HaCKeRz Kr0nlcKLeZ 1/HaCKeRz Kr0nlcKLeZ.iso/drugs/or.cannabis.tax.act.97

Internet Message Format | 1996-05-06 | 21.3 KB

From: Paul Stanford <[e-mail]>
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Subject: Re-Legalize Hemp in Oregon! (long)
Message-ID: <APC&1'0'7c37515f'[e-mail]>
Date: Tue, 27 Dec 1994 15:12:05 -0800 (PST)

From: Paul Stanford <treefreeeco>

        We need your help to legalize cannabis. Copy this and distribute it.
        We are circulating a petition to legalize cannabis sales in
the state of Oregon. The following initiative has begun its signature
drive for the ballot in November 1996. We have two years to gather
70,000 signatures and make the ballot, from now until July 1996.
        The past president of the Oregon Medical Association, our branch of
the AMA, is one of our sponsers. His name and address appear on each petition.
        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. Our proposal will legalize and license sales of cannabis
and allow individuals to grow for personal use. The profits from sales
will go to education <96%> and drug abuse treatment <4%>.
        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. The proposal would make fiber
and seed hemp crops legal and unregulated. It would also supply pharmacies
with cannabis so that doctors could prescribe it.
        This proposal is in full compliance with the international treaties
that the US spearheaded to control psychoactive substances: the Single
Convention Treaty and the U.N. Treaty on Psychotropic Drugs, and their
amendments.
        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.
        Oregon just 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.
If you would like to help or contribute to our effort, our address is:

                P.S.R.C.
                PO Box 86741
                Portland, OR   97286

        Our phone number is 503-229-0428.

        We have several events coming up that we encourage you to attend.

        On New Year's Eve, Saturday, December 31st, we are having a Party
starting at 8 pm at 333 SW Park Ave, 4th floor. Please call us to make
a reservation. The cost is $20 per person.

        On Saturday, January 14, 1995 we will have a benefit dinner at
Plainfield's Mayur, an Indian restaurant on SW 21st Ave., starting at 7 pm.
Please call us to make reservations. The cost is $25 per person.

        We need your help to make this happen. Please help as best yo can.

        Here's the text of our proposal:


                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.