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Oregons Marijuana Laws Receipt of the request if the land use is allowable as an outright permitted use; or Final local permit approval, if the land use is allowable as a conditional use. Certain small-scale medical marijuana growers outside of city limits do not have to request a LUCS when applying for a recreational marijuana license. (SB 1598, § 2). A local government that has a ballot measure proposing to ban marijuana activities does not have to act on the LUCS while the ballot measure is pending. Local Government Means of Regulation In recent years, the Legislature has enacted several pieces of legislation that have encroached, but not entirely preempted, a city’s home rule authority to regulate marijuana. What follows is a discussion of those various encroachments and the options that remain available for cities that may wish to regulate or prohibit marijuana activities. Tax The OMMA was silent on local authority to tax, meaning that local governments retained their home rule authority to tax medical marijuana. Measure 91, on the other hand, attempted to preempt local government authority to tax recreational marijuana, though there were significant questions regarding the effect and scope of that purported preemption. In ORS 475B.345, adopted in 2015, the Legislature vested authority to “impose a tax or fee on the production, processing or sale of marijuana items” solely in the Legislative Assembly, except as provided by law. The Legislature also provided that a city may not “adopt or enact ordinances imposing a tax or fee on the production, processing or sale of marijuana items,” except as provided by law. The Legislature went on to provide that cities may adopt an ordinance, which must be referred to the voters, imposing a tax or fee of up to 3 percent on the sale of marijuana items by a retail licensee. The ordinance must be referred to the voters in a statewide general election, meaning an election in November of an even-numbered year. However, if a city has adopted an ordinance prohibiting the establishment of any recreational marijuana licensees or any medical marijuana registrants in the city, the city may not imposea local tax under that provision. In addition, in 2016, the Legislature adopted an additional restriction on local governments by providing that a local tax may not be imposed on a medical marijuana patient or caregiver. (SB 1511, § 18). ORS 475B.345 preempts local governments from imposing a tax on the production, processing or sale of recreational marijuana, except as provided by state law. State law provides that a city may impose up to a 3 percent tax on the sale of marijuana by an OLCC-licensed retailer, but an ordinance adopting such a tax must be referred to the voters at a statewide general election. In 2016, the Legislature attempted to expand the state preemption by providing that a local tax may not be imposed on a medical marijuana patient or caregiver. (SB 1511, § 18). Cities that do impose a local tax may look to the state for help in administering that tax. Recognizing that cities, particularly smaller cities, may not have the resources to administer and Local Government Regulation of Marijuana in Oregon League of Oregon Cities | 15 May 2016 (Third Edition)