Pubdate: Fri, 28 Sep 2012 Source: News Register (McMinnville, OR) Copyright: 2012 News-Register Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.newsregister.com/submit-letter Website: http://www.newsregister.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2622 MARIJUANA MEASURE 80 SHOULD BE DOA AT POLLS Marijuana aficionados have been trying to legalize pot through the back door in Oregon for years Marijuana aficionados have been trying to legalize pot through the back door in Oregon for years. With Measure 80, they're trying to do it as a Saturday Night Live comedy sketch. Don't let them. The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act is wrong for Oregon - and badly written to boot. To be clear, there are strong arguments for the legalization of marijuana as part of an overall national drug policy. Federal and state governments spend billions every year trying to enforce antiquated marijuana laws when that money should be spent capturing and prosecuting drug cartels pushing cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and other destructive substances. But that's a topic for another day. Measure 80 would allow adults in Oregon to grow and possess marijuana without interference from the state. Under certain regulations and taxing structures, individuals also could sell marijuana. So far, so good. Now the SNL script: On the first page of the Act, one learns that Founding Fathers George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton practically romped through their own cannabis fields. History indicates they did grow the hemp plant, but there is no evidence that any actually smoked marijuana. Even if they had, it wasn't illegal in those days. A little further down Page 1, the bill cites one source claiming marijuana has been used for more than 10,000 years without a single overdose. How that possibly could be proven is certainly a mystery. But here are the really funny parts: Measure 80's chief sponsor is Paul Stanford, who owns a chain of medical marijuana clinics around the country. The law, if passed, would supersede all previous state laws and ordinances regulating cannabis except driving while impaired, so evidently the authors do agree there is some impairment of users. Next, a seven-member Oregon Cannabis Commission would be created to regulate the licensing, cultivation, sale and advertising of Oregon cannabis products in national and international markets. Two of the commissioners would be appointed by the governor, with the other five elected by pot growers and processors. We wonder if the tobacco industry knows it could be this easy to erase previous tobacco laws, and elect a commission of tobacco growers and processors to control that plant's cultivation, licensing and sale all over the world. Who knew, really? Under Measure 80, the OCC would issue licenses to growers, who would sell their crops back to the commission. The commission would set the price, sell marijuana in OCC stores and cover its costs with the licensing fees. All sales revenue would go to the State Treasurer for controlled disbursement, with 90 percent earmarked for the General Fund. The remaining 10 percent would fund various drug education programs and a new Oregon Hemp Fiber and Food Committee. That much, at least, makes some sense. But overall, Measure 80 is an unwarranted single-state experiment in a country that needs a more realistic national policy on marijuana. An honest debate should focus on many aspects of U.S. drug policy, but in Oregon, Measure 80 should be dead on arrival. Vote No. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt