From time to time, there is misinformation conveyed about Measure 91, the Oregon initiative to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana. Find out the facts here.

“I’ve reviewed countless laws in my career.
Measure 91 is carefully written and is
the right way forward for our state.”

— William Riggs, Retired Oregon Supreme Court Justice

Treating marijuana use as a crime has failed. It fuels drug cartel violence and doesn’t
protect children. And Oregon has wasted far too many resources that could be better
spent on higher priorities like serious crime, schools, youth prevention and mental health.

This November, Oregonians will have the opportunity to take a smarter, more responsible approach by voting Yes on Measure 91 to regulate, legalize and tax the use of marijuana by adults 21 and over.

In Oregon, the failed approach to marijuana has come at a steep cost:

• There have been at least 12,000 arrests and citations for marijuana each year across Oregon counties – and the number goes up every year. Over the last decade, police have arrested or cited over 99,000 people in Oregon for marijuana offenses. The millions of dollars this costs every year comes at a time when Oregon has untested rape kits, missing children and unsolved murders.

• The current failed approach to marijuana in Oregon supports a dangerous system of drug cartels, drug dealers and organized criminals that take in huge amounts of profits without paying a penny in taxes.

• Current marijuana policy in Oregon does nothing to protect children. Drug dealers control kids’ access to marijuana, and they don’t ask for ID. And drug education and prevention programs are woefully underfunded.

These are significant problems. And the longer we wait, the worse they get.

Measure 91 was carefully crafted to create a tightly regulated system that controls marijuana’s production, sales and use. It requires that the revenues are placed in a special account that, by law, benefits schools, state and local law enforcement, drug prevention for youth, drug treatment and mental health programs – with full public transparency and subject to independent annual audits.

And Measure 91 was written to take the best lessons from Washington and Colorado’s laws, improving on them to make this the right time.

What Will Passing Measure 91 Mean for Oregon?

Measure 91 will replace our failed approach of treating marijuana use as a crime with a strict system of legal regulation and taxation – and only for adults 21 and over. This will make a real, positive difference for Oregon and Oregonians.

RT @ESHforOregon: @VoteYESon91 “@HuffPostPol: Leading drug policy expert endorses marijuana legalization in Oregon http://t.co/RCPdJL9K5c” …

“I enforced our marijuana laws, and they don’t work.” – Kris Olson Retired Chief Federal Prosecutor http://t.co/HYRGgBaeYc #VoteYESon91

Number of Marijuana Citations and Arrests in Oregon Each Year

Some district attorneys in Oregon say they don’t arrest or sentence people for marijuana offenses. They say that possession of one ounce isn’t treated like a crime in Oregon (even though buying or selling it is).

The Oregon State Police say that over 13,000 people in Oregon were arrested or cited for marijuana offenses last year.

This is an increase over the 12,808 listed as arrested or cited by the Oregon State Police in 2012 (page 4-10). There have been more than 115,000 arrests and citations over the last ten years, wasting time and resources better spent on more serious and violent crimes. The Oregonian recently published an article detailing how Oregon had one of the biggest rates of marijuana “possession arrests as a percent of all arrests.” It’s time that we stopped wasting police resources on marijuana offenses and refocused police resources on more serious matters such as finding missing children and solving rape and murder cases.

The Better Approach to Marijuana

Treating marijuana use as a crime has failed. It fuels drug cartel violence and doesn’t protect children. And Oregon has wasted far too many resources that could be better spent on higher priorities like serious crime, schools, youth prevention and mental health.