Strict Cannabis Regulatory Proposal Advances in Oregon

Marijuana producers and dispensers in Oregon face a laundry list of new regulations under a bill that’s finally made it to the floor of the state Senate.

The bill, designed to ensure the medical market doesn’t waylay the state’s recreational program, would require seed-to-sale tracking, limit the size of cannabis crops and allow municipalities to ban dispensaries and MMJ processors. The legislation has moved from a joint House-Senate committee to a Senate special committee and is now in front of the full state Senate.

Sen. Ginny Burdick said the regulations are needed because the MMJ industry, at the grower level, is completely unregulated. To craft rules around the recreational market but leave the medical side untouched would be inviting trouble, just as it did in Washington State.

By implementing these rules, she said, the medical market will not sabotage the states recreational program. Licenses to run adult-use businesses will be issued next spring, with rec shops expected to open in the fall.

Debate over the state’s medical cannabis program has been contentious. A legislative committee earlier this month fought to a standstill over whether to allow elected municipal officials to ban medical marijuana businesses.