Little marijuana policy change following short 2018 session

Lawmakers reconvened early this year in a short session, which is held in alternating years. The compressed scheduled meant little change to current marijuana laws or policy in the state, particularly as those laws continue to serve residents and their communities.

Oregon’s elected officials have been generally supportive of the state program, as are most Oregonians. In August of last year, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent a letter to Gov. Kate Brown, critical of the state’s regulatory program — and in fact governors in the three other legalization states also received similar letters. In response, Gov. Brown indicated her support for the state program and called out the letter as based on outdated and incorrect information. In fact, all of the states that received letters from the Department of Justice responded to indicate that they were based on bad data. AG Sessions’ letter is available online here, along with Gov. Brown’s response.

Oregon’s program continues to evolve, with most changes coming from the regulatory agency rather than lawmakers. Regulators and law enforcement are looking for ways to reduce possible diversion of cannabis produced for the legal market that is entering the underground. For a closer look at the law as it currently stands, see our summary here, and be sure to check out the Oregon Liquor Control Commission’s detailed FAQ, available here.

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