Robert Celt
New Member
Oregon's medical marijuana advocates say the state's proposed rules for production impose expensive and unnecessary burdens on growers and will ultimately harm patients who rely on the drug to cope with a wide range of health problems.
The Oregon Health Authority's draft rules, set to take effect March 1, are part of a sweeping law passed last year that regulates Oregon's cannabis industry.
The proposed requirements represent regulators' efforts to put some checks on medical marijuana production in a state where growers have operated largely without oversight for more than a decade. The rules call for round-the-clock security and regular reports to the health authority about how many plants a grower has and where their harvests ended up.
The health authority also may inspect grow sites with more than a dozen plants or those selling marijuana to processors or dispensaries.
Growers who plan to move cannabis into the dispensary market or those who grow for more than two patients or for a patient who doesn't live on the property are most affected by the proposed rules. Patients who grow their own medical marijuana or those who grow for one other person on their property also face new requirements, though they are not as extensive.
Many in Oregon's medical marijuana community have pressed the state to delay implementing the rules until next year. They argue that the health authority has not notified growers of the particular changes that impact them and that those who do know about the rules don't have enough time to comply.
"Most growers and patients have no idea about this yet," said Cedar Grey, a Williams grower with the Oregon Sungrown Growers Guild, which represents outdoor growers in southern Oregon. "And it completely changes the program."
Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, a staunch advocate of the state's medical marijuana program, blasted the health authority in an interview Thursday with The Oregonian/OregonLive, saying the agency has "run amok."
"The proposed rules are a direct assault on the (medical marijuana) program and the small family farm," said Prozanski.
Prozanski, co-vice chair of the legislature's Joint Committee on Implementing Measure 91, said the law passed last year related to marijuana regulation included provisions intended to address two problems: exploitation of the program by out-of-staters and so-called "card stacking," a common practice that involves growers amassing multiple patient cards to legitimize large-scale grow operations. As a result, he said, new plant limits and residency requirements were included in the law.
But he said lawmakers did not intend for the health authority to issue detailed security and water use rules for small-scale growers. He said lawmakers are likely to try to address what he sees as problems with the proposed rules during the upcoming session, which begins Monday.
Andre Ourso, manager of the health authority's medical marijuana section, said said he couldn't speak to the Legislature's intent in crafting the marijuana provisions. He defended the new security rules as part of an effort to protect growers from theft and other potential criminal activity at grow sites.
"We are a public health agency," he said. "We are concerned with Oregonians' overall health and safety. That is the angle that we are coming from."
Among the new requirements:
Record keeping: Growers must establish online accounts with the health authority where they are required to file monthly reports on the number of plants they have, their harvests and how much they transferred overall to dispensaries and patients.
Reporting requirements: Medical marijuana growers producing cannabis for dispensaries, more than two patients or patients who live off the property must track their use of pesticides and fertilizers. They are required, under the draft rules, to list the names of products they use, the dates they used them, the names of those who applied them and how much was used. Those records must be kept for two years.
Plant limits: Starting March 1, medical marijuana growers who grow in residential areas within city limits can have up to a dozen plants. If the site isn't in a residential zone or is outside of city limits, then growers are allowed up to 48 plants.
"Grandfathered" grow sites: Some medical marijuana producers may be eligible to have more plants, depending on the number of patients who were on their rolls on Jan. 1, 2015. Those limits are capped at 24 plants for people living in residential areas within a city and 96 for those outside of those areas.
Residency requirements: For the first time, the Oregon Legislature has imposed a residency requirement for growers and patients. People registered as growers on or before Jan. 1, 2015, must prove they've lived in the state for the past year. Otherwise, they must show proof that they've lived in Oregon for the previous two years. Patients also must be Oregon residents.
Water rights: The proposed rule requires that growers have a water right for irrigation or "nursery use" and that they have "legal authorization" to use the water.
Under a provision of last year's landmark marijuana regulatory law, growers may be reimbursed by patients for their labor, something previously not allowed.
That change, health authority officials said, means marijuana production becomes a "commercial enterprise," which subjects growers to "existing water laws that they haven't been subject to before," health authority spokesman Jonathan Modie said.
Security: Growers must install round-the-clock camera surveillance with video backup for two years. The system must be equipped with motion sensors. Cannabis must be stored in a locked safe or vault.
Ourso said growers may apply for waivers from the security requirement. He said growers may cite cost and practicality as reasons for the request.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Oregon Proposes New Rules For Medical Marijuana Production
Author: Noelle Crombie
Contact: The Oregonian
Photo Credit: Beth Nakamura
Website: The Oregonian
The Oregon Health Authority's draft rules, set to take effect March 1, are part of a sweeping law passed last year that regulates Oregon's cannabis industry.
The proposed requirements represent regulators' efforts to put some checks on medical marijuana production in a state where growers have operated largely without oversight for more than a decade. The rules call for round-the-clock security and regular reports to the health authority about how many plants a grower has and where their harvests ended up.
The health authority also may inspect grow sites with more than a dozen plants or those selling marijuana to processors or dispensaries.
Growers who plan to move cannabis into the dispensary market or those who grow for more than two patients or for a patient who doesn't live on the property are most affected by the proposed rules. Patients who grow their own medical marijuana or those who grow for one other person on their property also face new requirements, though they are not as extensive.
Many in Oregon's medical marijuana community have pressed the state to delay implementing the rules until next year. They argue that the health authority has not notified growers of the particular changes that impact them and that those who do know about the rules don't have enough time to comply.
"Most growers and patients have no idea about this yet," said Cedar Grey, a Williams grower with the Oregon Sungrown Growers Guild, which represents outdoor growers in southern Oregon. "And it completely changes the program."
Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, a staunch advocate of the state's medical marijuana program, blasted the health authority in an interview Thursday with The Oregonian/OregonLive, saying the agency has "run amok."
"The proposed rules are a direct assault on the (medical marijuana) program and the small family farm," said Prozanski.
Prozanski, co-vice chair of the legislature's Joint Committee on Implementing Measure 91, said the law passed last year related to marijuana regulation included provisions intended to address two problems: exploitation of the program by out-of-staters and so-called "card stacking," a common practice that involves growers amassing multiple patient cards to legitimize large-scale grow operations. As a result, he said, new plant limits and residency requirements were included in the law.
But he said lawmakers did not intend for the health authority to issue detailed security and water use rules for small-scale growers. He said lawmakers are likely to try to address what he sees as problems with the proposed rules during the upcoming session, which begins Monday.
Andre Ourso, manager of the health authority's medical marijuana section, said said he couldn't speak to the Legislature's intent in crafting the marijuana provisions. He defended the new security rules as part of an effort to protect growers from theft and other potential criminal activity at grow sites.
"We are a public health agency," he said. "We are concerned with Oregonians' overall health and safety. That is the angle that we are coming from."
Among the new requirements:
Record keeping: Growers must establish online accounts with the health authority where they are required to file monthly reports on the number of plants they have, their harvests and how much they transferred overall to dispensaries and patients.
Reporting requirements: Medical marijuana growers producing cannabis for dispensaries, more than two patients or patients who live off the property must track their use of pesticides and fertilizers. They are required, under the draft rules, to list the names of products they use, the dates they used them, the names of those who applied them and how much was used. Those records must be kept for two years.
Plant limits: Starting March 1, medical marijuana growers who grow in residential areas within city limits can have up to a dozen plants. If the site isn't in a residential zone or is outside of city limits, then growers are allowed up to 48 plants.
"Grandfathered" grow sites: Some medical marijuana producers may be eligible to have more plants, depending on the number of patients who were on their rolls on Jan. 1, 2015. Those limits are capped at 24 plants for people living in residential areas within a city and 96 for those outside of those areas.
Residency requirements: For the first time, the Oregon Legislature has imposed a residency requirement for growers and patients. People registered as growers on or before Jan. 1, 2015, must prove they've lived in the state for the past year. Otherwise, they must show proof that they've lived in Oregon for the previous two years. Patients also must be Oregon residents.
Water rights: The proposed rule requires that growers have a water right for irrigation or "nursery use" and that they have "legal authorization" to use the water.
Under a provision of last year's landmark marijuana regulatory law, growers may be reimbursed by patients for their labor, something previously not allowed.
That change, health authority officials said, means marijuana production becomes a "commercial enterprise," which subjects growers to "existing water laws that they haven't been subject to before," health authority spokesman Jonathan Modie said.
Security: Growers must install round-the-clock camera surveillance with video backup for two years. The system must be equipped with motion sensors. Cannabis must be stored in a locked safe or vault.
Ourso said growers may apply for waivers from the security requirement. He said growers may cite cost and practicality as reasons for the request.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Oregon Proposes New Rules For Medical Marijuana Production
Author: Noelle Crombie
Contact: The Oregonian
Photo Credit: Beth Nakamura
Website: The Oregonian
