Business
Trouble in Paradise: Oregon Legislature already trying to change the voters’ opinions on regulating legal cannabis
Recently,
a lobbyist representing the organizations of Oregon counties and cities
submitted a memo calling for the legislature to start allowing cities and
counties to have their own sales taxes on
ecently,
a lobbyist representing the organizations of Oregon counties and cities
submitted a memo calling for the legislature to start allowing cities and
counties to have their own sales taxes on recreational cannabis, as well as
have the authority to ban cannabis businesses without a vote. Portland’s new chapter
of NORML has sent a five-page letter seeking clarity from this lobbyist, Mr.
Rob Bovett, since this possible new ruling would be in complete contradiction
of voter-approved Measure 91, which granted legalization in 2014.
Portland
NORML’s Executive Director Russ Belville stated that this kind of action is a
threat to democracy and that there are key lessons to be learned from the
Washington and Colorado experiences with legalization, and Oregon needs to pay
attention to.
“Measure
91 passed in Oregon by the greatest margin of any of the four states that have
legalized marijuana,” Belville stated. “Measure 91 got more votes statewide
than any candidate and any measure, except the Equal Rights Amendment. For the legislature to subvert the clear
language and intent of the people is a threat not only to the viability of
Oregon’s legal cannabis market, but to the very foundation of Oregon democracy
. . . The taxation and bans Mr. Bovett proposes are welcomed most by the
illegal growers and dealers who will be able to undercut and work around them.”
Sponsors
of Measure 91 said they banned local taxes to allow retail cannabis prices to
compete with the black market, according to Oregon
Live. Some local governments, however, who want to levy their own taxes on
recreational cannabis sales are pressuring the Oregon legislature to rewrite
the law.
“Despite
assertions to the contrary, Measure 91 does not clearly pre-empt local
governments,” the League of Oregon Cities and the Association of Oregon
Counties said in its request to state lawmakers. “If the Legislature does not
act to clarify and preserve local control, local governments are likely to face
litigation regarding their authority to regulate, prohibit and tax recreational
marijuana facilities, resulting in uncertainty for local governments, business
owners and residents alike.”
It
is yet to be decided which way this pendulum will swing, but in either
situation it seems one side will fight the other and cause more trouble in the
battle of effective legalization. Stay tuned.
