after they tested at acceptable levels. Still, the plaintiffs insist that LivWell should be punished for using a chemical not listed by the state as acceptable for use on pot. LivWell lawyer Dean Heizer said the nine- shop chain no longer uses Eagle 20 EW and added that no consumer illnesses have been linked to marijuana pesticides in Colorado or any other state. We honor the many accomplishments of African Americans It is our primary goal as a labor union to better the lives of all people work- ing in the building trades through ad- vocacy, civil demonstration, and the long-held belief that workers deserve a "family wage" - fair pay for an honest day's work. A family wage, and the bene- fits that go with it, not only strengthens families, but also allows our communities to be- come stronger, more cohe- sive, and more responsive to their citizens' needs. Page 10 October 7, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Our family wage agenda re- flects our commitment to peo- ple working in the building trades, and to workers every- where. In this small way, we are doing our part to help peo- ple achieve the American Dream. This dream that work- ers can hold dear regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, creed, or religious be- liefs. The Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters Representing more than 5.000 construction workers in Oregon State. Do you want to know more about becoming a Union carpenter?
