Lit_Match

Marijuana initiative would allow pot sales at Ore. liquor stores
07-07-08|KATU.com

Relax it and tax it.

That's the motto behind a new cannabis initiative that would allow Oregon's state-controlled liquor stores to legally sell marijuana to adults.

Initiative backers said their plan would send 90 percent of the proceeds from the state's sale of marijuana to Oregon's General Fund, which could lower Oregonians' state tax burden.

Smaller percentages would go to funding drug abuse education and treatment programs.

The initiative would also legalize the growing of hemp, a non-drug variant of cannabis that can be used to make industrial-strength fibers and bio-fuels.

Supporters claim that allowing cannabis cultivation and sales through state liquor stores would add $300 million in combined tax revenues and savings to Oregon's budget.

Paul Stanford of the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act said the measure would also put a dent in illegal dealing of the weed.

"We want to take marijuana out of the hands of children and substance abusers, who control the market today, and put it in the hands of the state's liquor control commission and the age limit of 21 will be strictly enforced," Stanford said at a press briefing.

Supporters have two years to collect nearly 83,000 signatures to get the measure on the November ballot in 2010.

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Donation links to NORML (The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) | MPP (Marijuana Policy Project)

LowRider

well if this passes, i know where I'm going for a vacation. Also i would like to know how much would be decriminalized? they don't say how much one person is allowed to have on them at one time. guess this would be one of the measures that will have to be figured out towards the end

Jake

Just for clarification, are Oregon's liquor stores operated by the government, like the ABC Liquer stores in North Carolina?

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kcbennie

I don't know about other states, but in Missouri, ALL liquor sales are regulated by the state government.

SpiralArchitect

Fucking b-b-b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l-l-l.

83,000 sigs? In 2 years? No problem-o. I hope this passes

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WaldorfMD freeToke

83,000 signiatures... so if they were getting low on sigs, could a bunch of us just move to oregon and sign, and then vote to make it law? this seems like a pretty big deal, shouldn't we organize a little and maybe try moving out to oregon and making sure this happens? land of the free

Keyouse

Incredible. I think that this is a large step for the people of the US to see the benefits of cannabis and how harmless it is. It may also show the government its benefits and that it can be distributed easily and be used responsibly.

troublemaker_42

While legalization interests many of us, I doubt many people (myself included) feel strongly enough about it to completely uproot their lives ands rush out to Oregon to sign and vote. Quite frankly, I'm content to live right here, and do what I can. It simply isn't feasible to expect people to suddenly pack up and move just because a state is considering such a move. Prehaps if I was independantly wealthy, I could afford to move whereever the legalization war was being fought at a given time, but its simply not practical for many of us

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Ted Nugent: "To my mind it is wholly irresponsible to go into the world incapable of preventing violence, injury, crime, and death. How feeble is the mindset to accept defenselessness. How unnatural. How cheap. How cowardly. How pathetic."


If total government control equals safety, why are prisons so dangerous?

Buzzby

Why would you move your home and family to another state and establish residency in order to sign a petition for a voter initiative that has little chance of passing? The top polling number for people who want to legalize marijuana is 36%.

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JohnBoySmoker

Have the people who are pushing this initiative along forgotten about the DEA? Do you think the DEA is just going to let a rogue state begin selling something it deems dangerous to the public?