Oregon Cannabis Institute Blog - Page 13 of 15

WASHINGTON, DC – The House of Representatives cast two votes today in support of opening up banking services to state-legal marijuana businesses. By a vote of 231-192, the House passed an amendment to the Financial Services appropriations bill, forbidding the use of federal funds to penalize financial institutions that serve marijuana businesses operating legally under state law. The amendment was sponsored by Representatives Denny Heck (D-WA), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), and Barbara Lee (D-CA).

By a vote of 236-186, the House also rejected an amendment, sponsored by Rep. John Fleming (R-LA), that would have blocked the implementation of guidance issued by the Department of the Treasury in February, intended to lay out a road map for banks seeking to serve the cannabis industry.

“This is a huge step forward for the legal cannabis industry,” said National Cannabis Industry Association executive director Aaron Smith. “Access to basic banking services is one of the most critical challenges facing legal cannabis businesses and the state agencies tasked with regulating them.”

“Now that a bipartisan coalition in the House has voted to fix the problem, it’s time for the Senate to take swift action to ensure that this sensible policy becomes the law of the land.”

You can learn the about banking regulations for dispensary in Oregon and the answers to all of your questions in our next seminar in Portland.

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At OCI – it all begins with helping YOU to understand what is proper, lawful and appropriate!

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Oregon marijuana legalization advocates aim for ‘the new gold standard’

One of the country’s leading drug policy reformers visited Oregon Tuesday to make a pitch for legalizing pot, calling the recreational marijuana initiative headed to the November ballot “the new gold standard” of marijuana reform efforts.

Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, called Oregon’s effort to legalize marijuana is “the No. 1 priority ” for his New York-based organization. The political arm of Nadelmann’s group has so far contributed about $650,000 to New Approach Oregon’s marijuana legalization campaign.

Nadelmann and Dave Kopilak, a Portland attorney who helped draft New Approach Oregon’s initiative, sat down with The Oregonian Tuesday to discuss the group’s proposal, which would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to 8 ounces of marijuana.

The recreational market would be overseen by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

Their visit came on opening day of Washington’s recreational marijuana program, which has been marked by concerns about low marijuana supply and high prices. Colorado’s recreational marijuana market opened in January.
The pair said Oregon’s initiative is a departure from the Washington and Colorado models. For instance, Kopilak said Oregon’s marijuana taxes would be lower than those in Colorado and Washington, better positioning retailers to compete with the black market. Washington sets a standard for driving under the influence of marijuana and prohibits home marijuana cultivation. Oregon’s initiative, meanwhile, does not impose an intoxicated driving standard and allows people to grow cannabis at home.

“I think what you are going to see in Oregon is a hybrid model that draws on the best of both systems,” Nadelmann said. He said the initial experiences of Colorado, where the program has been praised by advocates and consumers for its relatively smooth implementation, and Washington, which is slowly phasing in its retail stores, will give Oregonians a good indication of lies ahead.

“Colorado has been up and running for six months and the initial reports clearly indicate the sky is not falling,” said Nadelmann. “There is a lot of spin on both sides, but not that much has changed except you have the emergence of a legal industry.”

Nadelmann acknowledged some key challenges that come with legalization, including how to deal with impaired driving and standards for marijuana-infused edible products, such as cookies and other treats. Colorado and Washington have grappled with questions of dosing, testing and packaging for marijuana-infused foods, which in Colorado have led to high-profile cases of over-ingestion.

Nadelmann said overeating a brownie baked with marijuana butter isn’t fatal, but he said food products “present challenges in terms of standardization.”

Kopilak said the initiative reflects the work of not only advocates but also national tax experts, including Pat Oglesby, chief tax counsel on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee from 1988 and 1990.

On Oglesby’s advice, New Approach Oregon opted to tax marijuana by weight early in the production process instead of at the retail end. Washington, by comparison, taxes marijuana at three levels, from producer to processor, processor to retailer and retailer to consumer. “It’s hard to see how people make money in Washington on this,” said Kopilak.

New Approach Oregon also sought the advice of two veteran prosecutors, Norm Frink and Mark McDonnell, both of whom have retired from the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office. Kopilak said it was Frink and McDonnell who strongly encouraged advocates to reduce personal possession limits from the 24 ounces allowed under the state’s medical marijuana law to 8 ounces.

He said the former prosecutors also wanted to ensure that penalties remained in place for people not in compliance with the law.

The initiative allows local governments to opt out, but such a move would be decided by a local ballot initiative every two years. Communities that opt out would not get tax revenue generated by marijuana sales.

Under the initiative, revenue would be distributed according this formula: 40 percent to the common school fund; 20 percent to mental health, alcoholism and drug services; 5 percent to the Oregon Health Authority for drug abuse prevention; 15 percent for Oregon State Police; 10 percent to cities for law enforcement and 10 percent to counties for law enforcement.

Opponents of legalization worry about adolescent marijuana use. They argue that increased acceptance and availability will lead to increased marijuana consumption by teens. But Nadelmann said adolescents won’t be the prime market for marijuana consumption in a legal market. Instead, he said people 40 and older will turn to the drug for to help them relax, get relief from chronic illness and improve their sex lives.

“People who are finding that taking a little bite off that marijuana pretzel each evening is better than the Ambien or taking a puff off a vaporizer while watching the ‘Late Show’ is preferable to a drink,” he said. Opponents argue that Oregon already decriminalized small amounts of marijuana decades ago.

Possession of less than an ounce of marijuana is considered a violation that doesn’t result in arrest or jail.

“We are talking about Oregon, not Texas, not Georgia and not the federal government,” said Clatstop County District Attorney Josh Marquis.

Marquis said New Approach Oregon representatives have misstated Oregon’s record on marijuana arrests given that most are violations. The group cited a Oregon State Police report that showed 12,808 marijuana-related arrests in 2012; the vast majority were for violation-level offenses.

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At OCI – it all begins with helping YOU to understand what is proper, lawful and appropriate!

Medical marijuana shops in Oregon are opening their doors with state approval for the first time this week, but at least one may not be in business very long.

The Releaf Center, a dispensary located just outside Hermiston city limits, opened its doors Tuesday for the first time since Feb. 28. Owner Jim Ruhe said he shut the store down when the state’s dispensary law went into effect March 1, and waited for the state to approve his facility registration. The shop, and many like it around the state, had previously existed in a sort of legal gray area, neither explicitly authorized nor banned under state law.

Releaf’s state certificate came in the mail Monday afternoon, he said, and now hangs on the shop’s wall.

But the store could be shuttered again soon, this time for more than a year, if the Umatilla County Commission enacts a moratorium on dispensaries when it meets next week.

“How do I look my patients in the eye and say, ‘There’s nothing I can do for you,'” Ruhe said. “It’s a terrible feeling.”

George Murdock, vice chairman of the Umatilla County board of commissioners, said the commission will consider the issue at its April 2 meeting, but “whatever way we go, it’s going to be painful.”

Murdock said it’s the commissioners’ job to uphold the law, but a conflict between the federal prohibition on marijuana and the state’s law allowing registered facilities to sell the drug creates a “huge conundrum” for them. He said he didn’t think the issue should be decided at the county level, but state law leaves it up to them.

That law is SB 1531, which Gov. John Kitzhaber signed last week, days before the state began issuing medical marijuana facility licenses on Friday. It gives cities and counties until May 1 to block medical marijuana stores from setting up shop within their borders for up to a year. As many as a dozen communities already have passed or are considering ordinances that would do just that.

For at least six of the eight dispensaries the state approved last week, three in Portland and one each in Salem, Eugene and Bend, the moratoriums may not be a problem. They face another kind of uncertainty stemming from SB 1531.

The law also directs the Oregon Health Authority to set rules requiring pot products to be packaged in child-proof containers and prohibiting marijuana products that could be attractive to children. The agency last week proposed rules prohibiting dispensaries from selling nearly all pot-infused “edibles,” such as hash brownies and other sweet treats.

Those products make up about 15 percent of dispensary sales, store owners say, and help patients who cannot smoke and those who need a longer-lasting dose than other forms of the drug can provide.

Marijuana-infused cakes and cookies are “almost a requirement” for James Erickson’s wife. She suffers from chronic nausea, and cannot smoke or inhale the drug. They tried making their own edibles, he said, but “it was a nightmare,” so now they buy them.

The rule banning the sweets could change later this week before it goes into effect, the agency said.

For now, some dispensary owners are pulling pot-laced treats from their shelves and putting future orders on hold. Store owners say compliance is their priority, even as local ordinances and rules are subject to change.

As for Ruhe, he said he’ll make a “last-ditch effort” to appeal to the county commissioners, then “hope for the best.”

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – State officials granted the first crop of licenses to Oregonians who want to open medical marijuana dispensaries on Friday, even while many cities and counties are implementing or considering bans on the pot stores.

The Legislature last year approved a measure legalizing the pot facilities that took effect this month. The dispensaries had previously operated in a legal gray area.

The Oregon Health Authority reported eight medical marijuana shops had been approved by late Friday, a small fraction of the 288 applications the agency has received since the state began taking online license applications March 3.

“For the first time, a legal and regulatory structure is in place to govern the operation of dispensaries,” said Tom Burns, director of pharmacy programs for the Oregon Health Authority.

Applications were denied for 22 facilities because of incomplete applications or because the facility’s location was within 1,000 feet of a school or another dispensary, the agency said. Another 20 facilities were granted provisional licenses that do not let them operate yet, but hold their applications open for 60 days so they can install security systems to complete the approval process.

Those that have been fully cleared can begin operating legally as soon as they get their permit certificates in the mail, said Karynn Fish, the agency’s spokeswoman.

That’s only if they aren’t barred by local authorities. Earlier this month, the Legislature gave cities and counties the power to block the facilities within their communities until May 2015, though local officials had asked for authority to enact permanent bans.

Nearly two dozen local governments have already passed or are considering ordinances to block the shops within their borders, at least temporarily. The Medford City Council voted Thursday to ban the facilities permanently, and Hermiston enacted a permanent ordinance to ban the shops earlier this month.

Draft rules were released earlier this week that would allow facility owners to get a refund of the application fee if a moratorium blocks them from opening, but those rules will not go into effect until next week, Fish said.

Hermiston Mayor Dave Drotzmann said the City Council has not discussed changes to its ordinance. He said he thinks the council wants more time and information before changing its position.

Thinking how to start cannabis business in Oregon is the first step to getting involved with this business endeavor. There is a lot of necessary information to be gathered when it comes to opening a dispensary, and it can seem pretty overwhelming to do when you are all on your own.

A lot of paperwork and decision making goes into establishing this type of business, and it can be easy to miss some requirement or aspect of the business that could make or break your success.

Oregon Cannabis Institute has a program that can help you ensure that you dot all I’s and cross all of the T’s by putting you into contact with professionals in the business. These experts are lawyers, professional growers, and accountants with experience in this business that they can impart to you. You have taken the first step in how to start cannabis business in Oregon by considering it, but the next step is garnering important information and contacts.

Oregon Cannabis Institute with attorney and industry professionals and will be hosting this live seminar to go over all aspects of marijuana business operation.

At OCI – it all begins with helping YOU to understand what is proper, lawful and appropriate!

The Oregon marijuana regulations are changing. This is a wonderful time to be a budding entrepreneur as the state is allowing private individuals to open dispensaries to help provide medical marijuana to the patients that need it.

Medical marijuana serves a very important purpose in the lives of people that need it to help counteract symptoms that come from their medical condition. For some people, this is the only thing that helps them get through their day by helping their appetite or just making them feel better overall.

This can be the perfect opportunity for someone wanting to jump into a booming business, but with all the regulations and restrictions it can be a bit worrisome for a new business owner. Oregon Cannabis Institute is there for you. Be welcomed into a wonderful seminar that will give you that jump start you need to get into this business by putting you in touch with experts, and learning about all the intricacies of the business. Lawyers, accountants and more will be available during the seminar to explain how their industry interacts with a dispensary business.

This seminar offers the chance for business owners to learn all the right ways to handle their business. The tips and tricks that are offered during this seminar are things that most business owners take years learning on their own. The rules and regulations of owning a dispensary can seem to be difficult to master unless you meet with some experts that can guide you through every stage of your business.
Do not let the change in the Oregon marijuana regulations pass you by without examining how you may be able to take advantage of a booming industry. Get a chance to help yourself to a great business while helping others feel better when suffering from a disease. Taking advantage of the services offered by this organization is the perfect way to get the information you need to know if this is the right business for you to get into. Do not waste time trying to find out about it all on your own, but let the experts give you a hand.

You can learn the about Oregon Marijuana Regulations and the answers to all of your questions in our next seminar in Portland.

Oregon Cannabis Institute with attorney and industry professionals and will be hosting this live seminar to go over all aspects of marijuana business operation.

At OCI – it all begins with helping YOU to understand what is proper, lawful and appropriate!

Attorney General Eric Holder told Congress a couple of weeks ago that the Department of Justice and the Treasury would be issuing guidance to banks for the acceptance of money made from the legal sales of marijuana.

The rules are meant to help marijuana businesses avoid the potential violence and corruption that comes with a cash-only business, especially a business doing millions of dollars of transactions a month — as had already been the case in Colorado where legal sales of recreational pot began on Jan. 1.

“Now that some states have elected to legalize and regulate the marijuana trade, FinCEN seeks to move from the shadows the historically covert financial operations of marijuana businesses,” noted FinCEN Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery in a news release. “Our guidance provides financial institutions with clarity on what they must do if they are going to provide financial services to marijuana businesses and what reporting will assist law enforcement.”

What one pro-legalization group says – as stated by Tom Angell, Chairman Marijuana Majority:

“Today’s action is another indication that the Obama administration is making a good faith effort to accommodate new marijuana legalization laws that enjoy broad voter support. However, since the guidance issued today could easily be reversed by a future administration, it may not provide all the protections that people in the marijuana and banking industries need to feel comfortable moving forward. Until federal laws are actually changed, many state-legal marijuana businesses may still be forced to operate on a cash-only basis, which is not only inconvenient for them; it’s a public safety risk. The president should take advantage of his administration’s power to reschedule marijuana and should use the platform his office provides to build the case for further changes to marijuana laws in Congress.”

“Cash businesses such as marijuana distribution can be a magnet for criminal violence. Today’s guidance seeks to mitigate the public safety concerns created by high volume cash based businesses without access to the banking and financial systems. The guidance also seeks to prevent criminal organizations from laundering their criminal proceeds beyond the reach of law enforcement. The guidance reaffirms the expectation that states that have enacted laws authorizing marijuana-related conduct will implement clear, strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems. That obligation remains. This new guidance also makes it clear that banks have an obligation to continue to report and not offer services to businesses that operate outside such strong regulatory and enforcement regimes.”

With the economic situation stagnating many people are looking for way to earn money by starting a new career where they will have more assurance as many industries are finding it hard to keep workers. The medical marijuana industry in Oregon has been growing after the announcement of Oregon HB 3460. If you would like to know how to open a marijuana dispensary in Oregon, you can acquire all the necessary information by following well structured in courses put together by professional from Oregon Cannabis Institute.

Medical marijuana dispensaries are all over Oregon and more are opening each year. There are many people with doctor’s approval to use medical marijuana due to their specific condition. The treatment almost needs to be administered by qualified professionals who have undergone the necessary course and training. The information on how to open a marijuana dispensary in Oregon is given in detail in courses or the Cannabis College.

These matters of concern and many more will be covered in the seminars. Many of the people who have followed the courses on how to open a marijuana dispensary in Oregon have gone to build lucrative business and share in the increasing wealth that is being generated by the industry.

Oregon Cannabis Institute is proud to be directly credited for their success and does its utmost for every person enrolled in it program so that they also start their own medical marijuana business and go on to be successful business persons. With the actual trend there is plenty more room for anyone interested in the medical marijuana business to share in the success of the industry.

Oregon Cannabis Institute with attorney and industry professionals and will be hosting this live seminar to go over all aspects of marijuana business operation.

At OCI – it all begins with helping YOU to understand what is proper, lawful and appropriate!

Rules for Oregon’s medical marijuana dispensary rules should be posted in about a week, state officials said Tuesday.

The rules will be the subject of a series of public hearings around the state before they are finalized. However, the state will allow dispensaries to operate under temporary rules after March 3, when the state begins accepting applications from prospective outlet owners.

Officials with the Oregon Health Authority are creating a website for the state’s registry of medical marijuana retailers, said Karynn Fish, an agency spokeswoman. The state will begin accepting applications online from prospective businesses at 8:30 a.m. March 3.

Fish said officials hope to launch the website by the end of the month. It will feature a draft application as well as information about what applicants need to do to comply with the law.

Meanwhile, the state is in the process of hiring four staff members to help oversee the registry. Two will be inspectors and two will perform administrative duties.

The Oregon Legislature last year approved a law, which for the first time regulates the robust marijuana retail industry that’s has cropped up in parts of the state in recent years. While retailers will fall under a blizzard of regulations starting next spring, marijuana growers and the cottage industry of companies testing the drug for potency and impurities will continue to operate without state oversight even under the new law.

That the registry hasn’t opened has not dampened the industry’s momentum. Weedmaps.com, which lists dispensaries by geographic area, lists more than 90 retailers in Oregon.

— Noelle Crombie

You can learn the about Oregon dispensary rules and the answers to all of your questions in our next seminar in Portland.

Oregon Cannabis Institute with attorney and industry professionals and will be hosting this live seminar to go over all aspects of marijuana business operation.

At OCI – it all begins with helping YOU to understand what is proper, lawful and appropriate!

Oregon marijuana legalization advocates aim for ‘the new gold standard’

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