Oregon votes no on legalizing pot and new casino
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Oregon voters have rejected legalizing marijuana and development of the state's first nontribal casino.
While Colorado and Washington state voters voted for regulating marijuana like alcohol, supporters of a similar measure failed to generate much campaign money in Oregon and it failed Tuesday.
The pot measure was winning in Oregon's liberal Multnomah County but was getting soundly thumped everywhere else.
As expected, two measures that would have allowed a nontribal casino in Wood Village, east of Portland, failed.
Two Canadian companies and a pair of businessmen from Lake Oswego fought hard to persuade voters to approve the casino, but they abandoned their campaign when polls showed that voters were overwhelmingly opposed. Proponents pitched the idea as a revenue generator and jobs creator. Opponents argued the operation would siphon money from tribal casinos and open the door to more such establishments statewide.
Oregon has a reputation for pushing the boundaries on marijuana laws, but organizers failed to raise much cash for Measure 80.
Marijuana activists who plowed big bucks into campaigns in Washington state and Colorado complained the Oregon measure was poorly written and didn't poll well. It didn't qualify for the ballot until July, severely limiting the time available to sway voters. They also don't care for the man with a blemished record who was pushing Oregon's measure.
Supporters said legalized marijuana would generate millions for the state in new taxes while cutting down on criminal activity. Opponents questioned whether the measure would increase drug use and crime.
Approval of regulated marijuana in Washington and Colorado could trigger a showdown with the federal government, which prohibits the use or possession of marijuana.
Also on Tuesday, voters rejected a ballot measure phasing out Oregon's estate tax. Opponents said the measure is a giveaway to the wealthy and would only benefit 2 percent of the richest taxpayers while the state struggles to fund schools and police.
Voters turned down a ballot measure aimed at prohibiting gillnets for nontribal commercial fishermen on the Columbia River. That result was expected after recreational fishing groups who supported it reversed their position. Instead, the proponents got behind a compromise pushed by Gov. John Kitzhaber that would prohibit gillnets only on the main stem of the Columbia.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
Its silly that a marijuana measure can't be simple. If they had proposed "legal to smoke, legal to have up to "X" amount of plants at home,legal to have up to "X" ounces dried at home, legal to have "X" grams in your  personal possession (i.e. car) and left it there.I would've voted for it. But noooo. It had to have layers upon layers of bureaucracy. Commissions, state run pot sales places, regulation of massive growers etc. For shits sake. its a plant, just let people grow it within reason and quit with the meddling to make a buck. We didn't need fields of pot run by the state we just needed the state to accept that occasional use of pot isn't the end of society like the reefer madness of the 50's thought.
That is exactly why a lot of others did not vote for the measure. It put the state in a business that they did not want to be in with a lot of bureaucracy and at odds with the federal government. That means grant dollars at stake.
I thought that current state law allowed for possession of less than an ounce without threat of violation.
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Thank you Oregonians for voting down 82/83 and sending a clear message to private owners that we have enough casinos in our state. It is true that our state needs jobs but apparently the voters are smart enough to look for long term solutions such as industries that will benefit our environment and citizens instead of robbing them of their savings.
Where did people ever get the idea that gaming was the solution to shoring up the economy or their business? Many businesses that thought lottery poker or ticket machines would shore up their financial woes during slow months eventually failed in this economy.
And arguments against tribes not sharing their wealth are based on lack of information. Who is the big supporter of the Rose Festival (Spirit Mountain Casino) bringing visitors and income to the city each year. Chinook Winds sponsors the Seafood and Wine Festival on the Coast that promotes visitors from all over the state. These festivals bring in dollars to restaurants, hotels, shopping, and taxes to city. There are many other local charities and social programs receiving donations from the various tribes. Know your facts before you spew the unkind information.
And Mesaure 80- Legalize Marijuana! I remember the orignal reason for legalling dispensing marijuana was for medical purposes so it was allowed. Over that last few months there appears to be problems with the dispensing of medical marijuana. Now I am hearing a the statement that "People die from alcohol use but no one dies from using marijuana!". REALLY!!! If a person does not need marijuana for medical purposes than be honest by saying it is for getting high. I am waiting for someone to tell us how much money the state can make to support schools and taxes by getting the state in the drug business.
This is fine. We'll watch and take note of the bumps that Washington and Colorado will go through and then we'll know how to do it right next election. Sometimes it's just easier learning from others. It will pass in a couple of years. We can wait and do it right. Congrats to WA and CO! And also, two thumbs up to Washingtonians for believing in true freedom and voting for gay marriage! Freedom doesn't mean freedom for just republican mindset, it means freedom for ALL AMERICANS. I really do love this country.
If WA does well with their Marijuana legalization it will only be a matter of time before Portland follows.Â
@Newsin as it should. I'm a conservative who actually believes in liberty.
I can't say I'm surprised by the results. 80 was doomed right out of the gate. Perhaps a more organized and better funded campaign will get it done next time. 82/83 is another matter altogether. While I won't say "The Grange" was a miracle cure-all for all our finacial woes, it sure as hell was a step in the right direction.
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I guess I can't help but wonder what the hell is wrong with my neighbors here in East County and across Oregon. I was born and raised here, and have proudly called East County home for better than 30 years. I watched Troutdale transform from a patchwork of berry fields to a pukey pattern of urban sprawl. Thank goodness that damn casino, with it's money and jobs, will never see a sunrise or sunset here in East Co. The last thing we need is anyone competing with Dotty's, Richards, Lighthouse. Oh, don't forget our Native American friends. They've been oh so generous with their money, keeping damn near every dime in their own communities. Hey, maybe we bail out our East County schools with a loan from Big Sky Financial! Â
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I'm about done here. I've grown to distrust and dispise my neighbors. Rubes to the left, theives to the right.Â
@IH77 30 years ago I was mowing my great-grandmother's yard just up the street from the Kennel Club, and I live in that house now. You're mistaken: building a giant casino isn't going to turn Troutdale back into berry fields and pumpkin patches. It's the very DEFINITION of pukey urban sprawl. If you believed that the 2000 jobs were going to be created there...with, what...10,000 visitors per day just to pay for it? The Blazers don't even have that kind of draw... Just wow. Think of how many MORE jobs would be created when they build light rail up 223rd to Gresham Station. That'll bring even MORE berry fields, right?
Now when people start complaining that we have no jobs here in Oregon's wood village and teachers are laid off just remember YOU voted this chance to get some funding to help out, look in the mirror each day and say yup it is my fault.
 @parrot456 LOL! Yeah, 'cause, Wood Village never existed before the casino. My family has been here for five generations and if half of the community wants to move the hell back out, it will be a better place again.
My kid goes to a private school. The casino people never answered the questions about the neighborhood and the school across the street from the proposed casino, nor about the traffic funding associated with the customers it would take to finance 2000 full-time employees (on, what? Halsey?) If you these lying, stupid sacks of scum were interested in the JOBS aspect they'd have built a light rail to Lake Oswego. It's funny how similar in ideology they are to Sam Adams that way.
it always about money. well washington legalized it. the states connected to washington and colorado will provide enough marijuana for the whole nation. the feds will have to legalise it to protect a states right to vote. it funny this issue is almost over!!!!! good job washington and colorado!!!!!
What's the rush??? Why do we have to vote on it right now, every 2 years...legalize it as soon as possible?
Why can't we wait a couple of years to see what happens in Washington? If there's some pit falls, we can avoid them simply by watching and waiting. Seems very prudent to me!
In the time intervening, if someone wants a fatty just paddle over to washington and fire it up!
The marijuana people shoot themselves in the foot by bringing dishonest and misleading measures before the people. The medical marijuana bill has proven to be a farce and the current measure was written in a way that made the voters distrust it. If you're hope is to win the trust of the voter you can't lie to them.Â
 @Scotty9 "The marijuana people shoot themselves in the foot by bringing dishonest and misleading measures before the people."
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Both sides did, but at least the marijuana people didn't blow billions of taxpayer dollars doing it.
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I distill absinthe, which is legal again as of 2007 after having been banned since 1915 because the prohibitionists fabricated illnesses and other symptoms associated with it. (You don't hallucinate from wormwood unless you drink three or four glasses of 120+ proof alcohol a day for years, at which point you have gravely larger problems.) The problem is that the myths associated with "the green fairy" is that tourists and soldiers visiting places like Prague were giving themselves alcohol poisoning thinking that if they drank enough (fake) wormwood, they would hallucinate. Delirium Tremens is what we call it now.
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The people assuming that all "stoners" were losers offend me because my dad was a faithful corporate employee for 23 years, until they downsized and laid him off. He's retired now. They're talking about him. He's not a loser. The professional artists and musicians, the programmers, the engineers, the professors, the tax assessors, lawyers and other people--who use it but don't wear the patch on their hat--they're not "losers" or "burnouts" but there are people on THIS FORUM who have said that they deserve to be shot.
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Which is it? Honesty, or not. I voted for liberty because I consider myself to be a REAL CONSERVATIVE.
Part of the problem is that many people are simply unfamiliar with marijuana: Many people die from alcohol use, Nobody dies from marijuana use,The health-related costs associated with alcohol use far exceed those for marijuana use.Alcohol use damages the brain. Marijuana use does not,Alcohol use increases the risk of injury to the consumer. Marijuana use does not, and the list goes on and on. Id much rather be around a relaxed person high of weed than an angry person drunk off booze.
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http://www.saferchoice.org/content/view/24/53/
@OSUbeav You are spouting a lot of propaganda regarding MJ, but the facts stat otherwise. It HAS BEEN PROVEN that marijuana use does damage the brain!! And I would rather not be on the road with a bunch of stoners, thank you! I won't be doing much traveling in Washington for a while, until common sense returns to that state!!!
 @musiclover  @OSUbeav As if alcohol doesn't damage the brain.
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Show us the names of a few people who have died from marijuana overdose.
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It's funny that knuckle-draggers like you think that traffic is suddenly going to get worse in Washington, as if people haven't been smoking pot in Washington since before Jimi freakin' Hendrix. Also, they are a national leader in microbreweries, wineries, distilleries and yet some mindless halfwit demographic is suddenly going to be afraid to drive up there because of some imaginary propagandized increase in intoxicated drivers.
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"Common sense." LOL! It's Miller Time!
Its too bad about the medical marijuana not doing well.  I guess Oregon wants to continue the useless trend of using tax dollars to jail people and break up families because people are smoking plants.
The Grange... I haven't seen a beat-down like that since Nancy Kerrigan.