Oregon has had legislation allowing medical marijuana since 1998. Voters in Oregon approved Measure 91 in 2015, dubbed the “Control, Regulation, and Taxation of Marijuana and Industrial Hemp Act.” It established guidelines for individuals 21 years of age and older to purchase marijuana for personal use from businesses holding the necessary licenses.
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) issues licenses and enforces regulations for companies that sell medical marijuana. The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) issues licenses and enforces regulations for companies that sell marijuana for recreational use.
If you operate a medical or adult-use marijuana business in Oregon, you must make sure you abide by the regulations. The six most crucial Oregon cannabis laws that you must be aware of in order to operate a medical marijuana dispensary or legal adult-use retail store are covered in this essay.
The full list of Oregon laws and regulations pertaining to adult use of marijuana is available here. Up to twenty-four ounces of usable marijuana, sixteen ounces of a medical cannabinoid product in solid form, seventy-two ounces of a medical cannabinoid product in liquid form, sixteen ounces of a cannabinoid concentrate, whether sold alone or contained in an inhalant delivery system, five grams of a cannabinoid extract, four immature marijuana plants, and fifty seeds are all permissible for Oregon medical marijuana patients and their caregivers.
2014 saw the approval of marijuana for recreational use, allowing adults 21 years of age and older to possess up to 21 grams of the drug. If the user is using it in private or public, the quantity varies. Eight ounces of usable marijuana is the limit in private settings; one ounce is the limit in public. Although counties and cities have the option to permit or prohibit recreational marijuana retailers, individuals are still permitted to carry marijuana for personal use.
Metrc is used by Oregon to carry out its seed-to-sale traceability program for adult use. A 3% municipal tax is added to the 17% cannabis excise tax for recreational purchases. Purchasing medical marijuana is tax-free.
Adults over 21 may obtain adult-use marijuana from merchants between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. local time.
Marijuana for recreational use is legal for those over 21 in both homes and on private land. Public locations are not the appropriate places to smoke marijuana, even with a vape pen. Public places are locations that are open to the general public. These include, but are not limited to, common areas of hotels and apartments, streets, roads, schools, parks, and playgrounds, as well as locations used by public transportation and amusement parks.
Law 1: Labeling and Packaging
475B.605 Law Labeling specifications; guidelines. (1) The Oregon Liquor Control Commission shall adopt rules establishing standards for the labeling of marijuana items as necessary to protect public health and safety, after consulting with the State Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Health Authority. These standards shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) Ensuring that the labeling of usable marijuana, cannabinoid concentrates and extracts, cannabinoid edibles, and other cannabinoid products communicates: (A) Health and safety warnings; (B) If applicable, activation time; (C) Potency; (D) Serving size and the number of servings included in a cannabinoid product or cannabinoid concentrate or extract package; and (E) Content of the marijuana item; and (b) Labeling that is in
Explained:
1. Dispensaries selling medical marijuana as well as those selling it recreationally might choose to use generic or unique labeling.
Before products are sold, the OLCC must approve custom labeling.
2. Everything must be packaged by suppliers, with the exception of bulk flower, which is packaged by the merchant after it is weighed in the store.
3. The following are the definitions of packaging and labeling provided by the OLCC:
Packaging is the actual container.
The information printed on the container is known as labeling.
4. Containers need to be kid-proof or put in a kid-proof “exit bag.”
5. A “primary display panel” needs to be attached to each label, with the panel positioned parallel to the container’s bottom.
6. Labels may be flagged, but the portion of the label that is flagged cannot contain the information that must be shown on the “primary display panel.”
Law #2: Conditions for Medical Cannabis Patients to Qualify
Qualifying patients with the following conditions are permitted to obtain a medical marijuana card:
- A degenerative or pervasive neurological condition
- HIV/AIDS
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Cancer
- Glaucoma
Medical conditions and treatments that cause the following symptoms:
- Cachexia (caused by HIV or cancer)
- Severe nausea
- Seizures, including those caused by epilepsy
- Persistent muscle spasms
- Severe pain
If You Qualify for A Medical Marijuana Card in Oregon, Here’s How To Get One:
- Establish proof of Oregon residency with a license, passport, or utility bill/bank statement.
- Complete the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) application form. You’ll need to submit a valid, legal copy of a federal or state-issued photo ID that includes your date of birth and full name. All information and documentation must be uploaded within 9 days of the application date.
- Have a physician document your condition with an Attending Physician’s Statement. An established doctor-patient relationship is also required. For some card providers, you need to have visited your primary care physician at least three times.
- Once your application has been received, if the OMMP considers the application complete, you will receive a receipt letter. This receipt letter may be used as your temporary Oregon medical marijuana card for up to thirty (30) days to allow you to purchase medical marijuana from a licensed dispensary while you wait for your official card to arrive in the mail from the OMMP.
Law #3: Purchase/Possession Limits
Law No. 475B.831 Limitations on plant possession. (1) (a) Six or fewer mature marijuana plants; and twelve or fewer immature marijuana plants may be jointly possessed by a registry identity cardholder and their designated primary caregiver.
(b)(A) The address where a registry identification cardholder or the primary caregiver of a registry identification cardholder produces marijuana may be used to produce no more than (i) Six or fewer mature marijuana plants per registry identification cardholder, up to 12 mature marijuana plants; and (ii) Twelve or fewer immature marijuana plants per registry identification cardholder, up to 24 immature marijuana plants.
This is unless the address is the marijuana grow site of a person designated to produce marijuana. (B) In compliance with ORS 475B.301, an address covered by this paragraph may not be used to cultivate plants in the genus Cannabis within the plant family Cannabaceae, with the exception of what is stated in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.
(C) Subject to subparagraph (D) of this paragraph, if an individual residing at the address is not a registry identification cardholder and is using the address to produce marijuana plants in accordance with ORS 475B.785 to 475B.949, the address may be used to cultivate plants in the genus Cannabis within the plant family Cannabaceae pursuant to ORS 475B.301.
(D) A maximum of 12 mature marijuana plants may be grown at a location covered by this paragraph. (2)(a) Up to eight holders of registry identification cards may nominate an individual to cultivate marijuana in accordance with ORS 475B.810.
(b) The person in charge of a marijuana grow site may produce marijuana for a registry identification cardholder who appoints them to produce no more than (A) six mature plants; (B) twelve immature plants measuring 24 inches or more in height; and (C) the quantity determined by a rule issued by the Oregon Health Authority.
Explained:
Medical purchase limits:
1. 8 ounces of usable marijuana in one day
2. 32 ounces in one calendar month per patient
3. Daily limits are equal to:
- 16 ounces of cannabinoid in solid form
- 72 fluid ounces of cannabinoid in liquid form
- 5 grams of cannabinoid extracts or concentrates
- 5 grams of cannabinoid concentrates intended for inhalation
- 4 immature marijuana plants
- 10 marijuana seeds
Recreational Purchase Limits:
- 10 cannabis seeds
- 4 immature cannabis plants per household, with the grow site on private property out of public view and not within 1,000 feet of a school
- 1 ounce of usable cannabis (i.e. dried flower)
- 5 grams of cannabis concentrates or extracts
- 16 ounces of cannabis edibles in solid form
- 72 ounces of cannabis products in liquid form
While the above purchase limits are identical to Oregon’s public place possession limits, recreational users can possess up to 8 ounces of flower in private. Private possession limits for all other forms of cannabis are identical to the public possession limits.
Adults 21 years and older can gift recreational cannabis to other of-age adults, so long as they do not gift an amount of marijuana over the possession limits and accept no financial compensation. The following is considered financial compensation:
- Donations
- Raffles
- Fundraisers
- Sales
- Money
- Goods and services
- Tips
- Cover charges
- Admission fees
Recreational marijuana is still illegal according to federal law, despite Oregon law. Therefore, the right to possess recreational marijuana doesn’t apply on federal or tribal lands in the state.
Read More: Ohio Cannabis Laws You Definitely Need to Know!
Law #4: Delivery
Law: 475B.065 Lawful production, delivery, and possession of marijuana items. Licensees and licensee representatives may produce, deliver, and possess marijuana items subject to the provisions of ORS 475B.010 to 475B.545 and rules adopted under ORS 475B.010 to 475B.545.
The production, delivery, or possession of marijuana items by a licensee or a licensee representative in compliance with ORS 475B.010 to 475B.545 and rules adopted under ORS 475B.010 to 475B.545 does not constitute a criminal or civil offense under the laws of this state. [2015 c.1 §13; 2015 c.614 §43; 2017 c.183 §54].
Explained:
1. Delivery regulations are jurisdiction-specific and exclude addresses to schools.
2. Marijuana items can only be delivered to a consumer’s home by an OLCC-licensed retailer or a retailer’s representative.
3. Representatives can be an owner, director, officer, manager, employee, agent, or other representative of the licensee who acts in a representative capacity.
- A person delivering marijuana items on behalf of a retailer is required to be registered in the Cannabis Tracking System (CTS) as an employee of the retailer. They must have a valid marijuana worker permit number and be declared on the required transport manifest recorded in CTS.
- While the driver has to be listed as an employee in CTS, they don’t actually have to be employees of the retailer. Still, the retailer is liable for any violative acts or omissions by the driver.
Law #5: Data Regulations
Law: 475B.220 Identification for purchasing; restrictions on use of information.
(1)A consumer may not be required to procure for the purpose of acquiring or purchasing a marijuana item a piece of identification other than (a) A piece of identification described in ORS 475B.216; and (b) If the consumer is a registry identification cardholder, as defined in ORS 475B.791, a registry identification card, as defined in ORS 475B.791.
(2) As used in this section, “information that may be used to identify a consumer” means information that may be acquired through the production of a piece of identification as described in ORS 475B.216, whether the information is contained in a piece of identification described in ORS 475B.216 or in a different document or record.
(3) A marijuana retailer may not record and retain any information that may be used to identify a consumer, except as necessary to make deliveries to consumers pursuant to ORS 475B.206 (3), as required by any rules adopted under ORS 475B.206 (3).
(4) A marijuana retailer may not transfer any information that may be used to identify a consumer to any other person.
(5)This section does not apply to de-identified information the documentation and transfer of which is required by the Department of Revenue for purposes of ORS 475B.707. [2017 c.18 §2; 2017 c.476 §16]
(6)(a) Notwithstanding subsection (3) of this section, a marijuana retailer may record and retain the name and contact information of a consumer for the purpose of notifying the consumer of services that the marijuana retailer provides or of discounts, coupons and other marketing information if:
(A) The marijuana retailer asks the consumer whether the marijuana retailer may record and retain the information, and (B) The consumer consents to the recording and retention of the information. (b) This subsection does not authorize a marijuana retailer to transfer information that may be used to identify a consumer.
Explained: Licensed retailers are not permitted to collect information from marijuana sales that personally identify their consumers. As a result, retailers cannot record and use customer data for marketing purposes. Specifically, retailers cannot “record and retain any information that may be used to identify a customer.”
- There is an exception to this state law for customers who provide informed consent to data collection. This data can only be used for providing discounts, coupons, and other marketing information. It cannot be disclosed, transferred, or sold to any other person.
- Note: Flowhub’s point-of-sale has a Guest Checkout feature to keep Oregon retailers in compliance with data and privacy laws.
Law # 6: Taxes
(1) A tax is hereby imposed upon the retail sale of marijuana items in this state. The tax imposed by this section is a direct tax on the consumer, for which payment upon retail sale is required. The tax shall be collected at the point of sale of a marijuana item by a marijuana retailer at the time at which the retail sale occurs.
(2) Except as otherwise provided by the Department of Revenue by rule, the amount of the tax shall be separately stated on an invoice, receipt, or other similar document that the marijuana retailer provides to the consumer at the time at which the retail sale occurs.
(3) If the tax imposed under this section does not equal an amount calculable to a whole cent, the tax shall be equal to the next higher whole cent.
(4) The tax imposed under this section shall be imposed at the rate of (a) 17 percent of the retail sales price of usable marijuana; (b) 17 percent of the retail sales price of immature marijuana plants; (c) 17 percent of the retail sales price of a cannabinoid edible; (d) 17 percent of the retail sales price of a cannabinoid concentrate; (e) 17 percent of the retail sales price of a cannabinoid extract; (f) 17 percent of the retail sales price of a cannabinoid product that is intended to be used by applying the cannabinoid product to the skin or hair; and (g) 17 percent of the retail sales price of cannabinoid products other than those described in paragraph (f) of this subsection.
(5) A person may not knowingly sell, purchase, install, transfer, or possess electronic devices or software programs for the purposes of (a) Hiding or removing records of retail sales of marijuana items; or (b) Falsifying records of retail sales of marijuana items.
(6)(a) A marijuana retailer may not discount a marijuana item or offer a marijuana item for free if the retail sale of the marijuana item is made in conjunction with the retail sale of any other item.
Explained: Discounts are restricted by regulations, as stores are not permitted to incentivize customers to purchase more cannabis. While you can discount a top-shelf item, you can’t discount items in correlation with the purchase of another item (buy one, get one sale, for example).
- Loyalty points are only redeemable for accessories, not cannabis products.
- Stacking discounts (using multiple discounts on a single item) is prohibited.
Oregon Cannabis Laws FAQS
Q. Is recreational cannabis legal in Oregon?
Yes, recreational cannabis adult use has been legal in Oregon since 2014 for adults 21 and older.
Q. How much weed can I buy in Oregon?
People aged 21 and up can buy up to 1 ounce of beneficial cannabis, 5 grams of concentrates or extracts, 16 ounces of solid edibles, 72 ounces of liquid cannabis, ten cannabis seeds, and four young cannabis plants.
Q. How do they tax cannabis in Oregon?
Buying marijuana for medical reasons isn’t taxed, but buying it for fun is subject to a 17% cannabis excise tax and an extra 3% city tax.
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