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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Emergency services, Oct. 16 ... Since You Asked: Park resurfacing delayed during winter ... SOU training gives tips on what to do if there's an active shooter ... Emergency services, Oct. 16 ... Since You Asked: Park resurfacing delayed during winter ... SOU training gives tips on what to do if there's an active shooter ... OUR VIEW Our view: Legislature should fix both marijuana laws Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted May. 15, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted May. 15, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News Ask Oregonians what they think about the ongoing debate over marijuana and you'll get one of several answers: Supporters of the approved measure to legalize marijuana are likely to say, "Just get on with it and approve it already." Opponents are likely still opposed. Those is the middle are tired of hearing about it and just want legislators to fix the law and come up with something that's workable. Fix the law — that's where we come down, although we would change that to "fix the laws," because both the medical marijuana and recreational marijuana laws need, at a minimum, some tweaking. That is one of the flaws in the current debate over how — or whether — to alter the laws. If the marijuana rules are not dealt with as a whole we will continue to have a bifurcated mess, with one side of the equation skewing the outcome of the other. The Legislature needs to tear both laws down to the bare bones and rebuild them into something that will protect the rights of legitimate medical marijuana users, effectively regulate marijuana use and ensure that local communities are protected. The base problem facing the Legislature is the existing medical marijuana law. We agree that marijuana has a palliative effect and should continue to be made available to patients. But we also know that there was massive fraud perpetrated in the dissemination of medical marijuana cards. Essentially, if you could claim you had "serious" chronic pain, you could get a card — many of which came from a handful of doctors who have rubber-stamped tens of thousands of requests. Having that card allows you to grow, or have grown for you, six marijuana plants, likely more than you could use if you expected to be sober at some point during the year. One plant producing 1 pound of marijuana creates 912 half-gram joints. Multiply that by six and you get 5,472 joints. Too much of that excess has ended up on the black market, both in Oregon and outside. Those quantities would undercut a legal, recreational marijuana system in which plants are sold at retail, with hefty taxes attached. Under Oregon's newly approved recreational marijuana law, households can possess 8 ounces of marijuana (456 half-gram joints), four mature plants (3,648 joints) and a variety of edible cannabis candies and drinks. Again, far more than realistically would be consumed in one household. Not hard to guess where a good chunk of the excess winds up — on that same black market. Oregon's two marijuana laws need to be fixed in multiple ways. There needs to be oversight and accountability placed on growers, a unified and well-regulated system of dispensaries and more realistic limits placed on the amount of marijuana allowed for individuals and households. There are significant differences in how medical marijuana and recreational marijuana should be treated; one is, after all, a medicine. But if we have two sets of laws that remain disconnected, the system will fail. It may be too late in this legislative session to fully connect the dots between the two, but legislators should do as much as possible now and promise to return in an upcoming session with a more thorough fix. MailTribune.com Writer Posted May. 15, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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