Marijuana Legality in Oregon
The state of Oregon has been a front runner in setting trends for cannabis laws in the United States. Although It was one of the states that outlawed possession and use of marijuana all the way back in 1935; It has since been working to right that wrong in the past few decades. Oregon was the first state to decriminalize possession of marijuana in 1973. The law passed made possession of an ounce or less of ganja a slap on the wrist– only a 500-1000$ fine. Although it may seem like a harsh fine, It was better than having more than an ounce on you (a ‘crime’ that was not decriminalized) which was a felony offence and could land you up to ten years in prison. Alaska and Maine closely followed suit in decriminalizing marijuana in 1975 and 1976.
Although California beat Oregon to the punch in 1996 by legalizing medical marijuana first; It only took a few years for the state to catch on and legalize it medically as well. After being one of the first couple states to Set the initiative of legalizing cannabis medically, more and more states began to do the same. By early 2015 23 states, nearly half of the U.S had legalized it medically, and 4 had even set the bar to legalize it recreationally. Needless to say Oregon was among those 4 states to recreationally legalize ganja.
Ballot measure 91 was Oregon’s third attempt at recreational legalization. The previous two 1986’s measure 5, and 2012’s measure 80 both failed. Although the most recent measure 80 was defeated narrowly, while 47.% voted yes on legalization, and 53% of people voted no. In November 2014 ballot measure 91 was introduced and voted on. It wasn’t a landslide of a victory– but it was enough, 56% of people voted yes, while 44% of people voted no. Recreational marijuana in Oregon had been legalized ! The new law stated that anyone over the age of 21 could possess up to an ounce of marijuana on their person legally. In addition to that, they would also legally be allowed to hold up to eight ounces of ganja in their home, and grow up to four plants on their property.
However these new found laws did not go into effect until July 1st of 2015. In late July the governor of Oregon signed legislation setting the first legal marijuana sale date to October 1st, 2015. Although the date was set for October 1st, the state of Oregon won’t begin accepting applications for growers, wholesalers, processors and retail outlets until January 1st of 2016. While there were no recreational growers or dispensaries, on October 1st recreational sales took place at already existing medical dispensaries. In the first week that recreational sales were legal, it is estimated that Oregon residents spent over 11 million USD on ganja. The state of Oregon estimates that they will make between roughly 17-40 million per year in tax revenue.
Sounds like it’s about time to move to Oregon! It’s just a shame that the max amount of plants you can grow is 4 at a time, I could go through 8 easy ! 😉
