SALEM – The Oregon Senate passed a bipartisan bill designed to tighten the state’s cannabis industry by requiring that the Oregon Liquor Control Commission tracking system be used to monitor marijuana produced and transferred within the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program system.
Senate Bill 1057 – which passed on the Senate floor by a 23-6 vote – gives the Oregon Liquor Control Commission the necessary authority to prevent the illegal transfer or diversion of marijuana from medical licensees. It also allows OLCC marijuana licensees to be designated by the agency as exclusively serving medical consumers.
“Our goal is to have the best running recreational and medical cannabis industries in the country, with successful new businesses blossoming while we close leaks that can lead to product ending up in the black market,” said Sen. Ginny Burdick (D-Portland), who carried the bill in the Senate alongside Sen. Ted Ferrioli (R-John Day). “This bill is designed to create a tighter system for a well-run industry.”
Oregon voters passed Ballot Measure 91 in 2014, allowing for those 21 and older to use marijuana recreationally. While the manufacture, delivery and possession of marijuana still is illegal under federal law, the federally issued Cole Memo created guidelines to federal prosecutors specifying when they should prosecute marijuana crimes. As long as states comply with the Cole Memo, federal prosecutors have been encouraged not to focus their efforts on state-sanctioned medical or recreational marijuana systems. With the change in federal administration, adherence to the Cole Memo is even more important.
Senate Bill 1057 makes a series of changes to provide greater oversight and authority to the OLCC and Oregon Health Authority regarding tracking, production, transport and sale of cannabis.
Senate Bill 1057 now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.
