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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (March 27, 2019)
B8 Wallowa County Chieftain NEWS Wednesday, March 27, 2019 Legislature addresses marijuana accessibility, overproduction By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Oregon Capital Bureau Joseph legalized recre- ational marijuana dispensa- ries last November, 2018. As the Joseph City Council crafts its own policies regu- lating the product it will have to pay close attention to the revolving door of statewide legislation. Issues of supply and demand and how to use market forces to effi ciently allocate surpluses are some of the challenges. State lawmakers are con- sidering more than two dozen bills that could affect Oregonians who consume recreational and medical marijuana. Oregon voters approved legalizing recreational use of cannabis for adults 21 and older in 2014. Since then, legislators have been shoring up the state’s system to regu- late the newly legal product. This year, proposals would tighten some regu- lations and loosen others as the state continues to wres- tle with a glut of marijuana plants and products. That excess has prompted federal authorities to insist on tougher regulation while lawmakers consider mea- sures that would allow Ore- gon cannabis businesses to sell inventory in neighboring states. State auditors recently uncovered issues with how the state regulates marijuana. In January, the Secretary of State’s offi ce reported that the Oregon Liquor Control Commission has been unable to keep marijuana from seep- ing into the black market. Errors in the data the agency uses to track legal mari- juana have made it harder to spot suspicious issues, and the agency hasn’t employed enough people to keep up with the demand for licenses and the need for inspections, auditors said. Lawmakers may take aim at the agency’s workload issue by allowing the liquor control commission to limit marijuana licenses. Cannabis has a long his- tory in Oregon. The state’s voters favored legalizing marijuana for medicinal uses in 1998, 25 years after Ore- gon became the fi rst state to decriminalize cannabis. The two markets — rec- reational and medical — continue side by side, with a well-established constit- uency rooting for medical marijuana. The longstanding medi- cal marijuana market is reg- ulated mostly by the Oregon Health Authority, although the OLCC has stepped in to track medical dispensaries, processors and growers who grew medical marijuana for three or more patients. Medical marijuana card- holders can buy cannabis tax- free at retailers. Here is some of the canna- bis-related legislation pend- ing in the 2019 Legislature: You might be able to order cannabis through a state website — or from a neighboring city. House Bill 2723 would direct the OLCC to set up a system so medical marijuana patients could order cannabis online. Sponsor: Rep. Rob Nosse, D-Portland. Status: Lawmakers con- ducted a hearing on the bill Monday. Chatter: The OLCC doesn’t think it’s necessary for them to set up an online ordering system for the pri- vate sector, said the agen- cy’s executive director, Steve Marks. The state could coordinate a medical marijuana delivery pilot, perhaps twice a month for a small group of patients in certain regions of the state, Marks said. “Do people want it deliv- ered? Can we organize it? Is it going to work for patients if we did something like this? And is it actually worth- while?” Marks said in an interview with the Oregon Capital Bureau. “I’m kind of skeptical. On the other hand, if we had a pilot, we’d have information to judge whether we’d want to do some- thing larger or smaller in the future.” House Bill 2909 would allow retailers to deliver to EO fi le photo The Oregon Legislature is looking at bills that would make marijuana more accessible to legal users while cracking down on the black market. adjacent cities and unincor- porated counties that have also opted in to allow legal recreational cannabis. Sponsor: Rep. Ken Helm, D-Beaverton, Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene Status: Lawmakers heard public testimony on the bill Monday and Wednesday. Chatter: “Creating effi - ciency and safety in technol- ogy for cannabis companies is one of the strongest actions we can take against the illicit market for cannabis,” said Skip Newberry, president of the Technology Association of Oregon, in written testi- mony to the House Economic Development Committee. You could legally buy cannabis from California. Senate Bill 582 would allow the Oregon gover- nor to enter into a compact with bordering states with legal cannabis to coordi- nate and enforce regulations on licensed marijuana busi- nesses. Licensed marijuana businesses could transport and sell Oregon marijuana in California, for example. But transportation methods that are regulated solely by the federal government couldn’t be used. The current version of the bill specifi es that the agreement between states has to include a way to track mar- ijuana items and “enforce- able public health and safety standards.” Sponsor: Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene and Rep. Ken Helm, D-Beaverton Status: Lawmakers heard public testimony on the bill Feb. 7, with no movement since then. Chatter: “Oregon produc- ers have struggled because interstate sales and interna- tional sales are not legal,” said Sarah Duff, media and outreach director for the International Cannabis Busi- ness Conference, in written testimony. “If they were, then our growers would be as val- ued and famous worldwide as Oregon wine makers.” The state could recon- sider past cannabis-related crime convictions. House Bill 3144 would direct the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission to study setting aside certain marijua- na-related convictions “based on conduct that is no longer unlawful” and report back to the Legislature in 2020. Sponsor: House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson, D-Portland Status: The bill hasn’t been worked or received a public hearing yet, but has been referred to the House Committee on Judiciary. It may become illegal for an employer to fi re you because of a positive drug test for cannabis. House Bill 2655 would prohibit an employer from using a positive drug test for a legal substance, including cannabis, as the only grounds for fi ring, or as the sole rea- son not to hire you. You couldn’t use the sub- stance during work hours, and it can’t impair your work. The law wouldn’t apply if a ban on consuming can- nabis is a “bona fi de qual- ifi cation” for the job or is included in a collective bar- gaining agreement. Sponsor: Rep. Chris Gorsek, D-Troutdale Status: The bill received a public hearing before the House Business and Labor Committee on Feb. 13, but hasn’t been voted on. A companion bill, Sen- ate Bill 379, received a pub- lic hearing Feb. 7 but has not moved either. Chatter: “In addition to employees directly regulated by (the U.S. Department of Transportation), many employees within the truck- ing industry are still in safe- ty-sensitive positions where impairment of any kind could jeopardize the health and safety of themselves, our drivers, or the motoring pub- lic,” Waylon Buchan, a lob- byist for the Oregon Trucking Associations, told lawmakers in written testimony. Opponents of the bill have said the proposal could con- fl ict with federal laws. You could smoke at a cannabis lounge or at tem- porary events, like festivals and concerts. Senate Bill 639 would allow Oregonians 21 and older to smoke at tempo- rary events and “cannabis lounges.” Sponsor: Sen. Lew Fred- erick, D-Portland and Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene. Status: A public hear- ing was held Feb. 28 with no movement since then. A companion bill in the House, House Bill 2233, went through a public hear- ing Wednesday. Chatter: “Both fi rst- hand and second-hand mar- ijuana smoke contains many of the same cancer-caus- ing chemicals as tobacco smoke, and there is no evi- dence that ventilation of smoke within enclosed areas is effective in mitigat- ing health effects,” said Jes- sica Nischik-Long, execu- tive director of the Oregon Public Health Association, in written testimony. “The addi- tion of cannabis cafes creates an increased risk of driving under the infl uence, as there are no assessments to mea- sure when an individual is ‘too high’ to drive and no set guidelines to determine when someone should no longer be served.” Editor Christian Ambro- son contributed to the sub- stance of this article Thank You Wallowa County Farmers & Ranchers! MENUS ENTERPRISE SCHOOLS Cereal, fresh fruit, yogurt, vegetables and milk served daily Monday, Apr. 1: Breakfast: Sausage & eggs Lunch: Beef ravioli & green beans Tuesday, Apr. 2: Breakfast: Ham & pancakes Lunch: Baked ham & mashed potato Wednesday, Apr. 3: Breakfast: Waffles Lunch: Chicken parmesan & noodles Thursday, Apr. 4: No School JOSEPH SCHOOLS Cereal, fresh fruit, yogurt, and milk served daily Monday, Apr. 1: Breakfast: Breakfast bars Lunch: PB & J sandwiches with string cheese Tuesday, Apr. 2: Breakfast: Strawberry parfait Lunch: Chicken fajitas & refried beans Wednesday, Apr. 3: Breakfast: Bagel & cream cheese Lunch: Tempura chicken & rice Thursday, Apr. 4: Breakfast: Cereal & bananas Lunch: Hamburgers & potato salad WALLOWA SCHOOLS Cereal, fresh fruit, vegetables & milk served daily Monday, Apr. 1: Breakfast: Sausage biscuit Lunch: Tater tot treat & roll Tuesday, Apr. 2: Breakfast: Breakfast taco wrap Lunch: Hamburger & jo joes Wednesday, Apr. 3: Breakfast: Frudel Lunch: Chicken fajita & corn Thursday, Apr. 4: Breakfast: Mini pancakes & yogurt Lunch: Cheese quesadilla & refried beans Old Fashioned Values Sales & Service 311 W. Main Street Enterprise, Oregon 541-426-2100 Supporting Wallowa County Farmers, Ranchers and Agriculture WALLOWA COUNTY SENIOR MEALS Meal site information: Wallowa 886-8971, Enterprise 426-3840, Home delivered meals 426-3840. To sponsor a senior meal, call 426-3840 or stop by the Community Connection office. Monday, Apr. 1: Sloppy joes, macaroni salad, jell-o with fruit, & cookie (In memory of Tom & Marion Sevier Johnson) Wednesday, Apr. 3: Kielbasa & sauerkraut, baked potato, mixed vegetables, & pudding (sponsored by City of Enterprise) Friday, Apr. 5: Oven baked chicken, roasted red potatoes, corn, coleslaw, & dessert (sponsored by Soroptimist International of Wallowa County) 800 S. River Enterprise, Oregon 541-426-9228
