NORTHWEST Wallowa.com Wednesday, February 6, 2019 A9 Audit: State failing to regulate marijuana By Claire Withycombe Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Oregon’s system for regulating legal cannabis likely fails to pre- vent spillover to the black market, state auditors said Wednesday. That increases the risk that the state could be sub- ject to more federal scrutiny, said Secretary of State Den- nis Richardson, whose audits division released a report on state regulation of cannabis. Oregon has two systems for legal cannabis: medical, which voters approved more than 20 years ago, and recre- ational, which Oregon voters supported in 2014. Auditors studied the controls on each program, finding there were significant gaps. While a growing num- ber of states are legalizing cannabis, it remains illegal federally. In early 2018, then-At- torney General Jeff Sessions rescinded previous federal guidance on cannabis that had allowed more leeway for state-legal programs during the Obama administration. Shortly thereafter, Oregon’s top federal prosecutor, Billy Williams, made headlines when he lambasted what he claimed was a rampant prob- lem of diversion from the state, with tons of legally grown Oregon cannabis leaking across state lines and into the black market. State auditors waded into the fray this year, finding that state oversight is insuf- ficient, particularly when it comes to medical marijuana. Additionally, they said, the state could improve testing of marijuana products to pro- tect public health and should consider testing cannabis products for heavy metals and microbiological contam- inants. It should also make sure labs that test cannabis are consistently accredited. Although it has worked AP Photo/Don Ryan, File/East Oregonian Marijuana plants are shown at a facility in Springfield. to beef up tracking of mari- juana products, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission is hamstrung in efforts to prevent diversion due to data errors and a lack of inspec- tions, according to the report. The agency was over- whelmed by “rapid” growth of the cannabis market, audi- tors said, and was unable to get the staff, licenses and inspections it needed to ade- quately oversee the program. Just 3 percent of licensed retailers have undergone a state compliance inspection, while 32 percent of growers have, according to the audit. The agency halted pro- cessing new recreational marijuana license applica- tions in June so state officials could catch up on a backlog. Gov. Kate Brown wants to change state law to allow the OLCC to cap licenses based on market demand and other factors. The state doesn’t have as much authority to regu- late medical growers’ activ- ities, auditors said. And they found there aren’t enough inspectors of medical can- nabis, there is high turn- over among the inspectors the program does have, and money coming into the pro- gram through fees is drop- ping off. In a press release, Rich- ardson said that prevent- ing diversion of cannabis is “imperative to ensure federal authorities maintain confi- dence in Oregon’s ability to adequately regulate the use and sale of marijuana.” Directors of the Ore- gon Liquor Control Com- mission and the Ore- gon Health Authority said they agreed with auditors’ recommendations. Oregon looks at Quebec for carbon tax cap and trade model By Aubrey Wieber Oregon Capital Bureau As Oregon considers lim- iting carbon emissions to spare the environment, expe- rience in Canada with a simi- lar effort yields clues to what might happen. The province of Que- bec’s cap and trade program, started in 2013, has proven a boon to the economy and technological innovation while cutting emission lev- els, said Elizabeth MacKay, a representative of the Quebec government who is based in Los Angeles. “Our economy has grown steadily,” MacKay said. “In fact, at 2015 it was at 3.1 percent (growth), and that’s our strongest showing since 2000. We have no evi- dence that any company has left Quebec because of cap and trade.” MacKay was in Oregon to speak at a conference on carbon reduction held by the University of Oregon Law School. She testified last fall before the Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction. Cap and trade differs from a traditional carbon tax. Instead of charging polluters for what they emit, they must pay for their pollution over set limits — the cap. They do this by buying allowances to exceed the cap. In Oregon, the money the state brings in from sell- ing such allowances would be spent on environmen- tally friendly projects big and small, anything from ener- gy-efficient windows in a home to electronic mass tran- sit for a city. In recent years, the Leg- islature has considered such proposals but has not acted. In 2018, the issue was tabled due to a lack of time in the short session. On Thursday, the House and Senate Republican cau- cuses asked to have carbon policy fashioned the way big transportation and edu- cation packages were. Those involved legislators touring the state to get input from stakeholders and every- day Oregonians. That would mean delaying the legislation at least a year. Carol Montreuil, a vice president for the Canadian Fuels Association, has seen this process play out in Que- bec, and his advice to Ore- gon industry is to collaborate with government, not fight it. “You need to be sitting at the same table,” he said. Montreuil said initially, the idea was to have 12 or more jurisdictions around Quebec implement cap and trade at the same time, which would provide uni- form regulation for indus- try. He said the fear was that Quebec would end up being alone, making fuel and man- ufacturing more expensive in Quebec than in neighboring jurisdictions. Those fears proved right. Quebec is now the only Canadian province with a cap and trade system. But he said through repeated talks with the government over years, politicians responded to relax the regulation enough to keep Quebec’s business com- munity competitive. “The government in Que- bec was brilliant in under- standing they were alone in Canada, and they have to adjust the stringency accord- ingly,” he said. “They learned to walk before they learned to run.” MacKay, who visits Ore- gon regularly, said while Quebec’s population is more than twice that of Oregon and geographically is more than six times as vast, the prov- ince is actually a good com- parison. Both are rich in nat- ural resources and have a focus on hydropower. About half Quebec’s population is in urban centers. Eugene Hayes 97th & Eunice Hayes 93rd Birthday Celebration Family and friends are invited to an Open House Saturday, February 16, 2019 • 1:00-3:00 p.m. Wallowa Senior Center 204 East Second Street, Wallowa, Oregon Your presence is your gift. Come and share a memory! FEBRUARY DENTAL SAVINGS! 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