The General
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A year ago, maybe even six months ago, Chris Olson wouldn't have talked openly about his commercial marijuana grow in Portland. But on Thursday, surrounded by hundreds of Oregon medical marijuana growers, he spoke about his work, his plans for a medical marijuana dispensary in Portland and his willingness, even eagerness, to have a state inspector snoop around his grow site. Emboldened by the state's newly regulated medical marijuana retail industry and the prospect of legal recreational cannabis, Oregon's pot producers are emerging from the shadows.
Growers have formed a political action committee to push for state regulation and legal protection in the 2015 legislative session. They've hired cannabis-savvy lawyers. And on Friday they staged the largest get-together of pot growers the state's seen. By the time the first speaker took the stage, an estimated 450 growers had packed the Star Theater in the Old Town section of Northwest Portland. They filled every seat, cramming into aisles and leaning over the balcony. Olson said seeing so many other growers willing to take part in a public event was an indication of their legitimacy. "Being a part of this industry for a long time, I have not been able to come out of the closet or out of the basement," said Olson, 27. "I think that is a very important thing for us to be able to do in order to allow this industry grow."
Oregon this year began regulating the state's thriving medical marijuana industry, which for years operated without oversight. Under new law, only dispensaries are subject to state regulation. That leaves key elements of the industry, including the growers who supply the state's 183 licensed retail outlets with cannabis, largely unchecked. Oregon's medical marijuana production is tied to the number of patient cards a grower has. Some growers who operate on a commercial scale engage in what's known as "card stacking," accumulating patient cards so they can justify the number of plants they cultivate. It's a system that many patients, growers and regulators say is outdated and ripe for exploitation.
"The grower-patient relationship has to change," said Tom Burns, who oversees the state's medical marijuana dispensary program. "There is a place for that relationship if I want to only have someone grow for me personally and it's a neighbor. That makes sense. But for commercial growers who are selling a volume of product, you can't continue to play the game. You have to change that." During a break, small groups of growers talked plant genetics, plant biology, lab testing and strategies for keeping pests off their plants — geeky chats occasionally punctuated with phrases like, "Dude, you rock!" Speakers included an accountant who specializes in pot businesses, lawyers with the campaign to legalize marijuana, as well as a marijuana marketer who told the crowd to expand its customer base from white men between 21 and 40.
"You guys are smoking weed," Alexa Divett, who owns Canna Marketing & Design, told the mostly male group. "It's a given. How are we going to start targeting women and moms and the women whose kids need CBD oil and women who never smoked and who if you gave them a dab they would probably freak out?" Perhaps the most telling sign that marijuana growers are a potential political force was Burns' appearance. In a setting perfumed with the faint smell of pot, the buttoned-down bureaucrat took the stage of the one-time burlesque theater with a message for growers: "Come out of the gray area and come out in the sunlight."
Prepare for state regulation and inspection, he told growers. "Accept the fact that people are going to come in and count your plants," he said. "If you cant do that, this industry isn't going to work." Geoff Sugerman, a veteran lobbyist and owner of a Sellwood dispensary, talked about the challenges for the medical marijuana program if legalized recreational marijuana is approved by Oregon voters in November. He said dispensary owners and medical marijuana growers should be able to transition into the recreational market.
He started his talk with a confession: "I am a marijuana grower." "It makes me appreciate what good growers, what you growers, do every day," said Sugerman. "Nothing is more calming to me than working with those plants. Nothing is more satisfying to me than a patient coming into the shop and saying, 'Your medicine worked. I feel better.'" Amy Margolis, the Portland lawyer who organized the event, got so many RSVPs that she made a last-minute change in venue. "My mind is blown," she said. "I think so many people showed up because Oregon is poised to be a true player in the legal cannabis industry," said Margolis, who counts many medical marijuana growers as clients. "All of these people have spent so long learning how to do this. They are ready."
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Oregonlive.com
Author: Noelle Crombie
Contact: Contact Us
Website: Marijuana growers gather in Portland, talk shop, plan for the future | OregonLive.com
Growers have formed a political action committee to push for state regulation and legal protection in the 2015 legislative session. They've hired cannabis-savvy lawyers. And on Friday they staged the largest get-together of pot growers the state's seen. By the time the first speaker took the stage, an estimated 450 growers had packed the Star Theater in the Old Town section of Northwest Portland. They filled every seat, cramming into aisles and leaning over the balcony. Olson said seeing so many other growers willing to take part in a public event was an indication of their legitimacy. "Being a part of this industry for a long time, I have not been able to come out of the closet or out of the basement," said Olson, 27. "I think that is a very important thing for us to be able to do in order to allow this industry grow."
Oregon this year began regulating the state's thriving medical marijuana industry, which for years operated without oversight. Under new law, only dispensaries are subject to state regulation. That leaves key elements of the industry, including the growers who supply the state's 183 licensed retail outlets with cannabis, largely unchecked. Oregon's medical marijuana production is tied to the number of patient cards a grower has. Some growers who operate on a commercial scale engage in what's known as "card stacking," accumulating patient cards so they can justify the number of plants they cultivate. It's a system that many patients, growers and regulators say is outdated and ripe for exploitation.
"The grower-patient relationship has to change," said Tom Burns, who oversees the state's medical marijuana dispensary program. "There is a place for that relationship if I want to only have someone grow for me personally and it's a neighbor. That makes sense. But for commercial growers who are selling a volume of product, you can't continue to play the game. You have to change that." During a break, small groups of growers talked plant genetics, plant biology, lab testing and strategies for keeping pests off their plants — geeky chats occasionally punctuated with phrases like, "Dude, you rock!" Speakers included an accountant who specializes in pot businesses, lawyers with the campaign to legalize marijuana, as well as a marijuana marketer who told the crowd to expand its customer base from white men between 21 and 40.
"You guys are smoking weed," Alexa Divett, who owns Canna Marketing & Design, told the mostly male group. "It's a given. How are we going to start targeting women and moms and the women whose kids need CBD oil and women who never smoked and who if you gave them a dab they would probably freak out?" Perhaps the most telling sign that marijuana growers are a potential political force was Burns' appearance. In a setting perfumed with the faint smell of pot, the buttoned-down bureaucrat took the stage of the one-time burlesque theater with a message for growers: "Come out of the gray area and come out in the sunlight."
Prepare for state regulation and inspection, he told growers. "Accept the fact that people are going to come in and count your plants," he said. "If you cant do that, this industry isn't going to work." Geoff Sugerman, a veteran lobbyist and owner of a Sellwood dispensary, talked about the challenges for the medical marijuana program if legalized recreational marijuana is approved by Oregon voters in November. He said dispensary owners and medical marijuana growers should be able to transition into the recreational market.
He started his talk with a confession: "I am a marijuana grower." "It makes me appreciate what good growers, what you growers, do every day," said Sugerman. "Nothing is more calming to me than working with those plants. Nothing is more satisfying to me than a patient coming into the shop and saying, 'Your medicine worked. I feel better.'" Amy Margolis, the Portland lawyer who organized the event, got so many RSVPs that she made a last-minute change in venue. "My mind is blown," she said. "I think so many people showed up because Oregon is poised to be a true player in the legal cannabis industry," said Margolis, who counts many medical marijuana growers as clients. "All of these people have spent so long learning how to do this. They are ready."
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Oregonlive.com
Author: Noelle Crombie
Contact: Contact Us
Website: Marijuana growers gather in Portland, talk shop, plan for the future | OregonLive.com
