Political Quotes

“Advocates from the new emerging marijuana industry in Oregon are descending on Capitol Hill at a very critical time for this fledgling industry. They have a report about the implementation of Oregon's Ballot Measure 91--overwhelmingly approved by voters last year--to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana at the State level. Possession became legal July 1. Retail sales were authorized in existing dispensaries on the 1st of October to significant interest around the State. The first week saw an estimated $11 million in sales. They are working hard to implement the spirit and the letter of the measure, working closely with the Oregon legislature to refine it, learning from the experience of States like Washington and Colorado that have already legalized adult use. Theirs is a positive story of economic opportunity, product development, tax revenues, more freedom for individuals, and eliminating the racial disparities in the enforcement of a failed policy of prohibition that comes down heavily against young men of color, especially African Americans. At the same time, there was a scathing report this week from Brookings Institution researchers John Hudak and Grace Wallack that called out the roadblocks that are being put in place by law enforcement and Federal policies that stifle medical marijuana research, that interfere with the science and the doctor-patient relationship in ways that are completely unwarranted, counterproductive, and destructive.…”