From: Paul Stanford <[t--r--o] at [igc.apc.org]> Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs Subject: Regulate Marijuana Sales Date: Mon, 11 Sep 1995 14:52:42 -0700 (PDT) From: Paul Stanford We are circulating a petition to legalize cannabis sales in the state of Oregon. We have from now until July 1996 to gather 73,261 registered Oregon voter's signatures to achieve a statewide vote for November 5, 1995. We have 30,000 signatures as of September 9, 1995. The name of our Political Action Committee is "Pay for Schools by Regulating Cannabis", or the PSRC. Our proposal is the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act of 1997 (OCTA). The OCTA will legalize and license sales of cannabis in Oregon's state-run liquor stores. The profits from sales, which we estimate will be at least $500 million a year or 20% of our state's total budget, will go to education <96%> and drug abuse treatment programs <4%>. It would supply pharmacies with cannabis so that doctors could prescribe it. The proposal would also make hemp fiber and seed crops legal and unregulated and people could grow their own without a fee or license. Oregon had a property tax limitation initiative pass and the state is desparately seeking new sources of revenue to fund education; we have the answer. The past president of the Oregon Medical Association, our branch of the AMA, is one of our sponsors. Dr. George Robins' name and address is on each petition. The first third of the text, or preamble, is a finding by the people of our state, giving the reasons we are breaking from federal drug scheduling. The text of the law is in section 3. The last part directs our state to push for full federal legalization of cannabis if the feds try to stop us, and this would be funded by grower's license fees. This proposal is in compliance with the international treaties that the US spearheaded to control psychoactive substances: the Single Convention Treaty, the U.N. Treaty on Psychotropic Drugs and their amendments. Though it violates federal statutes, federal courts are directed to decide issues based on the Constitution and international treaty obligations. We wrote our legislation to withstand any judicial challenge. In November 1994 Oregon passed an initiative that legalizes doctor assisted suicide for the terminally ill. Though Oregon is the 1st place in the world to recognize this right in law, there is one other place that allows for doctor assisted suicide tacitly, without actually writing it into law. The Netherlands is that place. The Dutch also allow cannabis sales tacitly. We are seeking to have Oregon follow the Dutch model yet again. The name of our PAC is Pay for Schools by Regulating Cannabis (PSRC). We need money, computers, equipment, and, most of all, volunteers to petition. Portland attorney Paul Loney is our treasurer. If you would like to help or contribute to our effort, our address is: P.S.R.C. PO Box 86741 Portland, Oregon 97286 USA Our phone number is 503-229-0428. We need your help to make this happen. Please help as best you can. Here's the text of our proposed legislation: The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act of 1997 Whereas the people of the State of Oregon find that Cannabis hemp is an environmentally beneficial crop that: (a) Yields many times more paper and fiber than any other plant, more and healthier protein than any other plant, and more oil and other potential sources of energy than any other plant; (b) Yields cloth and paper of superior strength and durability without the application of pesticides during cultivation and without producing cancer-causing pollutants during processing; (c) Yields more biomass and fiber than any other plant across all climatic zones and grows faster than any other plant on Earth in the temperate and cooler climates; (d) Yields a substance that relieves the suffering of many ill people without life-threatening side effects; and, Whereas the people find that federal and corporate misinformation campaigns that economically benefit small groups of people have suppressed the information above and the fact that: (a) George Washington grew cannabis for more than 30 years and, while he was President, he said, "the artificial preparation of hemp is really a curiosity" and told his Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, that he was, "suggesting the policy of encouraging the growth of Hemp"; (b) Thomas Jefferson invented a device to process cannabis; (c) Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania, who spoke more at the U.S. Constitutional Convention in 1787 than any other delegate and of whom James Madison said, "the style and finish of the Constitution properly belongs to the pen of Gouverneur Morris," wrote a paper with Thomas Jefferson called, "Notes Respecting Tobacco" that compared cannabis and tobacco and concluded that cannabis "is to be preferred"; and, Whereas the people find that cannabis is Oregon's largest cash crop, indicating that cannabis prohibition has failed; and Whereas the people find that, despite misinformation concocted to justify cannabis prohibition, the courts of Alaska, Hawaii and Michigan have noted presidential commission findings, scientific studies, and learned treatises which: (a) Characterize cannabis as a relatively harmless, nonaddictive euphoriant used and cultivated for over 10,000 years without a single lethal overdose; (b) Demonstrate that moderate cannabis intoxication causes very little impairment of psychomotor functions; reveal no significant physical, biochemical, or mental abnormalities attributable solely to cannabis use; and that long-term, heavy cannabis users do not deviate significantly from their social peers in terms of mental function; (c) Disprove the "stepping stone" or "gateway drug" argument that cannabis use leads to other drugs; rather, that lies taught about cannabis, once discovered, destroy the credibility of valid warnings against other truly dangerous drugs; (d) Indicate that cannabis users are less likely to commit violent acts than alcohol users, refute the argument that cannabis causes criminal behavior, and suggest that most users avoid aggressive behavior, even in the face of provocation; and (e) Declare that cannabis use does not constitute a public health problem of any significant dimension; finds no rational basis for treating cannabis as more dangerous than alcohol; and Whereas the people of the State of Oregon find that cannabis does not cause the social ills that its prohibition was intended to guard against; rather, that most of the social ills attributed to cannabis result from its unreasonable prohibition which: (a) Fosters a black market that exploits children, provides an economic subsidy for gangs, and sells cannabis of questionable purity and uncertain potency; (b) Generates enormous, untaxed, illicit profits that debase our economy and corrupt our justice system; and, (c) Wastes police efforts, clogs our courts, and drains the public resources to no good effect; and, Whereas, the people recall that alcohol prohibition had caused many of the same social ills before being replaced by regulatory laws which, ever since, have granted alcohol users the privilege of buying alcohol from state licensees, imposed strict penalties protecting children, delivered alcohol of sure potency, and generated substantial public revenues; and, Whereas the people hold that cannabis prohibition is a sumptuary law of a nature repugnant to our constitution's framers and which is so unreasonable and liberticidal as to: (a) Arbitrarily violate the rights of cannabis users to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure as guaranteed to them by Article 1, Section 6 of the Oregon Constitution; (b) Unreasonably impose felony burdens on the cannabis users while the state grants special privileges to alcohol users, which violates Article 1, Section 20 of the Oregon Constitution; (c) Unnecessarily proscribe consumption of an "herb bearing seed" given to the people in Genesis 1:29, thereby violating their unqualified religious rights under Article 1, Section 3 and their Natural Rights under Article 1, Section 33 of the Oregon Constitution; and, (d) Irrationally subvert the ends to which, in its Preamble, the Oregon Constitution was ordained and the purposes, in Article 1, Section 1, for which our government was instituted; now, Therefore, the people find that the constitutional ends of justice, order, and the perpetuation of liberty; the governmental purposes of preserving the peace, safety, and happiness of the people; and the vitality of the other constitutional provisions cited above, demand the replacement of a costly, self-defeating prohibition with regulatory laws controlling cannabis cultivation, potency, sale, and use; defining and prohibiting cannabis abuse; protecting children with a comprehensive drug education program and strict penalties for the sale or provision of cannabis to minors; funding a state drug abuse treatment program; and raising substantial revenues for public education. Wherefore, be it enacted by the people of the State of Oregon, the laws relating to cannabis are revised as follows: Section 1. This Act shall operate uniformly throughout Oregon and fully replace and supersede all statutes, municipal charter enactments, and local ordinances relating to cannabis. The name of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission is hereby changed to the Oregon Drug Control Commission effective January 1, 1997. Section 2. Section 3 of this Act creates an ORS chapter 474 titled the "Oregon Cannabis Control Act." Legislative Counsel shall move and renumber existing provisions of chapter 474. ORS chapter 474 shall become effective upon January 1, 1997. Section 3. 474.005 Definitions. As used in this chapter: (1) "Abuse" means repetitive or excessive drug use such that the individual fails to fulfill a statutory or common law duty, including but not limited to the duties owed by parents to children, by motorists to pedestrians and other motorists, and by employees to employers, fellow employees, and the public. (2) "Cannabis" means the flowering tops and all parts, derivatives, or preparations of the cannabis plant, also known as "marijuana", containing cannabinoids in concentrations established by the commission to be psychoactive, but does not include "hemp" as defined by ORS 474.005(5). (3) "Commission" means the Oregon Drug Control Commission, formerly the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. (4) "Cultivation" means growing the cannabis plant. (5) "Hemp" means the seeds, stems, and stalks of the cannabis plant, and all other parts, products, and by-products of the cannabis plant not containing cannabinoids in concentrations established by the commission to be psychoactive. (6) "Person" means a natural individual or corporate entity of any kind whatsoever. 474.015 Short Title. This chapter may be cited as the "Oregon Cannabis Control Act." 474.025 Purpose of the Oregon Cannabis Control Act. This chapter shall be liberally construed so as to minimize the abuse of cannabis; to prevent the sale or provision of cannabis to minors; and to protect the peace, safety, and happiness of the Oregon people while preserving the largest measure of liberty consistent with the above purposes. 474.035 Powers and duties of the commission, licenses for cultivation and processing. (1) The commission shall have the powers necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. It shall make such rules and regulations as will discourage and minimize the diversion of cannabis to illicit sale or use within the state, the illicit importation and sale of cannabis cultivated or processed outside the state, and the illicit export or removal of cannabis from the state. The commissions jurisdiction shall extend to any person licensed under this chapter to cultivate or process cannabis, but shall not extend to any person who manufactures products from hemp. (2) The commission shall issue to any qualified applicant a license to cultivate cannabis for sale to the commission. The license shall specify the areas, plots, and extent of lands to be cultivated. The commission shall equitably apportion the purchase of cannabis among licensees. (3) The commission shall issue licenses to process cannabis to qualified applicants who submit successful bids. Licensed processors shall, as specified by the commission, contract, cure, extract, refine, mix, and package the entire cannabis crop and deliver it to the commission's physical possession as soon as possible, but not later than four months after harvest. 474.045 Commission to sell cannabis at cost for medical purposes. The Commission shall sell cannabis at cost: (a) To Oregon pharmacies for use under a physician's order for glaucoma, nausea related to chemotherapy, AIDS, or any other condition for which cannabis is an effective treatment; and, (b) To recognized Oregon medical research facilities for use in research directed toward expanding medical and sociological knowledge of the composition, effects, uses, and abuse of cannabis, to include studies of cannabis purchasers voluntarily participating through state liquor stores under ORS 474.055. 474.055 Commission to set price and sell through state liquor stores. The commission shall sell cannabis through the state liquor stores and shall set the retail price of cannabis to generate profits for revenue to be applied to the purposes noted in ORS chapter 474 and to minimize incentives to purchase cannabis elsewhere and to purchase cannabis for resale or for removal to other states. 474.065 Qualifications of purchasers and licensees, effect of conviction. (1) To be qualified to purchase, cultivate, or process cannabis, a person must be over 21 years of age and not have been convicted of sale of cannabis to minors or convicted under this chapter of unlicensed cultivation or sale of cannabis. (2) Conviction for cultivation or sale of cannabis to other than minors, when committed prior to the effective date of this chapter, shall be expunged from the criminal records of the state upon petition of the offender and shall not be grounds for denial of an application for a license under this chapter. 474.075 Disposition of license fees and profits from sale of cannabis by state. (1) The commission shall collect license fees which shall be calculated and continually appropriated to defray the commission's administrative costs of issuing licenses under this chapter and the Attorney General's costs of litigation in defense of the validity of this chapter's provisions and in defense of persons subjected to criminal or civil liability for actions licensed or required under this chapter. (2) All money from the sale of cannabis shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to a cannabis account, from which sufficient money shall be continually appropriated: (a) To reimburse the commission for the costs of purchasing, processing, testing, grading, shipping, storing, and selling cannabis; of regulating, inspecting, and auditing licensees; and of research studies required by this chapter; and, (b) To reimburse the Attorney General's office for costs of enforcing this chapter's criminal provisions. (3) All money remaining in the cannabis account after reimbursement of the related commission and Attorney General costs shall be profits which the State Treasurer shall distribute quarterly as follows: (a) Sixty-five percent shall be distributed to the state's school districts, appropriated by enrollment, and shall continually appropriated to fund all public education programs except drug education programs under ORS 474,075(3)(d). (b) Thirty percent shall be distributed to the state's institutions of higher education, appropriated by enrollment, and shall be continually appropriated to fund and expand such institutions to the end that more Oregon residents may attend and tuition costs may be lowered. (c) Four percent shall be credited to the department of Human Resources and shall be continually appropriated to fund drug abuse treatment programs. (d) One percent shall be distributed to the state's school districts, appropriated by enrollment, and shall be continually appropriated to fund a drug education program which shall: (I) Emphasize a citizen's rights and duties under our social compact and to explain to students how drug abusers injure the rights of others by failing to fulfill such duties; (II) Persuade students to decline to consume intoxicants by providing them with accurate information about the threat intoxicants pose to their mental and physical development; and, (III) Persuade students that if, as adults, they choose to consume intoxicants, they must nevertheless responsibly fulfill all duties they owe others. 474.085 Commission to establish psychoactive concentrations of cannabinoids. The commission, based on findings made in consultation with the Board of Pharmacy and cannabis and hemp farmers to cannabinoid concentrations which produce intoxication, the economics of residual cannabis extraction and strains of hemp that produce more and better valuable fibers, shall establish reasonable concentrations of cannabinoids deemed psychoactive under this chapter. 474.095 Commission to set standards, test purity, grade potency of cannabis, label contents. (1) The commission, in consultation with the State Board of Pharmacy, shall set standards which the commission shall apply: (a) To test and reject cannabis containing adulterants in concentrations known to harm people; and, (b) To grade cannabis potency by measuring the concentrations of psychoactive cannabinoids it contains. (2) The commission shall affix to cannabis packages a label which shall bear the state seal, a certification of purity, a grade of potency, the date of harvest, a warning as to the potential for abuse, and notice of laws prohibiting resale, removal from the state, public consumption, and provision and sale to minors. 474.105 Commission may limit purchases. The commission may limit the quantity of cannabis purchased by a person at one time or over any length of time and may refuse to sell cannabis to any person who violates this chapter's provisions or abuses cannabis within the meaning of ORS 474.005(1). 474.115 Unlicensed cultivation or sale, removal from the state, penalties. Cultivation for sale, removal from the state for sale, and sale of cannabis, without commission authority, shall be Class C felonies, and unlicensed cultivation and removal from the state of cannabis shall be a Class A misdemeanor. Persons qualified under ORS 474.065 can cultivate small quantities of cannabis for personal use without fee or license. 474.125 Sale or provision to minors, penalties, exception. The sale of cannabis to minors shall be a Class B felony, and gratuitous provision of cannabis to minors shall be a Class A misdemeanor except when to a minor over 18 years of age under the same conditions provided by ORS 471.030(1) for alcohol. 474.135 Fine as additional penalty. In addition to other penalties and in lieu of any civil remedy, conviction of sale or unlicensed cultivation for sale under ORS 474.115 or 474.125 shall be punishable by a fine which the court shall determine will deprive an offender of any profits from the criminal activity. 474.145 Acquisition by minors, penalty. Except as provided by ORS 474.125, the purchase, attempt to purchase, possession, or acquisition of cannabis by a person under 21 years of age shall be a violation punishable by a fine of not more than $250. 474.155 Public consumption prohibited, penalty, exception. Except where prominent signs permit and minors are neither admitted nor employed, public consumption of cannabis shall be a violation punishable by a fine of not more than $250. 474.205 Commission to study methods of use, potential for abuse, establish cannabis levels for presumption of intoxication. The commission, in consultation with the Board of Pharmacy and by grants to accredited research facilities, shall: (a) Study methods of use and the potential for, and ill effects of, abuse of cannabis, and shall report its findings in pamphlets distributed at state liquor stores; and, (b) Study cannabis intoxication and, if practicable, shall establish by rule levels above which a person shall be presumed intoxicated. 474.215 Presumption of negligence. In civil cases, a rebuttable presumption of negligence shall arise upon clear and convincing evidence that a person's intoxication by cannabis at the time of injury materially contributed to the cause of injury. 474.305 Disclosure of names and addresses prohibited. Information on applicants, licensees, and purchasers under this chapter shall not be disclosed except upon the person's request. 474.315 Effect, Attorney General's duties. If federal law is held to impede this chapter's full effect, unimpeded provisions shall remain in effect and the impeded provisions shall regain effect upon the impediments removal. As funded by ORS 474.075(1), the Attorney General shall vigorously defend any person prosecuted for acts licensed under this chapter, propose a federal act to remove impediments to this chapter, deliver the proposed federal act to each member of Congress, and urge adoption of the proposed federal act through all legal and appropriate means. From: Paul Stanford <[t--r--o] at [igc.apc.org]> Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs Subject: Brochure to Regulate Cannabis Date: Mon, 11 Sep 1995 14:58:51 -0700 (PDT) From: Paul Stanford Pay for Schools by Regulating Cannabis Cannabis hemp, also known as marijuana, makes paper, such as THIS PAPER YOU ARE HOLDING IN YOUR HAND! No, you can't smoke it. It also makes canvas. In fact, the word canvas comes from the word cannabis! Hemp, the Old English word for what we call marijuana, can be made into 50,000 products, from cloth, paper, oil and food to plastics, fuel and medicine. { graphic of Oregon's state seal} Oregon's state seal already has hemp on it! The wagon & ship on our state seal have hemp cloth, oil and rope on them. Our new initiative, the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act of 1997 will raise at least $500 million a year for state schools and colleges by selling cannabis through the state liquor stores! Don't let them raise your taxes! We will pay your tax increases! Pay for Schools by Regulating Cannabis Sponsors of the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act of 1997 We will: *Raise $500 million a year for our schools by selling cannabis through liquor stores With the property tax limitation phasing in, we will fund schools and colleges without raising your taxes or cutting other state services. In fact, it will free state resources to fund other important projects and essential services. *Allow our police to concentrate on violent criminals and thieves. *Regulate and tax Oregon's largest industry, which is currently untaxed. *Allow hemp, which produces more fiber, protein and oil than any other plant on the planet, to be used for all industrial purposes. *Create thousands of new, high paying ecologically sound jobs throughout Oregon. *Allow physicians to prescribe cannabis, "the safest therapeutically active substance," for illnesses, from glaucoma to cancer & AIDS. *Fund drug treatment programs and education. *Allow adults over 21 to buy cannabis through liquor stores or grow their own. This wipes out the black-market and stops crime. Help us Re-legalize Hemp! Call us at: (503) 229-0428 Pay for Schools by Regulating Cannabis Your support makes a difference! Together we can *Create thousands of new jobs in Oregon. *Solve the violent crime problem. *Fund our schools, state and local govt.. *Give our farmers a valuable new crop. *Let doctors prescribe a useful medicine. *Give timber workers a job-saving resource. *Fund drug treatment programs & education. With your help we can do it! Register to Vote. Collect signatures. Volunteer & organize. Contribute your dollars. Please write or call us for more information. Our mailing address is: P.S.R.C. P.O. Box 86741 Portland, OR 97286 Our phone number is: (503) 229-0428 Our office address is: 3125 SE Belmont Portland, OR We have regional coordinators you can call: Eugene Medford/Ashland (503) 935-4140 (503) 482-6914 Printed on Hemp paper What is cannabis hemp? A plant that has been cultivated by people for more than 10,000 years. The first cloth and the first paper were made from hemp. It grows in every climate and grows more quickly than any other plant outside the tropics. What are the benefits of cannabis hemp? It produces more fiber, protein and oil than any other plant on our planet. It can be used to make 50,000 different products. The stem produces fiber for paper, textiles, cordage and building materials. According to US Dept. of Agriculture Bulletin 404, a waste product from making textiles and rope from hemp produces more than 4 times more paper than trees. The hemp seed produces an oil that is the healthiest edible oil. The oil can be used for everything that petroleum can be used for. The diesel engine was invented to run on hemp seed oil. Hemp produces over 300 gallons of oil per acre, with 4 tons of high protein seed meal as a by-product. The plant can be grown without the use of pesticides or fertilizers. The deep tap root draws up sub-soil nutrients that are used by other crops in rotation. The plant fixes carbon from the atmosphere in its leaves, which returns to the soil while processing the fiber. The flowers produce a medicine which treats glaucoma and helps relieve symptoms of multiple sclerosis, AIDS and cancer patients undergoing chemotheraphy. In fact, 56% of cancer doctors (onocologists) say they would prescribe cannabis now if they could and 48% said they already have recommended illegal cannabis to their patients. Our initiative will let them prescribe it legally. The Drug Enforcement Administration's own administrative law judge ruled that cannabis is the safest therapeutically active substance known. Hemp products, in every case, are better than any alternative for the environment and our health . What is the history of cannabis hemp? Hemp was among the first plants purposely cultivated by humans over 10,000 years ago. It was used to make the first twine, rope and fabric. Paper too was invented from hemp more than 2000 years ago in China. Hemp was the main fiber for paper until the 1860's. Most of the world's lamps were lit with hemp-seed oil until the 19th century. Because hemp products were labor intensive, hemp declined as new processes were invented for petroleum products and tree-based paper. With the introduction of new machinery (the decorticator) at the turn of this century, hemp production became much less expensive. The price of hemp fiber dropped to a penny on the dollar, much the way cotton prices had dropped with the invention of the cotton gin. When the companies that manufacture petroleum products, paper with trees and other affected industries realized that hemp products were going to compete with them, they moved to eliminate the competition. Hemp is farmed and is naturally decentralized; the petrochemical and tree-based paper industries are naturally centralized, because of the huge amounts of money needed to enter. They created a misinformation campaign and renamed hemp. They called it marijuana, playing on racial tensions and the Hispanic origins of that term. They said that a "deadly new drug called marijuana" drove people to kill their family and friends. We call that misinformation campaign "Reefer Madness," from a movie of that period depicting this hoax. A decade after hemp was prohibited, they changed their story and said "marijuana" made people lazy. Quite a change! By that time, however, hemp was illegal and their industries were safe from competition from hemp. What is the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act? An initiative that the state of Oregon will vote on November 5, 1996. A group of concerned citizens were aware of hemp's environmental benefits, the harm done by prohibition and the lies that were used to criminalize hemp. The proposal will regulate cannabis sales through liquor stores, allow phrmacies to fill doctor's prescriptions for cannabis, raise funds for schools and colleges, set up a drug education program and fund drug treatment programs. How will the OCTA benefit Oregon? It will create thousands of ecologically sound jobs throughout Oregon. Our state's paper and timber workers are losing their jobs because of the depletion of old-growth forests. Many of the new jobs created by the re-legalization of hemp will be in these very industries, since hemp fiber makes the best paper and building materials. That amounts to thousands of jobs, but it will create thousands more. Oregon will lead the way in innovative new products. Hemp seed food, oil, plastics and fuel. Our farmers will have a valuable new crop and will be able to supply pharmacies in 36 other states that allow cannabis for medicine but have no current, legal supply. As cannabis becomes legal in other states, we will have ready made future markets. Tourism will boom as people visit to try our new products. It will solve many of the problems associated with violent crime. It will allow our police to concentrate on real criminals that hurt people and steal things. It will free prison space to jail violent criminals and thieves. No more black-market! Oregon students will have well financed schools and programs. Colleges will receive funding and tuition fees can be lowered. A comprehensive drug education program will be funded and implemented that will inform our children of the real dangers of substance abuse. Drug abusers will have well funded treatment programs where they can seek help and not be turned away, as they are 95% of the time now. Why is it time to re-legalize cannabis hemp? Our schools need money to replace that lost to the property tax limitation measure that is phasing in. Marijuana is the largest industry in the state. We should tax and regulate it, rather than continuing to abdicate responsibility to drug dealers in the blackmarket. The War on Drugs is not working. It is a civil war that is corrupting our police and courts. Our prisons are overcrowded with nonviolent marjuana offenders. Let's make room for real criminals. This is printed on Hemp paper. Re-legalize Hemp!