The Joint Committee on Measure 91 Implementation amended Senate Bill 460 today, setting the stage for HB 3460 medical marijuana dispensaries to be able to sell recreational marijuana beginning October 1.

Assuming SB 460 clears the votes it needs from both the Senate and the House, Oregon HB 3460 medical marijuana dispensaries will be able to sell marijuana in limited quantities to anyone 21 years or older ahead of those waiting to apply for a Measure 91 license in January of 2016.

In addition to limiting the quantity of each marijuana purchase to at most a quarter ounce of flower per day, it appears that the dispensaries will be prohibited from selling concentrates and edibles, but will be allowed to sell clones (non-flowering plants).

The amendment also empowers local authority objections from both city and County rule makers.

This Amendment to SB 460 is a temporary amendment and its expiration as ratified is December 31, 2016.

While it is commendable to see the politicians attempt to fast track the implementation of Oregon’s voter approved recreational marijuana program, and it’s certainly likely a windfall customer acquisition opportunity from current and future HB 3460 medical marijuana dispensary stakeholders, it is difficult to reconcile permitting dispensaries to sell to adults in the fall with the protections offered by the Cole Memo’s Eight Points of Light-the adherence to which is crucial to preventing federal interference in a state’s legal cannabis industry.

With no active traceability system in place, Oregon Medical Marijuana Program producers will be providing unvetted inventory to dispensary operators for adult consumption. This is wildly outside of the parameters intended by the Cole Memo and attempting to create that kind of infrastructure and implement it in a timeframe that would allow an entire harvest cycle to occur ahead of the October 1 planned start date seems like a daunting task for a brand-new bureaucracy. Additionally, it’s clear Oregon’s current marijuana testing lab standards are woefully inadequate and in need of a serious overhaul-also a process that typically does not respond well to a rushed pace.

For Measure 91 stakeholders interested in accelerating their engagement of Oregon’s recreational marijuana program, HB 3460 acquisitions may be a strategy worth consideration. Nonresidents can establish HB 3460 medical marijuana dispensaries (see our PRF Services and HB 3460 support page), and it’s likely that Measure 91 regulatory compliancy will be similar to that required of HB 3460 licensees, so most of the infrastructure required to engage Measure 91 should be in place.

SB 460, SB 460 Amendment