09-26-16 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Oregons Marijuana Laws An Overview of Oregons Marijuana Laws There are two separate laws and regulatory structures governing marijuana at the state level: the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, which regulates medical marijuana, and the Control and Regulation of Marijuana Act, which regulates recreational marijuana. Since their adoption by the voters, the Legislature has made substantial changes to both acts. Oregon Medical Marijuana Act Oregon has had a medical marijuana program since 1998, when voters approved Ballot Measure 67, the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act (OMMA) (codified at ORS 475B.400 – ORS 475B.525). Since that time, the Legislature has amended the OMMA on a number of occasions. Generally, under the OMMA, a person suffering from a qualifying debilitating health condition must get a written statement from a physician that the medical use of marijuana may mitigate the symptoms or effects of that condition. The person may then obtain a medical marijuana card from the Oregon Health Authority, which is the agency charged with regulating medical marijuana. The patient may designate a caregiver and a grower if the patient decides not to grow his or her own marijuana, each of whom also get a medical marijuana card. Patients, caregivers and growers with medical marijuana cards, who act in compliance with the OMMA, are immune from state criminal prosecution for any criminal offense in which possession, delivery or manufacture of marijuana is an element. Those without medical marijuana cards may also claim immunity from state criminal prosecution if they are in compliance with the OMMA and, within 12 months prior to the arrest at issue, had received a diagnosis of a debilitating medical condition for which a physician had advised medical marijuana could mitigate the symptoms or effects. The OMMA also provides protection from state criminal prosecution for medical marijuana processors and medical marijuana dispensaries acting in compliance with the law. The OMMA originally was envisioned as a system in which patients would grow for themselves the marijuana that they needed, or designate a small scale grower, and, as a result, the regulation was relatively minimal. The OMMA did not originally envision large-scale growsites, processing sites, or dispensaries. However, as time went on, the Legislature saw a need to impose more restrictions on medical marijuana grows, create a system for registering processors, and create a system for state-registered facilities to lawfully transfermedicalmarijuana between growers and patients or caregivers. Legislation in 2015 and 2016 addressed some of the local government concerns about the lack of regulation that had not been addressed in the original legislation. For example, a medical marijuana grow site now can have only a limited number of mature marijuana plants and a limited amount of usable marijuana harvested from those plants. In addition, medical marijuana is now classified as a farm crop, but the Legislature was careful to carve out local regulatory authority not available for other farm crops. The Legislaturealsoadded a new registration category for medical marijuana processors, and imposed greater restrictions on those facilities. Along similar lines, the Legislaturealsoadded further restrictions on where certain medical Local Government Regulation of Marijuana in Oregon League of Oregon Cities | 6 May 2016 (Third Edition)