Senate Bill 964 passed through the Senate-only Implementing Measure 91 Committee tonight unanimously and will now move onto the Senate floor for a vote. The vote is expected to occur next Tuesday, giving advocates time to urge senators to oppose the measure. Senate Bill 964 co-sponsor, Ginny Burdick, hopes to have a clear majority in the Oregon Senate to force the Oregon House to pass the measure as-is. It is imperative that concerned citizens contact their senators. You can find your legislators here.

Advocates, including folks here at Marijuana Politics, have been fighting Senate Bill 964 and similar bills this entire session and it took extraordinary measures by Oregon senators to move the bill out of committee. House Democrats, led by Reprsentatives Ann Lininger, Peter Buckley and Ken Helm have been leading the legislative effort to block the bill, protesting the fact that SB 964 allows cities and counties to ban medical marijuana dispensaries without a vote of the people.

Senate Bill 964, while having some good provisions, will decrease the number of plants allowed at grow sites; add fees; allow for garden inspections; mandate reporting; force growers to keep records for two years; and changes the definition to “mature plant” to include non-growing plants that are drying. Senator Prozanski brought up the fact that more people could get arrested and prosecuted by the fact that drying branches could even be counted as mature plants and Senator Burdick even mentioned that she didn’t intend for that to occur, mentioning that a future amendment could correct the mistake; strangely, the committee members decided to pass the bill with such a glaring error.

While patients and advocates have lost a battle, the war isn’t over. Senate Bill 964 still has to pass through the Senate, then move onto a House committee, get a majority vote on the House floor and pass through the Oregon Joint Ways and Means Committee. There is still an opportunity to defeat this bill. Stay tuned to Marijuana Politics for future calls to action over the coming days.

Anthony Johnson

Anthony, a longtime cannabis law reform advocate, was Chief Petitioner and co-author of Measure 91, Oregon's cannabis legalization effort. He served as director of both the New Approach Oregon and Vote Yes on 91 PACs, the political action committees responsible for the state's legalization campaign. As director of New Approach Oregon, Anthony continues to work towards effectively implementing the cannabis legalization system while protecting small business owners and the rights of patients. He sits on the Oregon Marijuana Rules Advisory Committee and fights for sensible rules at the legislature as well as city councils and county commissions across the state. Anthony helps cannabis business comply with Oregon's laws and advises advocates across the country. He also serves as content director of both the International Cannabis Business Conference and the Oregon Marijuana Business Conference, helping share the vision of moving the cannabis industry forward in a way that maintains the focus on keeping people out of prison and protecting patients. He was a member of the Oregon Health Authority Rules Advisory Committee, assisting the drafting of the administrative rules governing Oregon’s state-licensed medical marijuana facilities. He first co-authored and helped pass successful marijuana law reform measures while a law student at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. He passed the Oregon Bar in 2005 and practiced criminal defense for two years before transitioning to working full-time in the political advocacy realm. His blogs on Marijuana Politics are personal in nature and don't speak for or reflect the opinions of any group or organization.