The New Approach Oregon campaign officially opened its headquarters yesterday, has hired a staff and is releasing its first campaign commercial.
The opening comes less than a week after New Approach Oregon turned in more than enough signatures to qualify a measure for the ballot. The measure would regulate, legalize and tax marijuana in Oregon. Voters are slated to decide the matter in November.
The campaign is being run by some of Oregon’s top political leaders. Liz Kaufman, the campaign director, and Mark Weiner, the campaign consultant, are among the most experienced political strategists in the state. Dan Mahr, the campaign manager, has been leading campaigns throughout the country for more than a decade.
The first campaign commercial features Margie Harris, a retired Oregon teacher, who doesn’t use marijuana and believes that regulating it will more effectively keep it out of the hands of children.
The New Approach measure would regulate marijuana in a substantially similar way to how beer and wine are regulated.
“We’ve been hearing from Oregonians across the state who believe that treating marijuana use as a crime has failed,” said Mahr. “A better approach is to regulate it, legalize it and tax it.”
