I<\/span>n 2016 Oregon had over 400 medical marijuana dispensaries, but as of summer 2017, state records list only 30 \u2014\u00a0and not all of them are still in operation.<\/p>\n State officials say the current laws allow for a robust medical cannabis economy, but some dispensary proprietors are skeptical that the medical industry has a future in the state, which has seen a mass exodus of medical providers to the higher margins and less stringent regulations of the recreational market.<\/p>\n Some even wonder if the state will ultimately do away with the dwindling medical sector entirely.<\/p>\n Oregon<\/a> became a medical marijuana state in 1998 and recreational cannabis was approved by the voters in 2014. While recreational regulations were still being hashed out, Governor Kate Brown signed a bill allowing medical dispensaries to sell to recreational customers until Jan. 1, 2017.<\/p>\n So when the clock struck midnight on New Year\u2019s Eve, medical dispensaries faced a choice; go back to the medical system \u2014 or \u2014 attain a new license and move into the recreational market.<\/p>\n The vast majority chose to do the latter.<\/p>\n Recreational cannabis is overseen by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, while medical cannabis is regulated by the Oregon Health Authority. The two require separate permits and have different regulations \u2014 regulations that can change at a moment\u2019s notice. So business owners (particularly those trying to offer both medical and recreational cannabis) have to act quickly to remain in compliance.<\/p>\n This regulatory split applies to growers as well: The same grow cannot supply cannabis for both medical<\/a> and recreational use in Oregon, which creates another potential choke point<\/a> in the medical supply chain.<\/p>\n Debbie Jensen, manager of Green Cross Dispensary <\/a>\u2014\u00a0a Brownsville medical dispensary in the process of adding recreational cannabis to its offerings \u2014 said both medical and recreational establishments are made to jump through various regulatory hoops, but medical regulations are stricter and change more often.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Oregon first opened up to medical, you go in and get your herb,\u201d Jensen said. \u201cNow you have to put your testing information out. You have to put more info on these labels than most medications The cameras, the locking system, the reporting system, the books, the inventory are all tightly regulated.\u201d<\/p>\n With a substantially larger market and easier operations, more and more medical dispensaries are switching to recreational outlets.<\/p>\n Additionally, the OLCC allows recreational stores to sell \u201cmedical-grade\u201d product, which is only available to medical card holders, but comes with a much less rigid set of standards than the medical regulations enforced by the OHA.<\/p>\n Medical card holders pay no taxes on their purchase \u2014\u00a0just like at a medical dispensary \u2014\u00a0giving recreational vendors the ability to cater to patients, as well as a much larger market that tourists can access. With the added benefit of comparatively lax regulation, it\u2019s not hard to see why Oregon\u2019s cannabis industry has shifted almost entirely to recreational shops.<\/p>\n But in other states like Colorado<\/a> \u2014\u00a0the first state to start selling recreational pot \u2014 there are thriving recreational<\/a> and medical systems operating parallel to each other. So what\u2019s going on in Oregon?<\/p>\n Opinions differ.<\/p>\n Kit Doyle is a business partner at the Oregon Hemp Company<\/a>, which transitioned from medical cannabis to hemp products to avoid the regulations associated with medical cannabis. He believes legislators and regulators are collaborating to kill the medical system with a \u201cdeath by a thousand cuts\u201d to redirect profits to recreational marijuana \u2014\u00a0which generates more revenue.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have successfully dismantled a perfectly good medical program,\u201d Doyle said. \u201cThis is love of money over love of people.\u201d<\/p>\n Jensen is more forgiving in her assessment.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want to make sure legalization can continue, so they\u2019re being really tough now,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it will get better once it goes legal federally, which I believe it will.\u201d<\/p>\n Jensen has heard rumors that Oregon\u2019s medical industry will be shut down, but she remains hopeful that it will be allowed to continue.<\/p>\n Doyle? He predicts the medical marijuana industry in Oregon will continue to fade and, within a year a half, vanish completely.<\/p>\n Perhaps there is enough demand for the medical market to stabilize as a niche offering amidst a sea recreational shops. But consumer demand and state regulations both point toward recreational \u2014\u00a0it remains to be seen if medical cannabis in Oregon can hang on.<\/p>\n Featured in Issue 28<\/a>\u00a0of Cannabis Now\u2026 coming soon. Make sure not to miss out on Cannabis Now\u2019s \u201cMedical Cannabis\u201d issue by subscribing today. <\/em>LEARN MORE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n TELL US,<\/strong> are you worried a recreational cannabis industry might push out medical marijuana?<\/p>\n The post Can Medical Cannabis Survive in Oregon?<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Over 90 percent of the state\u2019s medical dispensaries vanished in just one year. In 2016 Oregon had over 400 medical marijuana dispensaries, but as of summer 2017, state records list only 30 \u2014\u00a0and not all of them are still in operation. State officials say the current laws allow for aContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[50,85,2629,53,415,185],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22067"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22067"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22068,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22067\/revisions\/22068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Grass On the Other Side of the Fence<\/h4>\n
\n
\nRead More: Can Medical Cannabis Survive in Oregon?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"