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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: State needs to speed up retail pot timeline Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted May. 29, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated May 29, 2015 at 9:40 AM Posted May. 29, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated May 29, 2015 at 9:40 AM » Social News Oregon lawmakers struggling to implement marijuana legalization starting July 1 should worry less about the feds and more about creating a real, functioning market for the drug. Most of all, they should not encourage a continuation of the black market fed by the state's loosely written medical marijuana laws. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission, designated in the voter-passed Ballot Measure 91 as the agency responsible for regulating retail sales, says it won't be ready to roll out rules until this fall, will take applications starting in January and the first retail outlets will open in the fall of 2016 — more than a year after recreational marijuana becomes legal to possess and consume. That's far too late. Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli, R-John Day, was right when he asked OLCC Chairman Rob Patridge on Wednesday if the delay wouldn't "incentivize the black market." Patridge replied that consumers could simply grown their own until retail outlets are open. The problem is, many won't. They'll just find a willing seller who just might be a medical marijuana grower with excess production on his hands and bills to pay. Which brings up the issue that has angered medical marijuana advocates, but which must be addressed if the state is to have any hope of creating a functioning market for recreational as well as medical marijuana: There is a surplus of high-quality marijuana worth millions on the black market. There are certainly many well-meaning, caring individuals growing medical marijuana purely out of the desire to help seriously ill people: the Oregon Health Authority reports three-quarters of the state's registered growers serve just two or three patients. But 400 sites grow for 10 or more patients, and it is a known fact that large quantities of Oregon medical marijuana are being diverted to the black market here and across the country. That was a natural and inevitable consequence of voters' legalizing medical marijuana but making it illegal to make a profit growing it. Seth Crawford, a marijuana policy researcher at Oregon State University, told The Oregonian that by his estimate, Oregon growers produce three to five times the 150,000 pounds consumed in the state. Privateer Holdings, a Seattle venture capital firm specializing in the legal marijuana industry, estimates Oregon grows enough medical marijuana to supply all the patients in Oregon, Washington, Colorado and Arizona. Legislation to more strictly regulate the size of medical grows and track the crops to the point of sale is essential, or Oregon cannot hope to create a functioning recreational market that won't be undercut by the black market. If it cannot, Patridge says, he fears the U.S. Justice Department will swoop in and prosecute people under federal law, which still considers marijuana an illegal, dangerous drug. But waiting for a strict "seed to sale" tracking system before allowing retail sales will virtually guarantee a flourishing black market. Instead, some lawmakers want to let recreational sales take place in medical dispensaries, side by side with medical marijuana, as soon as possible after July 1, even if the details of tracking the drug are still being worked out. That makes sense, and it offers the best chance of a recreational market that functions as it should, in the light of day. MailTribune.com Writer Posted May. 29, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated May 29, 2015 at 9:40 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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