A new bill that would allow the consumption of cannabis on designated cannabis smoking patios and some local events is being considered by the Oregon Legislature. Senate Bill 307 would allow Oregon to possibly develop a booming craft cannabis culture, as well as promote cannabis tourism.
“The same way as Oregon and our city celebrate our craft beer and wine industry, Portland welcomes and wants to provide opportunities for our emerging craft cannabis industry,” Mayor Ted Wheeler said in a written statement.
SB 307 originally would have allowed cannabis smoking at temporary events and lounges. Although the bill ran into opposition, a workgroup presented a revised bill that dropped the events provision and allowed for cannabis lounges and patios.
Proponents of the bill argue that it will keep tourists and residents from smoking legal weed in public, since there are currently few places where consumers can smoke. Oregon pot shop owners argue in favor of SB 307 on the basis of individual freedom and Oregon’s growing marijuana culture.
“I think it makes a lot of sense to have a controlled or semi-controlled environment where people over the age of 21 can have the opportunity to interact and sample those craft products…It’s time to bring it above the table and make it legal and normalize the industry,” Bend’s Oregrown co-owner Hunter Neubauer told channel 21 news.
Portland officials argue that tourists and residents may be smoking in their cars, at parks or other public places if SB 307 does not pass. Various health workers and officials testified against the bill, saying it would erode decades of work the public health sector has accomplished in rolling back smoking norms for tobacco products and weaken Oregon’s Clean Air Act.
Former Portland Trail Blazer Cliff Robinson provided a statement in support of the measure: “Senate Bill 307 is a sensible step forward to help avoid falling into the same pattern of African Americans disproportionately arrested and cited for marijuana, even in states that have legalized cannabis.”
