Question |
Current Approach: Criminal Market |
After Measure 91: Regulated Market |
| Who buys marijuana? | Lots of people, including youth | Adults 21 and older |
| From whom do you buy it? | Gangs, drug cartels, organized crime | Businesses who sell it; tax revenue goes to schools, police, programs for mental health, addiction, drug treatment and drug prevention |
| Who gets the money? | Gangs and drug cartels | Businesses, schools, police, programs for mental health, addiction, drug treatment and drug prevention |
| Who regulates marijuana? | Nobody | The State of Oregon with sensible rules and regulations |
| How much is collected in taxes? | ZERO dollars per year | Estimates range from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars per year |
| Who educates children about not using marijuana? | Drug dealers | Prevention programs and materials will be funded for schools, families and community groups |
| How do we know what’s in marijuana? | We don’t: illegal marijuana isn’t tested, labeled, or predictable. We don’t know it’s strength or what it’s laced with. | A tested, labeled product in a safe container with clear indication of strength, and appropriate warnings on it. |
| Where is it grown? | In drug houses, and at booby trapped sites in forests and in natural areas where less people know about it | In regulated, licensed, inspected, audited locations that have been approved by the state |
| Where is marijuana purchased? |
Back alleys, school yards, street corners | Regulated facilities that are away from schools |
| How is edible marijuana regulated? | Not at all | The Oregon Department of Agriculture establishes rules, educates the food industry about those rules and ensures compliance. Products are also tested and labeled with strength and warnings. |
| How are police spending their time on marijuana? | 1 in 14 arrests in Oregon are for simple marijuana possession. Someone is arrested or cited for marijuana in Oregon once every 39 minutes, and that rates are rising | Police could focus more on unsolved murders, untested rape kits, missing children and other violent crimes including drug cartels. |
| How much marijuana can you buy? | An unlimited amount | One ounce or less |
| Where can we grow hemp? | No Oregon farmers are allowed to be licensed to grow it. | Allows farmers to produce hemp as a sustainable and profitable crop that is currently imported into Oregon |
| How do we prevent people from driving under the influence of marijuana? | No current solution | Money is set aside so that every Oregon State Police trooper receives training in Advanced Roadside Impairment Driving Enforcement; more police will join the existing pool of Drug Recognition Experts; and more state police will be on the roads. |
| What happens if you drive under the influence of marijuana? | You are arrested | You are arrested |
| What will happen to the Medical marijuana program? | Remains in place | Remains in place, and medical research on marijuana is easier to conduct. |
| How will this impact drug prevention programs for youth? | Woefully underfunded; largely unavailable. | Funded through marijuana tax money. |
Regulation, Taxation and Education: A Better Policy Than Marijuana Prohibition