Oregon Approves Home Delivery of Marijuana
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Saturday, October 24, 2015
GoLocalPD
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission on Thursday approved the final versions of the rules for full-scale marijuana retail sales that will begin next year, including the rules for home delivery for marijuana.
Many in the industry actually advocated against allowing retail marijuana shops, according to Rob Patridge, OLCC Chairman.
“The home delivery issue, I was a little surprised that even the industry was not supportive generally of the home delivery provisions," Partridge said. He noted that the rules still may evolve overtime. "Some of those things need to get teased out. We're looking for legislative direction.”
Home delivery of marijuana will be permitted under the new rules. Retailers can only deliver in the city in which they are licensed to operate, and can only transport $100 worth of marijuana at any one time.
These are the final version regulations will take effect in January, and two drafts had been published earlier, as GoLocal reported. They include rules on the on-site consumption of marijuana by employees, delivery of marijuana, background checks on budtenders edible packaging, and more.
Under the new rules, employees at licensed facilities who are medical marijuana patients will be allowed to consume cannabis at work, provided they are not intoxicated.
“Budtenders”, the staff at dispensaries who help customers select their products and offer advice, must apply for a marijuana handler’s permit and are disqualified if they have a felony conviction. Those with misdemeanors will still be allowed to work as budtenders.
Edibles have long been a key issue in marijuana regulation. As GoLocal reported, dispensaries are longing for the days when they can sell edibles to recreational customers.
In order to do so, edible packaging must be prepared by the liquor commission. Any changes to the flavor must also be reviewed by the state.
The rules also set guidelines for production limits for cannabis growers.
There will four tiers of marijuana growers, based on size. Tier I for indoor growers allows up to 5,000 sq. ft. of space, while Tier II allows up to 10,000. For outdoor growers, a Tier one license will allow cultivation of 20,000 sq. ft, while a Tier II will allow for up to 40,000.
The regulations will also impose a seed-to-sale tracking system on marijuana that will be sold recreationally. This will allow regulators to know exactly how much marijuana is being produced, who is selling it, and whether businesses are following the rules and paying the proper amount in taxes.
Related Slideshow: 20 Things You Need to Know About Buying Pot in Oregon
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Employers Still Can—And Will—Drug Test
Many of the state’s largest employers, including Fred Meyer, Intel, Bi-Mart and Dairy Queen, will still test for marijuana, despite its new legal status. Companies that employ heavy equipment operators are required to buy insurance, and typically require drug testing.
Often, even companies that employ workers who operate machinery while simultaneously employing workers who do not will test, as the company will receive a lower monthly deductible if they test all of their employees across the board.
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Only a Quarter-Ounce per Customer, Please
Dispensaries will only be allowed to sell a quarter-ounce of marijuana per customer, per day. Residents are allowed different amounts for travel and home storage.
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Child Proof Packaging
Dispensaries, in addition to their limits on sales per person, also must package their recreational marijuana in a particular way. It must be placed in an opaque bag that is smell and child-proof.
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Can I Grow Cannabis at My House?
Those with a green thumb will be permitted to grow their own marijuana for private consumption. They are only allowed four plants per person, however, and each must be obscured from public view.
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How Much Can I Have at My House?
Residents will be allowed to keep plenty of dry marijuana (flowers or leaves that are ready to be smoked) in their home. They are allowed to store eight ounces, more than thirty times the purchasing limits, in their home.
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How Much Can I Travel With?
Traveling restrictions are stricter than regulations for home storage. Adults are able to travel with up to one ounce, or four times the purchase limit, on their person.
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Driving Under the Influence
Unlike the Washington law, which included attached regulations concerning driving impairment, Oregon’s law has more room for interpretation.
Driving under the influence of marijuana is classified as a Class B Traffic Violation, which carries a presumptive fine of $260 and is not to exceed maximum fine of $2,000. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission has been tasked with researching the subject of drugged driving and presenting its finding to the Oregon Legislative Assembly no later than January 2017.
After reviewing the OLCC report, the state legislative assembly will decide whether passing more extensive driving regulations will be necessary.
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No Smoking in Public
Yes, marijuana is legal. No, that does not mean you can light up in the middle of the street. Consumption is only allowed out of the public view.
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Where will the New Tax Money Go?
Where will the tax money go?
Measure 91, the ballot measure passed last year that legalized marijuana in Oregon, stipulates that the tax revenue collected from recreational sales will be divided up in the following ways:
40 percent- Common School Fund
20 percent- Mental Health Alcoholism and Drug Services
15 percent- Oregon State Police
10 percent- Counties for enforcement of the measure
10 percent- Cities for enforcement of the measure
5 percent- Oregon Health Authority for drug abuse prevention
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Where You Can Buy Marijuana
Already licensed medical marijuana dispensaries will be allowed to sell recreationally beginning on October 1, although not every dispensary will sell recreationally.
For a full list of those that have been approved to sell to the public, click here.
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Not Everywhere
While marijuana is now legal for recreational use in the state of Oregon, some individual communities have passed laws banning recreational marijuana facilities from opening. Consumption will still be legal in these areas, but sales will not.
For a full list of cities that have passed these bans, click here.
Photo: Downtown Baker City; via Wikimedia Commons
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What to Do at a Dispensary
First time at a dispensary? No worries, said Meghan Walstatter, Owner of Pure Green Dispensary. Just ask plenty of questions to staff to ease all of your concerns.
Photo: Pure Green Dispensary
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Budtenders-Bartenders for Weed
Have questions as you make your purchase? No problem, just ask your friendly budtender. The cannabis industry’s answer to bartenders, budtenders are knowledgeable about the different strains and types of marijuana and their effects and are ready and eager to help novice smokers.
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Cannabis Indica
Indica, along with its sister sativa, are one of the two main types of cannabis. Each has their own unique effects on its user. Indica strains are known for relieving physical pain and giving users a sleepy, lethargic feeling.
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Cannabis Sativa
Sativa strains are the counter to indica strains.They are known for as a more mental stimulation, giving users more creative and sometimes, more focus
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Hybrids
The best of both worlds. At least, that’s what hybrids claim to be. They combine the properties of an indica strain and a sativa strain, by allowing users to feel relaxed, but not sleepy.
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Bring Cash
While some dispensaries do accept credit card, most do not, according to Leah Maurer, Co-chair of Women’s Grow. Make sure to bring some cash if you plan to purchase some cannabis today.
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How to Store your Cannabis
Concerned about storing your new marijuana in your home around your family? Maurer said to store it as you would alcohol or prescription drugs, away from the reach of children and teenagers.
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Don’t Cross State Lines
It will still be illegal to transport marijuana across state lines. That restriction even includes those crossing the Columbia River into Washington, where marijuana is also legal. Marijuana is classified as a Scheduled I controlled substance, meaning that anyone transporting it across line is prosecutable by Federal agencies
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Make Sure to Talk to Your Kids
It's likely that children and young adults will see more cannabis, and cannabis consumption, now that recreational sales have begun. Maurer said to make sure you have an honest, frank conversation about the benefits and consequences of the substance.
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