Category: Recovered

Share your story! | Yes on 91 Wall of Support

Many people feel exceptionally strongly about the need to pass this measure this year. You can read our ‘voices in support’ here and also add your story! Every Oregonian who tells their story about the need for legalization is encouraging others to do the same.

Do you believe treating marijuana use as a crime has failed?

We need stories from Oregonians who believe treating marijuana use as a crime has failed. Please share your story right now and please share this page with other Oregonians who believe in sensible drug policies. We want our campaign to be broad and inclusive and to highlight stories of people from diverse backgrounds. Please share any identities that you are comfortable with letting others know.

Please share this page right now with Oregonians who support sensible drug policies and might share their stories!

Tell us why you support Measure 91, a better approach to marijuana in Oregon.

MARIJUANA REGULATION IN COLORADO AND WASHINGTON

Colorado and Washington are already experiencing successful results from their approval of regulated use of marijuana including:

1. Arrests are down for minor marijuana violations that waste millions of dollars, allowing the state to focus their police and resources on preventing serious, violent crimes.
2. State regulated, secure dispensaries are putting drug dealers out of business. This has led to a drop in teen use and access, and adult use has not increased.
3. Traffic fatalities are down in both states; a regulated, legal system of marijuana has not caused more traffic deaths in either state.
4. By taxing a product people were already using, much like beer and wine, programs like schools, drug prevention and more are receiving much-needed additional funding.

WASHINGTON

Arrests Down: Washington saw a dramatic change immediately upon passage. In 2012, Washington law enforcement made 5,531 arrests of adults 21 and over for simple possession of marijuana. In 2013, that number dropped to 120. Police and court time is freed up to focus on important public safety priorities.

No Increase in Traffic Fatalities or Crashes: Washington State Patrol’s 2013 Annual Report Traffic fatality rate is the lowest in history, fatalities dropped 6% from 2012 to 2013. Arrests for impaired driving, or DUI, in Washington decreased 12% from 2012 to 2013. (Collision and fatality data pg. 10; DUI arrest data pg. 8.)

Youth: It’s early to estimate the impact of Washington’s new, highly-regulated adult marijuana market on youth use rates. Washington, is dedicating funding from the new marijuana excise tax revenues to prevention, research, education, and biannual surveys of youth trends in use and attitudes to monitor success of protecting kids from engaging in behaviors reserved for adults.

Revenue Up: Since stores first opened July of 2014, customers have made purchases totaling over $19,200,000. Sales have already generated $4.7 million in new marijuana excise tax revenue for the state. WA sales and excise tax revenues.

Washington is estimated to collect $25m in the first year of legal sales and $636 million by mid-2019.

COLORADO

Traffic fatalities at near historic lows: The best measure of impaired driving is traffic fatalities and in Colorado they are at a near historic low for 2013 and 2014 – according to Colorado Department of Transportation.

Teen Use Down, not up: Survey data released in early August 2014, indicate that marijuana use among high school students continues to decline, despite warnings that legalization would make pot more appealing to teenagers. 37% of high school students reported that they had ever tried marijuana, down from 39 percent in 2011. The percentage who reported using marijuana in the previous month (a.k.a. “current” use) also fell, from 22 percent in 2011 to 20 percent in 2013.

Revenue Up: Colorado estimated revenue prior to passage – Year 1: $4.7m to $22.6m Actual revenue from recreational – Year 1 in first 6 months: $17.2 million Colorado Department of Revenue, July 2014

Arrests are Down: According to data from the Colorado Judicial Branch, the number of cases filed in state court alleging at least one marijuana offense plunged 77 percent between 2012 and 2013. The decline is most notable for charges of petty marijuana possession, which dropped from an average of 714 per month to 133 per month during the same period in 2013 — a decline of 81 percent.

Crime Rates Down: Crime rates are down in Denver according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting data. 10.1% decrease in overall crime from 2013 and a 5.2% drop in violent crime. Burglary and robbery rates at marijuana dispensaries have also dropped since legal sales began on January 1, 2014. This early crime data stands in contrast to concerns of a potential increase in crime after legalization.

Regulations Now in Place:

• Background checks for licensing (criminal history, gov obligations (ie owed taxes, child report) check on where start-up funding comes from;
• Undercover police stings on selling to minors -yield 100% compliance;
• Comprehensive testing of marijuana (potency, safety) before it is sold;
• Extensive edible and marijuana product labeling requirements in place for recognizable, safe containers, dosage limits.

Shrinking Criminal Market
Amount of marijuana in Colorado now in legal market and out of black market: 58% now in regulated market after only 2 years. According to state lawmakers, many of whom opposed Amendment 64: Regulation has done a better job of keeping marijuana out of the hands of dealers, cartels and kids. The Colorado legislature is working to follow the will of the voters and implement the law effectively. State regulated, secure dispensaries are putting drug dealers out of business. This has led to a drop in teen use and access, and adult use has not increased.

Money for Medical Research
CO Gov. signed a bill for $10 million for research into the medical efficacy of marijuana which will help determine which medical conditions should be eligible for medical marijuana and help physicians better understand its biochemical effects adding to the growing base of knowledge about proper dosing and potency and allow the state to conduct clinical trials.

Newspapers
Civic Groups
Labor Groups
Public Safety and Justice Groups
Racial Justice Groups
Environmental Groups

Newspapers

The Oregonian

Oregonians should support outright legalization. No responsible adult wants kids using pot, but legalization would simply add another product to an “adults-only” category that includes tobacco and alcohol. There is no movement to ban alcohol in order to keep it away from kids, so why use that justification to prevent the legalization of marijuana, which in many ways is no worse?

The Register-Guard

Prohibition keeps drug dealers in business — dealers who have no compunction against selling pot and other drugs to children, selling products of dubious purity and feeding profits to organized criminal enterprises. Measure 91 would pinch one of the conduits for the cash that finances drug cartels by bringing much of the underground marijuana economy into the open, where it could be monitored, regulated and taxed.

The East Oregonian

We spent millions — then billions — to combat it. We toppled governments in our own hemisphere to stop its cultivation. We imprisoned millions of our (mostly black) citizens as punishment for using it. All of that, to very little avail. Marijuana continues to abound in Oregon, from high school hallways to back alleys to suburban basements…. The opportunity to incorporate a policy that is similar — but better — than those in Colorado and Washington will be in front of voters in November… we support the passage of Measure 91.

The Medford Mail-Tribune

Under the status quo, Oregonians use marijuana they buy illegally…. Criminals and drug cartels get all the financial benefit. Police agencies spend time and money chasing growers, dealers and users, resources they could devote to more serious crime. Under Measure 91, state-licensed farmers would produce the drug under strict controls. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which knows a thing or two about regulating an intoxicating substance, would oversee the distribution and sale of legal pot to those 21 and over. The OLCC would have authority to regulate potency, labeling, testing and portion size — information that is not available on the black market.

Corvallis Gazette-Times

Oregon would be well served by the passage of Measure 91, which would allow the regulated cultivation, sale and possession of marijuana for recreational use by adults 21 and older. The 36-page measure empowers the Oregon Department of Agriculture to regulate cultivation; the Oregon Liquor Control Commission would regulate sale and distribution under rules even stricter than those that apply to alcohol. But even with those concerns to address — and the large issue of pot’s continued prohibition at the federal level — we still think passage of Measure 91 would end the long, failed prohibition on pot. It is a good step toward clarifying an issue that’s been hazy long enough.

Willamette Week

We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: The war on weed has failed. The most heated argument in the latest effort to legalize marijuana is whether law enforcement is still wasting resources by making arrests, or simply turning a blind eye. And if you think the days of people getting cuffed in pot busts went out with Robert Mitchum and Johnny Cash, consider federal data released last year. It shows African-Americans are nearly four times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession as whites. The New York Times was right to say the war on marijuana has turned into a war on minorities.

Portland Mercury

New Approach rightly points out that African Americans are twice as likely as white Oregonians to be cited for pot infractions, and notes that millions of dollars are being pumped needlessly into the black market. The state’s sheriffs and district attorneys have lined up against the measure, spinning visions of toddlers unknowingly noshing on overpowering pot cookies and middle school students effortlessly buying joints. Best to leave pot where it is, they say: tolerated but relatively difficult to obtain. But that argument—with its hypocritically permissive attitude toward illegal pot use—amounts to acceptance of a policy that hasn’t made sense for decades. It’s time to adopt a realistic view of marijuana. Vote yes on Measure 91.

The Source Weekly (Bend)

Our argument for a Yes vote on Measure 91 is primarily financial… it will generate gobs of tax money for law enforcement and education.

The Skanner

…the so-called War on Drugs has failed to stem their use and has filled our jails and prisons with low-level offenders – all at taxpayer expense – this measure might be the best chance we have to restore some sanity to the system. Legalize it, regulate it like alcohol, and create a new revenue stream for the state. We vote YES.

Eugene Weekly

New Approach Oregon has created a thorough measure that avoids the pitfalls of 2012’s failed Measure 80 and, similar to the movement for marriage equality, Oregon does not want to be on the wrong side of history here. In addition to the ethical and moral ramifications, and easing prison bloat, the measure would be a great economic boon for the state: 40 percent of tax revenue would go to Oregon’s Common School Fund, 20 percent to the Oregon Health Authority’s mental health and drug services, 15 percent to the state police and 20 percent to local law enforcement.

The Advocate

There’s more to legalization than just getting high and sedating pain. Marijuana would be taxed to provide more state revenue for schools and police forces. Those who dig the joint will smoke regardless if there’s a rule against it. If smoking marijuana is inevitable, we should try to use it for our benefit. Passing 91 will also help depopulate prisons, which are flooded with people who have bought and sold marijuana. The decriminalization of marijuana will allow more and better persecution of more serious crimes, such as sex trafficking and hard drugs.

Street Roots

Measure 91 would legalize recreational marijuana use. Street Roots has long advocated for the legalization of marijuana. For Street Roots, it’s simple. Legalizing marijuana will help deter the targeting of poor people when it comes to minor drug offenses. Not to mention that it will bring a multi-billion dollar industry out of the shadows. That means more money for schools and treatment programs. The time is now. Vote yes on Measure 91.

The New York Times

In 2012, Washington State and Colorado legalized recreational marijuana. This November, voters in Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia will decide whether to do the same — effectively disregarding the misguided federal ban on a drug that is far less dangerous than alcohol. Decades of arresting people for buying, selling and using marijuana have hurt more than helped society, and minority communities have been disproportionately affected by the harsh criminal penalties of prohibition.

HIPFiSH Monthly

Legalizes use and tightly regulated sale of marijuana for adults 21 and over, freeing up law enforcement for more pressing priorities. Regulates and taxes the sale through the Oregon Liquor Control Commission; tax revenues would benefit schools, state and local police and alcohol and drug treatment and prevention programs. People of color are disproportionately more likely to be arrested for and incarcerated longer for marijuana possession than white people, also making this measure a step toward reducing unjust impacts of the prison system on people of color.

Cascade Business News

Approval will make Oregon the third in the nation to legalize marijuana for adults outright. Colorado’s numbers reveal the state made more than $60 million in legal marijuana sales this year. What would this mean for Oregon? … Oregon could net an extra $55 million in revenue each year by legalizing and taxing the drug.

Civic Groups

The Oregon State Council for Retired Citizens

This is the first time a senior organization in Oregon has endorsed a marijuana regulation measure. I’ve seen how medical marijuana can transform seniors lives, but when you are sick and in need of effective medicine, getting a medical marijuana card can be difficult, and without legalization, almost no research is done on it, making it hard for people to estimate the proper dosage.

Oregon Alliance for Retired Americans

City Club of Portland

Current marijuana laws unnecessarily limit adult Oregonians’ freedom to consume a product that is less addictive than legal products such as alcohol and tobacco. The social costs of the current system are too high; crime can be reduced through regulated legalization; youth consumption can be discouraged through education and advertising; economic opportunity will increase through added revenue and job growth.

Democratic Party of Oregon

Allows possession, manufacture, and sale of marijuana to adults 21 and over, subject to state licensing, regulation, and taxation. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission would regulate all sales.

Labor Groups

United Food and Commercial Workers

AFSCME Local 328

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 88 (AFSCME)

Treating marijuana as a crime wastes police resources and tax money on nonviolent offenders while there are more serious priorities crimes and public safety issues. Measure 91 allows police to focus on keeping our families safe from dangerous criminals.

Public Safety and Justice Groups

ACLU Oregon

Legalizing, regulating and taxing the recreational use of marijuana by adults 21 and older will bring a new approach to our drug laws, making them more fair, more compassionate, and smarter at reducing drug dependency and improving public health and safety. We urge a YES vote.

National Association of Social Workers, Oregon Chapter

While exploring the issue it became evident that criminalization of marijuana has not significantly curbed abuse of the drug…. Measure 91 would create an above-board taxed market with revenues dedicated to programs aimed at addiction and mental health…. NASW-OR strongly supports Measure 91’s public health approach to marijuana regulation.

The Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

Partnership for Safety and Justice

No one should go to jail for marijuana. Too many people have been punished, and too many of them have been youth and people of color. Too many tax dollars have been wasted without increasing public safety. Too many public resources have been diverted that could have been used to help crime victims and address unmet community needs across Oregon.

OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon

Decades of marijuana criminalization have harmed communities across the country, as well as here in Oregon. Measure 91 will restore a moral, rational and just approach to social norms. It will remove harsh, unjustified punishments for possessing small amounts of marijuana, enable police to refocus resources to stopping violent crime, generate revenue to bolster vital state resources like schools and drug prevention and treatment programs, and take money out of the hands of criminals, diminishing violence in our communities.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

LEAP is a nonprofit organization made up of current and former members of the law enforcement and criminal justice communities who are speaking out about the failures of our existing drug policies. Those policies have failed, and continue to fail, to effectively address the problems of drug abuse, especially the problems of juvenile drug use, the problems of addiction, and the problems of crime caused by the existence of a criminal black market in drugs.

Racial Justice Groups

Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO)

The Rural Organizing Project

Legalizes use and tightly regulated sale of marijuana for adults 21 and over, freeing up law enforcement for more pressing priorities. Regulates and legalizes sales through the Oregon Liquor Control Commission; taxes would benefit schools, state and local police and alcohol and drug treatment and prevention programs. People of color are disproportionately more likely to be arrested for and incarcerated longer for marijuana posses- sion than white people, also making this measure a step toward reducing unjust impacts of the prison system on people of color.

Western States Center

In 2012, there were nearly 13,000 arrests or citations for marijuana in Oregon. Even though both groups use marijuana at the same rate, Black Oregonians are twice as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession as Whites. We urge you to VOTE YES.

Environmental Groups

Oregon League of Conservation Voters