Oregon Lawmakers Begin Looking at Rec MJ Regulations

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Oregon lawmakers have started asking questions about how to frame regulations pertaining to recreational marijuana ahead of sales scheduled to start in January 2016.

Sen. Fred Girod, a Republican from Stayton, asked if the state could do away with its medical marijuana program to avoid doubling staffing and oversight, according to the Statesman Journal. Recreational stores could sell medical marijuana, he said.

The senator also said he would like to lower the limit a household could possess, currently set at 8 ounces, and make giving someone a marijuana-infused edible without their knowledge a criminal offense, the newspaper reported.

Sen. Lee Beyer, a Democrat from Springfield, said the Oregon Liquor Control Commission should develop a list of changes it would like to see made and present it to lawmakers.

Among the most pressing questions not addressed when Measure 91 passed earlier this month was how to set a legal limit for driving under the influence. Scientists are divided over whether 5 nanogramos of THC per milliliter of blood, the standard used in Colorado and Washington, is an accurate measurement of a driver’s impairment, the Statesman Journal said.