Oregon slashes daily purchase limits for medical cannabis patients

In a bid to stem the flow of marijuana product to the black market, Oregon regulators have ordered a steep cut over the next six months in the amount of cannabis that medical MJ patients can buy on a daily basis.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) last Thursday reduced purchasing limits for Medical Marijuana Program cardholders to 1 ounce of cannabis per day, down from the previous limit of 24 ounces per day. The rules took effect Aug. 24 and expire in six months.

The change comes as the OLCC faces increased pressure to react to the state’s oversupplied cannabis sector, including greater scrutiny from the state’s U.S. attorney, Billy Williams, who has tied the oversupply situation to the diversion of marijuana to the black market.

According to a news release, the “action on OMMP purchase limits is designed to prevent potential diversion of usable marijuana into the secondary illegal market.”

In other news, the OLCC issued the following decisions related to regulatory violations:

• The agency rejected a proposed settlement for wholesaler Black Market Distribution and directed staff to instead proceed through the state’s administrative hearing process to seek revocation of the wholesaler’s license for 10 violations.
• Cannabliss & Co. will either pay a fine of $4,950 or serve a 30-day recreational marijuana retailer license suspension for failing to keep surveillance recordings for a minimum of 90 days.
• Hi Cascade will either pay a fine of $6,105 or serve a 37-day recreational marijuana retailer license suspension for failing to keep backup recordings of video surveillance for a minimum of 30 days as well as for failing to immediately notify the OLCC of any equipment failure or system outage lasting 30 minutes or more.
• Shadowbox Farms will either pay a fine of $9,900 or serve a 30-day recreational marijuana producer license suspension – as well as either pay a fine of $12,210 or serve a 74-day rec cannabis producer license suspension – for six violations covering a range of areas, including product transport and surveillance.
• BZS Resource will either pay a fine of $7,260 or serve a 44-day recreational marijuana producer license suspension for three violations, including making physical changes to the licensed premises or the use of the licensed premises without the OLCC’s prior written approval.