By: Jenna Beresheim News Editor
As of Oct. 1, 2015, marijuana became legalized for recreational sale in the state of Oregon.
This legalization still comes with rules and regulations that any user needs to be aware of in order to stay within the law.
Oregon became the third state to legalize recreational pot, with a close vote of 54 to 46. With this legalization, the state altered how the law perceived driving under the influence, employers requesting drug testing, and where marijuana can be consumed.
Currently, the law states that recreational users need to be at least 21 years old to purchase marijuana, and that only 7 grams of the marijuana flower may be sold to each individual.
Recreational marijuana cannot be sold or smoked in public.
Other vehicles for marijuana such as edibles, will become available Jan. 4, 2016, along with taxation of products. Sales at the moment are not taxed, but the tax rate set to take effect on these products has been set at 25 percent.
Under federal law, marijuana is still illegal. This means that in order to retain federal funding, Western Oregon University must still enforce rules against the use of marijuana on campus.
“I’m curious to see how that plays out,” stated Bryan Kelley, a fourth year humanities major, “I have mixed emotions about the legalization of pot.”
Recently, a marijuana dispensary opened in Independence called Blackbird Indica. The owner, Alex Andrade, had originally planned to open in Monmouth.
“I asked around for days, and the overwhelming response was the people of Monmouth did not want a dispensary in their town, and we respected that,” reported Andrade.
Instead, Andrade experienced an overwhelming positive response on Oct. 1.
“We moved the same volume in one day than our best month in medical marijuana sales,” Andrade continued, “we had a full lobby, lines out the door, we even opened early and closed late.”
Some of the patrons, Andrade said, merely wanted to be a part of history. Others had been using marijuana for years but were happy to finally have a legal and safe source.
Andrade even showcases a laminated sheet of every strain of marijuana she sells in her shop, along with its uses and what it is best for.
“We try to break it down and make recommendations based on what you need,” Andrade encouraged, “I want to make sure everyone is safe and responsible with their use.”
Outside of campus, individuals are allowed to grow up to four plants at a time for personal use.
This personal growing does not change regulations regarding selling the product or carrying larger amounts on your person.
Andrade intends to implement a 5 percent discount off of her products for college students.
“It is something people do anyways and should be normalized,” Kelley said in regards to the legalization, “on the other hand, I don’t like how rushed this came about.”
Andrade agreed that the process was rushed, saying “the state is putting the cart before the horse,” even from a distributor’s standpoint. The enormous influx of dispensaries and licensures after the vote passed may be cause for the delayed relay of information from the legal system to dispensaries.
“I don’t know how this will interact with students who live off campus,” Kelley added thoughtfully. As long as the use is within legal bounds and off campus, students who are off campus will have an easier time imbibing than those who reside on campus.
Students caught in possession of marijuana or using marijuana on campus will still face penalty regardless of statewide legalization.
Nearly 300 dispensaries are open within the state, with 255 reported to be available to sell recreationally. Currently Salem has over 15 reported dispensaries, with Independence having two and Corvallis with one.
For more information on marijuana use, regulations, and dispensary locations, please visit marijuana.oregon.gov.
