Pubdate: Fri, 03 Jun 2016
Source: Register-Guard, The (OR)
Copyright: 2016 The Register-Guard
Contact: http://www.registerguard.com/web/opinion/#contribute-a-letter
Website: http://www.registerguard.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/362

ZERO TO 60 ON MARIJUANA

As of Thursday, anyone 21 or older can legally buy edible marijuana 
products, extracts and lotions in Oregon. There goes another brick in 
the wall of pot prohibition that Oregonians voted to tear down in 2014.

It's likely that many Oregonians weren't aware of just how thorough 
the demolition job would be. An anything-goes marijuana economy is 
emerging, where everything from old-fashioned joints to pot-infused 
truffles is available. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which is 
charged with regulating recreational marijuana, needs to be vigilant 
in protecting consumers and public health - and the 2017 Legislature 
should be prepared to address any unwanted and unforeseen 
consequences of legalization.

Oregonians who lacked contact with the underground marijuana culture 
have been caught off guard by the variety of products, the 
proliferation of sales outlets and the size of the market, all of 
which have become ever more apparent. Edible pot products, for 
instance, were not much discussed in the campaign for Measure 91, 
which legalized marijuana for recreational use.

But now stores in Oregon are selling not just marijuana brownies and 
other baked goods, but candies, ice cream and who knows what's next. 
Edibles apparently make up about 10 percent of a bigger-than-expected 
market and come with their own concerns about packaging, labeling and 
dosages. The OLCC, for instance, requires that edible pot products be 
sold in child-resistant packaging and prohibits packaging that would 
appeal to children. The agency has initially limited edibles to 15 
milligrams of THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana, though a 
lower dose is recommended.

Throughout the period of prohibition, marijuana growers developed 
ever-more-potent crossbreeds and hybrids, with different varieties of 
pot delivering different types of drug experiences. And if pot 
weren't potent enough, marijuana could be processed into extracts and 
other high-THC concentrates. Every pot store in Oregon offers a 
smorgasbord of pot varieties, each tailored to the customer's tastes 
or mood. Extracts are also now available for legal sale; buyers are 
limited to one container per day with no more than 1,000 milligrams 
of THC. As the legal marijuana economy grows, the ability to conduct 
research in the open will combine with commercial imperatives to 
increase the variety and potency of pot products.

Marijuana is a different drug than alcohol and tobacco - a highly 
complex set of compounds is found in marijuana, with effects that can 
vary from one user to the next. Prohibition has kept a lid on most 
marijuana research, leaving many questions unanswered about how it 
affects the human body and brain.

Yet state and federal rules for alcohol and tobacco may provide some 
guidance for future marijuana regulation. The state, for instance, 
recognizes a difference between distilled spirits and beer and wine - 
in a similar fashion, high-THC extracts could be regulated more 
tightly than ordinary marijuana. Rules on advertising, retail outlet 
locations and product testing also may be needed.

With marijuana, Oregon has gone from zero to 60 fast enough to leave 
many heads spinning. The OLCC must scramble to keep up, and the 2017 
Legislature will need to survey the landscape to ensure that the 
marijuana market - wide open, bigger than expected and still in its 
early stages of development - is what the voters thought they'd get.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom