Entrepreneurs, investors, and big businesses are starting to ask, is cannabis the next internet? The question, of course, has little to do with the internet. The essence of the question is this: Can we make a tremendous amount of money selling cannabis to people? And the answer seems to be a resounding “Yes.” Troy Dayton, […]
Steve Holmes
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Smoke Signals11/11-11/18
Of Pot and Parks
In Bend, we have now enjoyed a full month of recreational cannabis sales from 14 stores around town. There have been no reports of problems with these sales, or the cannabis consumed as a result of them. Instead, most of the action has taken place at the City’s Advisory Committee meetings. The Committee is working […]
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Presidential Pot Predictions
Sometimes it seems like November 2016 is a long way off, as the presidential race grinds on and on like a never-ending clown show. But this presidential race has big implications for the pace of the ongoing cannabis legalization revolution. Two recent developments on both sides of the aisle are particularly significant. The first is […]
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A Look at OLCC’s Draft Regulations
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission has cleared a few important hurdles in its process of regulating the new recreational cannabis industry. In anticipation of its January 4 deadline for accepting applications for commercial growers, processors, wholesalers, and retail outlets, OLCC has signed an agreement with NIC USA, Inc to build the online license application form. […]
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Trend Setting
What’s next on the legal weed horizon
As cannabis legalization moves forward in Oregon, the rest of the country seems to be moving quickly to catch up. Based on information provided by Marijuana Policy Project, the financial news site 24/7 Wall St. identified 11 states that may soon legalize marijuana. Some of the candidates are obvious, like California and Massachusetts. And a […]
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Doobie Delivery
And other highlights of the OLCC’s draft regulations for legal weed
After Oregon voters enacted the historic Measure 91 last year, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission got to work drafting regulations governing recreational cannabis businesses. The OLCC began its work with a statewide outreach effort asking Oregonians what should be in the regulations. The outreach effort included a Rules Advisory Committee and technical subcommittees to provide […]
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The Sky Isn’t Falling
Legal weed fears fade post prohibition
Breaking news: The sky is not falling. Now that we are three months into cannabis legalization and a week into legal sales of cannabis in Oregon, this is a message that the Oregon public needs to hear. Both before and after Oregonians voted on Measure 91, we have heard the same tired arguments from prohibitionists […]
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Making sense of what’s legal Oct. 1
There are many paradoxes in cannabis law. The biggest, of course, is the federal government’s policy that cannabis is “dangerous” and “has no medicinal value” and the state’s policy, courtesy of the people, that cannabis may be used as medicine and may be otherwise consumed without substantial harm. Our local paradox, which we discussed last […]
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Smoke Signals
City’s new committee begins drafting regulations for cannabis businesses
The City of Bend has appointed a 10-member Marijuana Technical Advisory Committee to guide it in adding a third, local layer of regulation of Oregon’s new cannabis businesses. The City describes its pending regulations as “reasonable time, place, and manner regulations” and hopes to have them in place by Jan. 1 2016. The Committee will […]
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Smoke Signals
Prohibition Continues In Parts of Oregon Despite the Passage of Measure 91
In a completely unnecessary political compromise called HB 3400, the Oregon Legislature created a huge caveat to one of the central principles of Measure 91. That deal for the benefit of Oregon Republicans gave anti-cannabis localities the right to ban commercial cannabis growers, processors, and sellers. This prohibition allows cities and counties to stop existing […]
