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Oregon Amend Recreational and Medical Cannabis Laws Initiative (2020)

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Oregon Amend Recreational and Medical Cannabis Laws Initiative
Flag of Oregon.png
Election date
November 3, 2020
Topic
Marijuana
Status
Not on the ballot
Type
State statute		Origin
Citizens

The Oregon Amend Recreational and Medical Cannabis Laws Initiative was not on the ballot in Oregon as an initiated state statute on November 3, 2020.

Proponents referred to the initiative as the Legalization Justice Act of 2020.[1]

Measure design

The measure would have made changes to state laws regarding medical and recreational marijuana.[2][1]

Text of measure

Full text

Initiative #42 full text

Sponsors

Leia Flynn, Madeline Martinez, and Angela Bacca (the Oregon Justice League) were the initiative's sponsors.

Supporters

Sam Chapman, legislative director for the New Revenue Coalition[3]

Arguments

  • Initiative sponsor Leia Flynn said, "We are in a situation where we have legalized it and anyone over the age of 21 can purchase it, but you cannot smoke it anywhere unless you own your home. That is discrimination.”[3]
  • Sam Chapman of the New Revenue Coalition, a group advocating for a bill to legalize cannabis cafes, said the ballot measure is "the obvious next and best step for pushing reasonable cannabis reform forward." Chapman also said, "with 2020 being a presidential election, and with well over 600 retail outlets to help collect signatures from consumers who want legal places to consume a legal product, this initiative will easily qualify for the ballot."[3]
  • On the initiative petition, sponsors wrote, "The Oregon Justice League does not believe the State of Oregon has implemented Measure 91 in the spirit under which the law was passed. The OJL seeks to right these wrongs as well as provide a model for other states to implement a more just version of cannabis legalization. Legalization was sold to Oregon citizens as a way to grow, develop and sustain our small business economies, end the discrimination of citizens based on their interactions with the cannabis plant and uphold, protect and ensure the right of medical cannabis patients to safe botanical access."[2]
  • The initiative was not cleared for circulation.[1]

Background

Measure 91 of 2014

See also: Oregon Legalized Marijuana Initiative, Measure 91 (2014)

Oregon Measure 91, also known as the Control, Regulation, and Taxation of Marijuana and Industrial Hemp Act of 2014, was on the November 4, 2014, statewide ballot in Oregon as an initiated state statute, where it was approved by a vote of 56 percent to 44 percent.[4] The measure legalized recreational marijuana for people ages 21 and older, allowing adults over this age to possess up to eight ounces of "dried" marijuana and up to four plants. Additionally, the measure tasked the Oregon Liquor Control Commission with regulating marijuana sales.[5][6][5] Measure 91 was subject to legislative alteration since its approval.

Recreational marijuana in the United States

See also: History of marijuana ballot measures and laws

As of July 2019, 11 states and the District of Columbia had legalized marijuana for recreational purposes; nine through statewide citizen initiatives, and two through bills approved by state legislatures and signed by governors. Colorado and Washington both opted to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012. In a subsequent Colorado measure, voters enacted a statewide marijuana taxation system. The three ballot measures that passed in 2014 were Oregon's Measure 91, Alaska's Measure 2, and the District of Columbia's Initiative 71. Voters in California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada approved recreational marijuana legalization ballot measures in November 2016. The Vermont State Legislature approved a bill in mid-January 2018 to allow recreational marijuana, and Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed it into law on January 22, 2018. Gov. Scott vetoed a previous bill to legalize marijuana in May 2017. On June 25, 2019, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill into law legalizing the use and possession of recreational marijuana. Initiatives legalizing recreational marijuana were on the ballot in November 2018 in Michigan and North Dakota. The Michigan initiative was approved, and the North Dakota initiative was defeated.[7][8][9]

The map below details the status of recreational marijuana legalization in the states as of November 2018. States shaded in green had legalized recreational marijuana usage (the shades of green indicate the years in which ballot measures were adopted; light green indicates measures approved in 2012, medium green indicates measures approved in 2014, medium-dark green indicates measures approved in 2016, and dark green indicates measures approved in 2018). The states shaded in dark gray had defeated ballot measures that proposed to legalize recreational marijuana. States in blue had recreational marijuana approved by the state legislature and signed by the governor. The remaining states (those shaded in light gray) had not legalized recreational marijuana.

Recreational marijuana legalization measures, 2012-2020

The following table provides information on the political context of the states that had voted on legalization measures as of 2022.

Click "Show" to expand the table.

Medical marijuana in the United States

See also: Medical marijuana and History of marijuana ballot measures and laws

As of May 2021, 36 states and Washington, D.C., had passed laws legalizing or decriminalizing medical marijuana. Additionally, 10 states had legalized the use of cannabis oil, or cannabidiol (CBD)—one of the non-psychoactive ingredients found in marijuana—for medical purposes.[10] In one state—Idaho—medical marijuana was illegal, but the use of a specific brand of FDA-approved CDB, Epidiolex, was legal.[11] Based on 2019 population estimates, 67.5 percent of Americans lived in a jurisdiction with access to medical marijuana.

Unique instances

Idaho: In 2015, the Idaho State Legislature passed a bill legalizing certain types of CBD oil that was later vetoed by Governor Butch Otter (R). In response, Otter issued an executive order allowing children with intractable epilepsy to use Epidiolex in certain circumstances. [12]

South Dakota: In 2019, the South Dakota State Legislature passed a bill amending one section of law by adding Epidiolex to its list of controlled substances. The bill also exempted CBD from the state's definition of marijuana in that section.[13] Elsewhere in state law, CBD was not exempted from the definition of marijuana. This discrepancy led to confusion that left the legal status of CBD in the state unclear for a year.[14]

After the 2019 changes, Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg (R) issued a statement, wherein he argued all forms of CBD oil, apart from Epidiolex, were illegal under state law.[15] Several state's attorneys expressed disagreement with the Attorney General's statements. Aaron McGown and Tom Wollman, state's attorneys for Minnehaha and Lincoln counties, respectively, issued a joint statement where they said the discrepancy left legality open to differing interpretations. Mark Vargo, the Pennington County state's attorney, said his office would not prosecute CBD cases based on his interpretation of the state law.[14]

On March 27, 2020, Gov. Kristi Noem (R) signed House Bill 1008 into law, which legalized industrial hemp and CBD oil in the state.[16]


Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Oregon

The state process

In Oregon, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated state statute for the ballot is equal to 6 percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Signatures for Oregon initiatives must be submitted four months prior to the next regular general election. State law also requires paid signature gatherers to submit any signatures they gather every month.

Moreover, Oregon is one of several states that require a certain number of signatures to accompany an initiative petition application. The signatures of at least 1,000 electors are required to trigger a review by state officials, a period of public commentary, and the drafting of a ballot title. Prior to gathering these initial 1,000 signatures, petitioners must submit the text of the measure, a form disclosing their planned use of paid circulators, and a form designating up to three chief petitioners. The 1,000 preliminary signatures count toward the final total required.

The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2020 ballot:

In Oregon, signatures are verified using a random sample method. If a first round of signatures is submitted at least 165 days before an election and contains raw, unverified signatures at least equal to the minimum requirement, but verification shows that not enough of the submitted signatures are valid, additional signatures can be submitted prior to the final deadline.

Details about this initiative

  • Leia Flynn, Madeline Martinez, and Angela Bacca (the Oregon Justice League) filed Initiative 42 on August 12, 2019. They filed a previous version, #18, on March 18, 2019.[1]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Oregon Secretary of State, "Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division Initiative, Referendum, and Referral Search for 2020," accessed March 19, 2019
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Oregon Secretary of State, "Initiative 42 full text" accessed March 19, 2019
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Statesman Journal, "Oregon initiative petition would allow pot cafes, off-the-job use protections," accessed March 19, 2019
  4. ↑ The Oregonian, "From marriage to marijuana, Oregon facing flood of hot-button ballot measures next year," October 26, 2013
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 OregonLive.com, "With national backing, marijuana advocates file legalization measure," October 25, 2013
  6. ↑ The Oregonian, "At marijuana legalization hearing, question is how much regulation should go before Oregon voters," November 22, 2013
  7. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Vermont
  8. ↑ The Hill, "Vermont governor vetoes marijuana legalization," May 24, 2017
  9. ↑ Associated Press, "Illinois becomes 11th state to allow recreational marijuana," June 25, 2019
  10. ↑ This count excludes states that permitted both the use of cannabis oil and medical marijuana.
  11. ↑ CBD School, "CBD Laws by State 2020 - Just the Facts (is CBD legal in 2020?)," accessed February 28, 2020
  12. ↑ Idaho Office of Drug Policy, "Cannabidiol (CBD)," accessed February 28, 2020
  13. ↑ South Dakota Legislature official website, "2019 Senate Bill 22 - Enrolled," accessed February 28, 2020
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Argus Leader, "Is CBD oil illegal? Confusion reigns over South Dakota's law," April 19, 2019
  15. ↑ South Dakota Attorney General official website, "Attorney General Ravnsborg clarifies questions regarding industrial hemp and CBD (Cannabidiol) oil," March 25, 2019
  16. ↑ Argus Leader, "Industrial hemp becomes legal in South Dakota after Noem signs bill," March 27, 2020
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