© 2024 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Oregon Marijuana Campaigners Turn In Petitions

Chief petitioner Anthony Johnson prepares boxes of signatures to submit to the Oregon Secretary of State's office in Salem.
Chris Lehman
/
Northwest News Network
Chief petitioner Anthony Johnson prepares boxes of signatures to submit to the Oregon Secretary of State's office in Salem.

Oregon could soon follow Washington and Colorado in legalizing recreational marijuana.

Chief petitioner Anthony Johnson prepares boxes of signatures to submit to the Oregon Secretary of State's office in Salem.
Credit Chris Lehman / Northwest News Network
/
Northwest News Network
Chief petitioner Anthony Johnson prepares boxes of signatures to submit to the Oregon Secretary of State's office in Salem.

Sponsors of an initiative to do that turned in boxes of signatures to the Oregon Secretary of State's office Thursday. If enough of the signatures are valid, the measure would go before voters this fall.

Oregon 's potential ballot measure differs from Washington's marijuana law in that people would be allowed to grow their own weed in limited quantities. But in many ways the approach is similar. Pot sold in licensed stores would be taxed. Only adults age 21 and over could possess marijuana. And you wouldn't be able to use it in public.

Chief petitioner Anthony Johnson said he's not deterred by the fact that Oregon voters turned down the chance to legalize recreational pot just two years ago.

"This is a completely different measure than the one two years ago," he said. "It's much more regulated. It has lower possession limits. It utilizes an existing agency, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, to strictly regulate marijuana."

The initiative would not change Oregon's medical marijuana program. Money generated from taxing pot would go towards schools, law enforcement and drug treatment programs.

Copyright 2014 Northwest News Network

Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.