Medical marijuana became legal on November 3, 1998 in Oregon. Voters approved Ballot Measure 67. The result of the approval allowed medical use of marijuana in Oregon within specified limits. It also established a state-controlled permit system. In December 1998, the Oregon Legislature passed Measure 67 into law. The law, known as the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, provides legal protection for qualified patients that requires a physician with a written statement of the patient’s qualifying medical condition and allows a caregiver to provide assistance/ It also mandates an Oregon Health Authority registration system. The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) was created in May 1999 to administer the registration program under the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act. The Oregon Medical Marijuana program is not supported by state funds.
Caregiver Laws
Caregivers CANNOT use marijuana for any reason. A caregiver should be trustworthy and able to assist the patients in times of need. To designate a caregiver, his information and a copy of his ID will need to be submitted with the patient’s state application. A caregiver cannot be the patient’s attending physician. However, if a patient who has a registry identification card chooses to have a caregiver, the patient must include the caregiver’s name and address on the patient’s application. A patient who has a registered identification card may have only one caregiver at any given time.
Dispensary Laws
Dispensaries in Oregon must be located in an area zoned as commercial, industrial, or agricultural land. A dispensary may not be located within 1,000 feet of a primary, secondary, or career school or from another registered dispensary; and may not be at an address registered with the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program as a grow site. Local government agencies may have additional restrictions, and applicants should communicate with those local agencies when deciding where to locate a dispensary.
Grower Laws
A grower may possess up to eighteen marijuana seedlings or starts for each patient at a registered grow site. There is not an affirmative defense for having more usable marijuana or plants than statutes allow. A grower may possess a combined total of up to twenty-four ounces of usable marijuana. The grower must possess and display a marijuana grow site registration card for each patient at the grow site at all times. A grower must have in his possession his OMMP identification card when transporting marijuana.