Happy New Year! Here’s to Bigger Cannabis Limits in 2022!

Well, 2021 has been a difficult year for far too many, especially with today’s news that national treasure (and reported member of the cannabis community) Betty White passed away. But there are also many things to celebrate, including four more states ending prohibition, and the legalization movement becoming more powerful than ever. Here in Oregon, we can celebrate that 2022 will usher in bigger cannabis limits for consumers, as KOIN 6 reported on the recent rule changes by the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC):

“For cannabis connoisseurs, the new changes include some major perks for consumers, which include doubling the marijuana purchase limit from one ounce to two ounces, effective January 1, 2022.

“The commission has also approved the increase of edible concentration limits from 50 mg THC to 100 mg beginning April 1, 2022.

“Oregonians can now have at-home delivery of cannabis products from across county and city lines with officials’ approval.”

In these tough times, with a lot of polarization, one of the best things about cannabis, is its ability to bring people together, as individuals and as a collective movement that can put aside other political differences to fight for freedom and equality. Changing laws and improving regulations takes a lot of hard work. A tip of the hat to everyone that has helped improve the law here in Oregon and across the nation and globe. Happy New Year! Here’s to a great 2022!

Kind Leaf wishes the best cannabis community a healthy and happy New Year. We look forward to another great year serving you, with even bigger purchasing limits and stronger edibles. As always, we’ll continue to have the best selection and deals in the Great Northwest.

Newly Named Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission Should Promote Tourism and Needed Policy Reforms

“The industries we regulate matter, they matter a lot to the state of Oregon’s economy. The cannabis industry in Oregon has become a billion dollar business and changing our agency name reflects our role in generating revenue to fund state programs,” Paul Rosenbaum, Chair of the Oregon Liquor & Cannabis Commission.

Many members of the cannabis community were wary of selecting the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) as the regulators of the Beaver State’s burgeoning cannabis industry when passing Measure 91 back in 2014. It’s actually something that some legalizers and prohibitionists had in common, although for different reasons. In my personal opinion, the OLCC has done a good job, all things considered. Granted, one may say that I’m biased as the chief petitioner and a co-author of Measure 91, although those that know my understand that I’ve criticized the agency when warranted in my opinion, while I recognize the political and cultural hurdles the OLCC have had to navigate, especially while the substance remains illegal under federal law. As the politics of cannabis has changed for the better and we have had several years to prove that legal cannabis doesn’t cause the sky to fall down upon the Great Northwest, I hope that the OLCC, now known as the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission will be emboldened to fully embrace the industry. Yesterday, the agency officially changed its name:

“Today, August 2^nd, 2021, the OLCC became the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, dropping the word “Control” that had defined the agency’s original post-Prohibition mission. Previously referred to as the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, the agency began regulating recreational marijuana after voters approved Measure 91 in November, 2014.

“This change comes five years after voters passed Measure 91 which directed the agency to establish a framework for regulating Oregon’s recreational marijuana marketplace. While the change updates the agency’s name to better reflect its mission, the OLCC acronym will remain the same.

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“’Our name may have changed, but our mission to serve the businesses we license, the consumers we protect, and the communities we support by generating revenue for the state – all of those things remain the same,’ said Steve Marks, OLCC Executive Director. ‘For the next two years we’re going to concentrate on helping the cannabis and hospitality industries re-establish and grow their business, while ensuring revenue stability for the state. That’s the immediate focus of the Oregon Liquor & Cannabis Commission.

“‘The COVID-19 pandemic uniquely challenged Oregon’s hospitality industry requiring businesses and the agency to innovate to keep businesses open, while constrained by public health guidelines designed to limit the spread of the virus. Agency staff worked directly with licensees, public safety groups and elected officials to find solutions for long-standing challenges. This included: creating an option for cocktails-to-go, while modifying rules to allow for curbside delivery, and enabling businesses to expand outdoor seating.

“‘During the remainder of 2021, the OLCC will be working through other legislative changes to help the alcohol and cannabis industries build back their business. This will include reviewing existing policies and working with partners to cut red-tape and find operational efficiencies while continuing to generate vital revenue for the state of Oregon.'”

Setting aside the changes need under federal law, to fully capitalize upon the industry, the state needs to embrace cannabis tourism, in the same way that Oregon has promoted local microbreweries and wineries. While government agencies lobbying for specific state legal changes is frowned upon, the OLCC needs to do what it can to legalize cannabis consumption at designated businesses and events, as well as farm tours and requisite “tastings” of the Oregon-grown crops. OLCC officials and regulators should make it clear that they are prepared to help regulate an expansion of cannabis businesses that will create more jobs and revenue for our state. Additionally, the OLCC should really listen to small, locally-owned Oregon businesses to get the best sense of what these entrepreneurs need to survive and thrive in this competitive market. And finally, the OLCC needs to add its weight behind the federal lobbying push to provide regular banking services to the industry, normalize the tax code, and end prohibition altogether. The insight that the OLCC has regulating businesses that too often have to rely on being an all-cash establishments is something plenty members of Congress need to hear.

All in all, it’s great news that the OLCC has added “cannabis” to its name. We must remain vigilant, but I’m hopeful that the name change will lead to a further normalization of cannabis and a brighter future for the entire cannabis industry.

Kind Leaf is proud to be Pendleton’s premier craft cannabis boutique with the best supply in the Great Northwest. Please visit our store in-person or check out our menu, deals, and discounts online via Leafly where you can pre-order and save yourself some time.

It’s Time that Oregon Treat Cannabis Equal to Alcohol

It’s been over six years since Oregon voters passed Measure 91, making the Beaver State the third to pass cannabis legalization, following Colorado and Washington by just two years. Since then, the overall cannabis industry has boomed becoming an essential business sector creating much-needed jobs and revenue during the COVID-ravaged economy. Those not familiar with the industry might think that cannabis is already treated equal to alcohol when record-breaking sales and revenue numbers make headline after headline. However, the bigger issue is federal, the cannabis businesses, especially small, locally-owned retailers like Kind Leaf, are unnecessarily stymied by local and state regulations as well. With federal banking and tax laws already hurting mom-and-pops, states should fully embrace the essential cannabis industry. As Green Light Law Group opined, the state’s cannabis and alcohol regulatory, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, doesn’t treat the two business sectors equally:

In a recently contested case concerning the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (“OLCC”) packaging and labeling rules, several OLCC employees submitted opinion testimony as to how they believed a reasonable cannabis consumer would interact with certain cannabis packaging, claimed by the OLCC to violate OLCC regulations. When asked about the basis for these beliefs, the OLCC witnesses admitted that they did not have any experience with any of the cannabis products they regulate. 

That the OLCC so-called expert witnesses blithely admitted a lack of real-world experience with the very products they regulate should be a source of consternation for all licensees in the industry. But given the major differences in the way the agency treats alcohol compared to the way it treats cannabis, it is probably not surprising. And let’s be clear: we are not criticizing agency staff, who are just doing their jobs and trying to stay out of trouble – this is an institutional issue.

Anyone who has visited OLCC’s headquarters cannot help but notice the various liquors proudly on display just outside the lobby. The OLCC also regularly promotes contests giving contestants the right to purchase rare liquors or even offering liquor as a prize. In contrast, to our knowledge, no marijuana has ever been displayed at OLCC headquarters, and at the hearing an OLCC witness confirmed that OLCC staff aren’t even allowed to have any items that contain cannabis at their headquarters. While OLCC marijuana regulations impose substantial restrictions on marijuana advertising, prohibiting cartoon characters or any depictions of marijuana consumption, alcoholic beverage companies are apparently free to put comic strips on their packaging depicting anthropomorphic cartoon characters getting passed-out drunk (by the way, no shade to the brewery that put out this product, it was amazing beer). These are just a few examples of the OLCC’s differing approaches to alcohol and cannabis.

Personally, I think that the OLCC had a tough job thrown at them initially and that they have done a pretty good job overall navigating the different constituencies and political forces that they have to deal with. I’ll defend or praise the agency when they deserve it and I’ll criticize when necessary. I think that the OLCC has made some decisions based upon fear of political backlash, both locally and from the federal government. It’s time to put those fears aside.

We no longer need to kowtow to a Jeff Sessions-led Justice Department or be fearful that the Oregon Legislature or voters are gonna repeal cannabis legalization. Legal cannabis is a billion dollar industry that’s here to stay and it will only become a bigger part of Oregon’s economy and culture. We no longer have to worry about the “oversupply problem” and limit cultivator licenses. Nor do we have to worry about the stigma regarding cannabis. We are not only in the majority, we are in the supermajority, it’s high time that cannabis be treated equally with alcohol, pun intended. Maybe the name change to the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission will be the jolt the agency needs.

The Oregon Liquor and CANNABIS Commission is Long Overdue for the OLCC

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission has overseen the nascent Oregon cannabis industry since Measure 91 went into effect in 2015. Since then, the OLCC has been the chief regulator over an industry that went from the underground into a licensed and regulated billion dollar business sector. With federal legalization getting closer and closer, the future looks bright Oregon’s cannabis industry to bring in even more revenue, but some sensible reforms are needed at both the state and national levels to fully unleash the economic benefits of cannabis, starting with helping craft cannabis boutiques like Kind Leaf thrive.

Adding “cannabis” to the OLCC’s name, may not seem like much, but it’s an important symbolic step in mainstreaming cannabis and implementing common sense regulations. That said, it’s important that the OLCC not regulate Oregon Medical Marijuana Program as the needs of OMMP patients and providers are distinct from those of consumers and for-profit businesses.

The Willamette Week reported on Governor Kate Brown’s House Bill 2111 would replace the word “control” with “cannabis,” renaming the regulating agency the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission:

With Oregon retailers on a pace to sell $1 billion worth of recreational cannabis in the 2020-21 fiscal year, Gov. Kate Brown is asking lawmakers to change the name of the venerable Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which has worn the same label since its formation in 1933, after Prohibition ended.

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But following voter approval in 2014 of recreational cannabis, the OLCC took on a vast new responsibility, regulating legal weed. (To put the two industries into perspective, the OLCC expects to sell about $777 million worth of distilled spirits in the next fiscal year. That’s not an apples-to-apples comparison to cannabis, because it doesn’t include the retail markup on booze, but it shows that cannabis has quickly become a significant industry for the state to regulate.)

Unlike liquor, where established multinational and domestic distillers produce versions of the same booze Oregonians have drunk for decades, cannabis is a rapidly emerging and evolving industry. The state plays a much different role with cannabis: It is not a seller. Instead, the Oregon Department of Revenue collects a tax of 17% at the retail level, while the OLCC provides regulation. It is involved in helping the industry maximize safety without stifling growth and innovation.

With cannabis moving on par with alcohol, in the great state of Oregon and slowly but surely across the USA, the OLCC, legislators, and policymakers need to stop being afraid of federal intervention and start maximizing the industry, while protecting the needs of patients and growers. Oregon needs to move forward with expanding delivery services, allowing cannabis cafes (after the COVID pandemic ends), ending restrictions designed to curb the cannabis supply, and promote the state as a cannabis tourist destination, the same way that our local wineries, microbreweries, and distilleries are celebrated. Changing the name of the OLCC is a start, let’s continue, step by step, to treat cannabis as it should be, as a relatively safe substance. Let’s fully put Reefer Madness behind us and start using some cannabis common sense (hat tip to activist Paul Stanford and his crew) across the board.