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Oregon Could Be the Pioneer in Interstate Cannabis Export

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[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]T[/dropcap]here is a possibility for Oregon to become one of the first states to allow cannabis exports to other legal states under a bill that’s being drafted for consideration in 2019.

A cannabis business alliance is working in collaboration with state lawmakers to push the legislation forward, reports The Statesman Journal. Democratic state senator, Floyd Prozanki, seems optimistic about the legislation and he has already indicated that he’d be accommodating towards the proposal.

Craft Cannabis Alliance Executive Director Adam Smith thinks that the cannabis industry is a flourishing market whose growth is being inhibited by state and federal laws. He feels that allowing interstate exports of Oregon’s cannabis products would empower the emerging legal market and help it grow to its full potential.

If the proposed legislation gets approved, Oregon wholesalers would be able to export cannabis products to other legal states such as Washington and California. The law would not allow transport through non-legal states. Exports and deliveries of cannabis will only be authorized if the governor of Oregon made a pact with the other states. Prozanski said that he plans to reintroduce provisions from Senate Bill 1042, a similar proposal that died in the statehouse in 2017.

Still, opponents aren’t convinced that Oregon can make this work. “I can’t imagine any state would agree to do this with Oregon,” said Kevin Sabet, president of anti-cannabis group Smart Approaches to Marijuana. “It looks like a desperate attempt to tackle the out-of-control black market production that has happened in Oregon since legalization,” Sabet said. “The state should be focusing on how to reduce overall demand and supply.”

The plan for now is to keep the bill’s momentum going and vote on it in 2019. If the legislation is approved, exports are estimated to begin in 2021.

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