Oregon Representative Peter Buckley Endorses Initiative To End Marijuana Prohibition
Salem, Ore. — Continuing the momentum of local and national support for common-sense cannabis policy in Oregon, Rep. Peter Buckley (D-Ashland) has officially endorsed Measure 80, the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act. Buckley joins an expanding list of political and community leaders around Oregon and the nation calling for an end to America’s catastrophic war on drugs.
“It makes absolutely no sense to me that we continue to waste millions of dollars every year to prohibit adults from making the choice of whether to consume marijuana, especially when we could be regulating and taxing that market and funding the programs we’ve been cutting session after session,” said Rep. Buckley, co-chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. “Oregon is a pioneer state, and I for one want us to make history this November by ending prohibition and regulating marijuana just like we regulate liquor.”
According to Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron, Oregon has spent more than $60 million a year on marijuana-related offenses, from local police enforcement costs to court-room costs to the millions spent on incarceration.
Measure 80 would replace a failed system of prohibition with an effective taxation-and-regulation model. While adults 21 and older would be able to purchase cannabis products only at state-licensed stores, Measure 80 also introduces tough new criminal and civil penalties for selling or providing cannabis to a minor. The measure also maintains Oregon’s strict DUII laws.
“Measure 80 will make it much harder for Oregon’s youth to get access to marijuana, just like we’ve made it hard for youth to purchase alcohol thanks to well-known and enforced liquor laws,” said Yes on 80 chief petitioner Paul Stanford. “Tax-and-regulate legalization will work where prohibition has failed. Rep. Buckley’s support is more proof that regulating marijuana isn’t politics, it’s just common-sense.”
To learn more about Oregon Measure 80, visit www.vote80.org.
