Law Enforcement Group Drafting Legislation To Revise Marijuana Law

Law enforcement officials are planning to target a voter-passed law legalizing the medicinal use of marijuana.

The Oregon Association of Chiefs of Police is drafting legislation to revise Measure 67, which voters approved in November, said Kevin Campbell, association executive.

"We want to respect the will of the people and what their intent was," he said. The association wants to clean up the wording to provide clearer guidance, he said.

Rep. Kevin Mannix, R-Salem, said he is willing to sponsor the legislation to revise the law.

Mannix opposed Measure 67 before the election but said the reason he is willing to propose changes to the Legislature is because of technical problems caused by a lack of legal review prior to public vote.

"Now that it's on the books, I just think we need to make sure the language is nice and tight," he said.

Campbell cited three main concerns: evidence, care-givers and the registration process.

The law requires police return evidence to non-criminal users in the same condition as it was seized. That could be feasible with pipes and grow lamps but could conflict with federal law in terms of maintaining and returning plants, he said.

It also creates a potential point of dispute regarding the maintenance of plant health, and the law would be better if the part about plants was taken out altogether, he said.

Police also worry about allowing a user to designate a care-giver.

"They could potentially be a care-giver for 50 people," he said, and that would lead to large growing operations.

The association would also like to eliminate the "affirmative defense" aspect, which allows suspects to claim they intend to or were in the process of applying for a state-issued registration card.

Rather, he said, medicinal marijuana registration should be handled more like gun permits - use wouldn't be allowed without a permit in hand.

That would eliminate officer confusion when they encounter someone growing or using marijuana, he said.

Copyright Grants Pass Daily Courier

News : Archives : January

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 and The Berne Convention on Literary and Artistic Works, Article 10, news clippings are made available without profit for research and educational purposes.