The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act (OCTA) petitions are government-approved documents designed in compliance with state election laws. The ballot title, caption, questions and summary are written by the attorney general's office, in consultation with us and reviewed by the Oregon Supreme Court. Laws concerning petition-sheet requirements have been changing every two years recently and one of the changes may be confusing to some people -- the requirement concerning notice of paid petitioners. 

The state requires that we put a box in the upper-left corner of every petition sheet stating that "Circulators Are Being Paid." Both volunteer and paid petitions must have this statement in a box in the upper corner of the sheet.

The petition, linked here, is a volunteer OCTA petition. There are two kinds of petitions for state initiatives under these new laws. If someone is being paid, their petitions must state "THIS Petitioner Is Being PAID" in large bold letter across the top, in addition to and right beside the other box saying "Circulators Are Being Paid."

To receive payment for gathering signatures and paid petition forms, please contact our office. 

In July 1996 we ended our first completely volunteer campaign with a total of more than 57,000 signatures, less than the 73,261 signatures needed to qualify for a vote in November. 

In July 1998 we ended our campaign with a total of more than 70,000 signatures, less than the 73,261 signatures needed to qualify for a vote in November.

If you are a volunteer, we recommend that signature-gatherers write the word "VOLUNTEER" with a black felt-tip pen on an adhesive name-tag to display while petitioning. We also have buttons made up that designate you as a "VOLUNTEER". 

If you can donate or volunteer to help OCTA and our political committee, the CRRH, please do! In our 1996 signature drive it cost us an average of just a nickel per signature to gather more than 56,000 signatures. That is amazing in this day and age of money powered politics. Your donation to OCTA goes farther with us than anywhere else. Please help us.

Be a history changer! Help OCTA qualify for a vote!

More Rules And Suggestions For Signature Gatherers

1. Only registered Oregon voters can sign the OCTA petition. 

2. Each signature sheet can be signed by residents from multiple counties. When petitioning, be sure to carry sufficient blank petition sheets, so you never run out. 

3. Do not delay sending the signed petition sheets back to CRRH. We want you to send them back as soon as possible to our address, which is also on the petitions. If you have finished gathering signatures and your sheet isn't full, or if you have a full sheet, send it back to us right away. We hope to turn in our signatures early. As soon as we have enough signatures, we will turn them in. 

4. Make sure that a person's printed name and address are legible. While only one out of fifty signatures is checked using statistical sampling, if county employees can't read the printed name and address, they disqualify that signature and statistically it invalidates another 49 signatures. A signature gatherer can write a person's name, address or the date, but only the voter can sign his or her name. Make sure that signers use their residential address - where they should be currently registered to vote - and not a post office box or business address. Ditto marks ("" - for example repeating the name of a city), will invalidate that signature, so be on guard. If a person signing the petition botches it up hopelessly, just cross out that line and have them try again on the next line. 

5. Make a list of items you always want to have on hand and check it every time you go out petitioning. Always carry lots of voter registration cards and be sure to turn them in within the week, as required by state law. Instruct unregistered voters that they can't sign the petition until they receive their card back from their county registrar's office. 

6. Circulators often introduce themselves to passersby with the phrase, "Are you a registered Oregon voter?" Not infrequently, the reply is something like, "I can't vote." Remember that this usually means the person has been convicted of a felony and that he or she is not aware felons can vote in Oregon. Have a quick response ready, like "I'll bet you can," to draw them back before they walk out of earshot. They are for the most part sympathetic to our cause. 

7. The media stereotype of the dirty hippy who wants to "legalize" only so he or she can get high works against us. Most petitioners won't need to be told this, but please dress as middle-of-the-road as you can, be clean and don't get into angry arguments. People who are undecided are likely to forget what you said and just remember your manner and appearance anyway. Petitioners of the guy persuasion should consider wearing a tie, depending on where they will be gathering signatures. (For example, a tie is a good idea for a downtown street corner, but not for a Phish concert.) Since some people are going to try to get into disagreements with you, study Clifford Schaffer's arguments. Then you can defeat and even convert your opponents so quickly and handily they won't have time to get mad at you. Schaffer's arguments are also the ones most likely to be remembered by people who are undecided. 

8. that  you'd like to share with other petitioners.