The state in which I was born, raised, and have lived all of my life in, Oregon, legalized recreational marijuana during the 2014 Election. It’s still surreal for me to type that. Every time I do, I get chills up and down my spine. In less than two months I will no longer have to live in fear, because on July 1 the personal possession and cultivation provisions of Oregon Measure 91 will begin. I will no longer have to worry about a random knock on my door, or worry about a neighbor narcing on me because my preferred substance of choice is different than theirs (and is better for my body too!).
Oregon residents will be able to possess and cultivate marijuana starting this summer, but it will still be awhile before people are able to go to stores to buy marijuana over the counter. There are still a lot of rules that have to be hashed out (pun not intended) before consumers can visit storefronts. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) announced who will make up the advisory committee that will help shape the rules for those storefronts. Those members are listed below, via OregonLive.Com:
Cedar Grey, a medical marijuana grower in Williams. He owns Siskiyou Sungrown.
Brent Kenyon, owner of Southern Oregon Alternative Medicine in Ashland
William Simpson, a medical marijuana grower in West Linn whose company is called Chalice Farms
Mowgli Holmes, of Portland, owner of Phylos Bioscience
Hunter Neubauer, of Bend, owner of OreGrown
Anthony Johnson, of Portland, chief petitioner Measure 91
Theresa Marchetti, of Tualatin, who works for Portland’s Office of Neighborhood Involvement
Doug Breidenthal, Jackson County commissioner
Jeff Kuhns, deputy chief, Keizer Police Department
Craig Roberts, Clackamas County sheriff
Paul Frasier, Coos County district attorney
Paul Lewis, Multnomah County health officer
Nicole Rowe, of Portland, independent consultant
Ryan Christensen, of Portland, entrepreneur
I think that’s a pretty balanced group. I’m really glad to see Anthony Johnson’s name on that list. If the other members are smart, they will listen to the seemingly endless supply of wisdom that Anthony Johnson possesses. I have seen him be the voice of reason and fairness on many, many occasions, and the State of Oregon is lucky to have him on this committee. The OLCC also established two permanent subcommittees. There are a couple of names on one of those subcommittee lists that I’m not the biggest fan of, but I’m confident that the other members of the group can keep them in check. Anthony Taylor is a fantastic pick for the subcommittee he is on, and could easily have been a part of any of the groups.
How do readers feel about the group? Is there too much representation for any particular group? Not enough of any particular group? What rules do you want to see them tackle first, and is there any advice that you would offer them? I know at least some of them check this blog regularly, and your words of wisdom just might help them during the process that they are about to go through.
