The Proposed Law: - The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act 2014

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) Provides incentives to traffic in marijuana instead of limiting its prevalence, since almost all cannabis users evade the prohibition, even though drastically expanding public safety budgets have reduced funding for other vital services such as education;

(b) Fosters a black market that exploits children, provides an economic subsidy for gangs, and sells cannabis of questionable purity and uncertain potency;

(c) Generates enormous, untaxed, illicit profits that debase our economy and corrupt our justice system; and,

(d) Wastes police resources, clogs our courts, and drains the public budget 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 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 9 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;

Barrons: Should Pot Be Legal?
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB500014240527487045093045785112615573...

The Next Seven States To Legalize Pot - Why Oregon, California and more are likely to follow Colorado and Washington toward legalization
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-next-seven-states-to-legal...

Advocates of legalizing marijuana will take issue to Oregon Legislature
http://www.kval.com/politics/Marijuana-177938611.html


2012 Archive

Marijuana: an Avoidable Loss in Oregon
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/11/16/marijuana-an-avoidable-loss-in-or...

Backers of legalized marijuana not giving up
http://www.kgw.com/news/politics/Backers-of-legalized-marijuana-take-cau...

Oregon lawmakers should take up marijuana legalization
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/11/oregon_lawmakers_sho...

Oregon Reformers Are Trying to Legalize Pot On A Shoestring Budget
http://reason.com/blog/2012/11/06/legalizing-pot-on-a-shoestring-in-oregon

Toke the Vote: Reefer Madness looks at pot ballot measures around the country
http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/news/2012-11-02/toke-the-vote/

Oregon effort to legalize marijuana could have big impact in Idaho
http://www.ktvb.com/news/politics/Oregon-effort-to-legalize-marijuana-co...

Measure 80 engages marijuana use at a state level
http://www.dailybarometer.com/news/measure-80-engages-marijuana-use-at-a...

Vote 2012: Measure 80 aims to legalize marijuana
http://www.ktvl.com/shared/news/top-stories/stories/ktvl_vid_3526.shtml

Spokesman for Oregon's Yes on 80 Marijuana Legalization Campaign Questions Elway Poll, Supports Washington's I-502

This section of the site was created to speak to those people interested in learning more about the benefits of hemp and cannabis. If you are a journalist, be inspired to share in your publication about OCTA. If you are a voter, take the time to educate yourself about the past, present, and potential future of this amazing plant.

Hemp Videos

FAQ: I don't consume cannabis, why should I sign OCTA 2014?

A: Hemp can be used to make 50,000 products from Biodiesel to Plastic!

• Hemp seed oil can be used as fuel to drive cars and heat homes because Hemp produces biomass, which can be converted into charcoal for electricity, ethanol, methanol and other sources of fuel. Burning biomass for energy, instead of fossil fuels, helps keep the carbon dioxide cycle in balance, and thus helps to stop global warming, instead of contributing to it as the burning of fossil fuels does.

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• An acre of hemp will produce from four to ten times as much paper pulp as will an acre of trees, over the period of time it takes pulp trees to grow to maturity, and hemp can be used to make paper more durable and environmentally friendly than wood. Changing to hemp-based paper could reduce deforestation by half. Hemp paper lasts hundreds of years longer than paper made from trees and doesn't require toxic bleaching chemicals.

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• One acre of hemp can produce 10 tons of biomass every four months of growing season. Hemp fuel is the most cost effective and environmentally friendly reusable energy source on the planet, and could potentially make the U.S. less dependent on foreign petroleum.

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• The cannabis sativa plant produces more protein, oil and fiber than any other plant on earth. Hempseed, for example, was an essential part of our ancestors' diet and is the source of "gruel," the porridge that is referred to in countless stories and books written before this century.

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• Hemp is an excellent food source, hemp provides nearly complete nutrition. Eating a diet rich in EFAs, Omega 3, 6, and 9, is one way to ensure health, because these essential fatty acids help to stimulate the heart and brain, as well as the immune system.

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