Legal marijuana, gillnet fishing, casinos get decided today
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Three Western states have measures on the ballot that seek to regulate marijuana like alcohol, and it looks like Oregon's is the least likely to pass.
Plagued by doubts about the ballot's sponsor, Oregon's Measure 80 failed to gain traction in a state that approved marijuana for medical use in 1998. Similar — albeit less-liberating measures — have polled well in Colorado and Washington state.
Tuesday's vote gives Oregonians a chance to weigh in on one of the most lax proposals for legalizing pot.
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 would likely trigger a showdown with the federal government, which prohibits the use or possession of marijuana.
It was one of four measures that began with high hopes but fizzled when pushback coalesced from forces inside and outside Salem.
A pair of measures that would have allowed a nontribal casino in Wood Village, east of Portland, were also on the ballot.
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.
Tentatively titled "The Grange," proponents pitched the casino idea as a revenue generator and jobs creator. Opponents rechristened the project "The Grunge," arguing the operation would siphon money from tribal casinos and open the door to more casinos statewide.
A third effort, this one aimed at prohibiting gillnets for nontribal commercial fishermen on the Columbia River, faced an uphill climb after the recreational fishing groups who supported it reversed their position.
After the measure qualified for the ballot, the proponents got behind a compromise pushed by Gov. John Kitzhaber that would prohibit gillnets only on the main stem of the Columbia.
Gillnets snag salmon by the gills and are the only legal way to fish commercially on the Columbia. Gillnet critics say they're harmful to endangered fish. Commercial fishermen argue that opposition to gillnets is driven by sport fishers who want to catch more fish.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
Legal or illegal you will never stop anyone from cultivating, distributing or smoking marijuana..... Oregon will always have some great smoke! Authorities are friggin' nuts for trying to stop it! It's folly. :D)
Iam ALL for making it legal.You dont see someone smoking a bowl getting behind the wheel and getting in a crash?iUbnlike people that drink and drive.Yes there should be laws about it being legaql like no one under the age of 21 should buy it.I would rather see someone smoke a bowl then get addicted too pain pills which I KNOW MANY PEOPLE THAT ARE.
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 @mizzbrat1974 It's pretty easy to determine if a person is unable to drive. It's called field sobriety tests. You don't have to blow through a breathalyzer or take a blood test. if a person can't walk in a straight line or maintain balance, they will fail the test.
Well "poopstainmonkey", I hope the test will be more complicated than that.
Most people in my age group, seniors, can't walk a straight line or maintain
balance, and yet be totally clean of all drugs.   It's an age thing. You'll be there
some day if you live long enough.
@Older than dirt  If your balance and hand/eye coordination are that bad, maybe you shouldnt be driving at all.
@mizzbrat1974 Thanks for providing an example of why people shouldn't "smoke a bowl" and then make posts on the internet.
The ONLY plants that should be illegal are Poison Oak & Poison Ivy!
Marijuana is already VERY easy to get. Making it legal has more positives than negatives.
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If marijuana is made legal it will be more difficult, but not impossible, for minors to get. Currently, the guy on the corner selling marijuana does not care if the buyer is under age or not. He only needs the $$$. Regulating marijuana like alcohol means tax revenue for the state as well as ID checking to confirm the purchaser's age.Â
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It will not 100% prevent minors from getting marijuana, just like our current system does not 100% prevent minors from getting alcohol. It will dramatically reduce it though.
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Legalizing marijuana also means our government must spend less $$$$$$ chasing it and trying to keep up with it. This leaves more money in their budgets that they can spend on other things.
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So tax income and saving money on police resources and making it more difficult for minors to get...
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So what are the negatives? You really think that making it legal will create a huge uptick in stoners? Guess what? They are already out there. Sure, a few more people might be interested in trying it if it were legal. But that doesn't mean that they will all instantly become stoners and cause our society to spiral downwards even faster. There are people out there that are not easily addicted.Â
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I have no desire to use marijuana but do feel that making this legal is one step closer to a smaller government and more personal rights.
My $.02 (note: not necessarily the way I personally voted, but rather my expected results)
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M77 & 78- I suspect that both will pass. They've been received as 'rewording' measures, so most people haven't really looked into the cause/effect of them. Personally, I question 77, as I wonder (since there is no specification as to what can be considered an 'emergency', if there is potential for abuse. IE- Schools are 'underfunded', so the D controlled legislature declares an 'emergency', and funds them {with borrowed money} )
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M79- Pass. It's a preemptive strike against another cash grab by the legislature.Â
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M80- Fail. Poorly written, and OR already has abundant abuse of the OMMA program.
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M81- Fail. Environmentalist tripe. No need for the ban, and it would only affect OR commercial fishermen.
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M82 & 83- Fail. DOA. Been shot down 2 times, not gonna happen.
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M84- I'm on the fence on this one, but I suspect the PMA will ensure it's failure. I don't see it as a necessary repeal of a particularly bad tax.
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M85- Pass. DNC with yet another 'big bad business' cash grab. PMA will ensure it's passage.Â
I voted against the emergency measure as the Gov already has tools to deal with a catastrophe if needed. To allow a quorum to be the sum of legislators able to "make the meeting" is a wrong headed idea. The way the far right and left are anymore - don't give either a way to get power in an emergency.
 @wvboy My thoughts are along those lines as well. Especially (as I eluded to above) since the ballot measure does not offer (or guarantee) restrictions of what may be 'declared a disaster' by the Gov or Legislature.Â
No to the marijuana and yes to the casino, IMO
@dee - How about "in your backyard"?
@Dee because local citizens shouldn't have personal liberties in their homes, farmers shouldn't be allowed to grow hemp, but, somehow, building a casino next to three schools and a neighborhood that keeps telling you they don't want it is somehow BETTER for the community.
I voted for it but am in a minority. Most of the people I know who are voting against it are leery of the medical marijuana provisions and "commision" that is set up to deal with that area. "Why"  is thier common question, and a good one. if it is going to be legal for personal use, then why do we need to have a special section for medical marijuana? Regulate it like any other drug if it is medicinal. By stressing the medical marijuana issue the writers turned off a lot of people in Oregon who might have potentially voted for the measure. There is already a widespread belief that medical marijuana and cards are a joke. The non smokers (still the majority of people) don't want to further the suspected fraud.
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 @portlandborn83 The right to vote is one of our greatest gifts of democracy. Why you didn't see fit to vote in prior elections is your own fault.
@Luckylucy If you think America is a democracy, you are in cuckoo land because america is fascist, socialist, and communist all wrapped into one.
@portlandborn83 Are you just upset that we didn't throw a pity party for you?
@portlandborn83 That's right, blame somebody else like you are a victim. Why don't you try accepting responsibility for yourself and performing your civic duty?Â
 @portlandborn83Â
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"...this election system is a fraud!..."
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No it's not, at least not in the way which prevents you from voting.
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Both left and right extremes would argue that Oregon has some of the easiest and most varied ways of insuring you're properly registered.
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You can go to the Oregon Secretary of State's web-page (http://oregonvotes.org/) and register if you aren't, check for your current registration status (like "cancelled"), get a ballot, expose election fraud and any number of things.
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You had weeks to take any number of steps to insure you're able to vote. I have had my ballot for a couple of weeks. Did you not bother to even ask friends/family or co-workers if they had gotten their ballot already when you knew the election was close?
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Indeed many see Oregon's system as so inclusive as to invite fraud.
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 @portlandborn83 @portlandborn83Â
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In Oregon if youâre not incarcerated you can vote. I can see the logistic issue for people incarcerated but why some states donât allow previously convicted then released can't vote, I donât' know.
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And you don't have to stop by the election building; everything you can do there can be done online. Or if you need to do it in person (like a first time registration) it can be done at any DMV office.
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No one looks for reasons to keep people from voting. Here in Oregon we do everything we can to make sure people can vote. Some say too much.
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@portlandborn83 so, you COULD stop by the election office, just not during their business hours. It's all a conspiracy against you.
 @portlandborn83 Guess you should have registered?
 @poopstainmonkey  @portlandborn83Â
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Seriously, it is so easy to register and vote in Oregon that there is no excuse for not voting and, particularly, no excuse for having difficulty registering. Anybody that carps in Oregon about the difficulty of either registering or voting is an ARSEWHOLE; consider the difficulty that people in Florida confront just to vote; registration obstruction and 4 hours waiting in poll queues.
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I don't know how Oregon's reads, but the bill on Washington's ballot is awful. Just to grow it for yourself you'd have to pay $1,000 per year for a license to do so, plus a $250 application fee.  With all the layers to the bill and the related taxation it will just create even more bureaucracy, not less as proponents claim. I support legalization, but this bill takes the worst from both sides and combines them into a mess. Once a thousand dollar fee is imposed just to grow your own, does anyone think they will change it over later? Better to scrap this bill and start over with a more sensible one.
 @Tori Skidori I'd like to see the government try that same tactic with Oxycontin or any other big pharma drug...  Sorry you have cancer.. please give us 1,200 dollars so you can legally take your medicine.  Oh, and BTW, that 1200 bucks doesn't include any medicine..  only the RIGHT to buy it and/or have it on your person.  Such a joke.  Â
 @Tori SkidoriÂ
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Yes, Washington's bill is a total sham in the same model as their "TAX-CUTTING" plan to remove the Liquor board. The Marijuana advocates just made a deal with the devil to get a nominal bill approved.
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Seriously, any MJ bill NEEDS a provision allowing individuals to grow for their own use without restriction or license and without registering with the state.  Home brewers don't have to register with the state or pay a license.Â
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First; few people smoke $1,250 plus the expense of growing equipment in weed per year; therefore, such laws would perpetuate the black market. Particularly those who grow really good weed...off the grid...to generate an income without paying taxes. Additionally, if licenses were legal to grow it would just give LEO more probable cause to search a residence e.g. "Our dog indicated MJ so we had probable cause to search the premises for a grow operation."
@Tori Skidori I agree.Might as well keep it illegal.Besides millions of people are going to continue to grow,sell,use it regardless.
Yes gill nets are banned in Florida.
Folks I live in Florida and work for FWC believe me you do not want gill nets. It took our bays and rivers 10 years to even slightly recover from the destruction and fish mortality caused by their use. Bay and rivers are nursery areas of thousands of species. Save theses areas so we can save or oceans.
@Scott Woodruff If you don't like it in Florida, then don't have it. Get back to us when you are a resident of Oregon.
 @Scott WoodruffÂ
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We've had them for years. Indeed the native Americans ho were here first taught everyone who came here later.
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This measure would stop existing netting. But only on the Oregon side. Thus it will continue to for boats mooring in Vancouver.
"I don't always smoke pot but when I do, I smoke White Widow. Stay stoned my friends." -- The most interesting man in the world.
@scared_citizen ....ive been vaping. does white widow give you a high or a mellowing?
@Rob C 503Â Â
White Widow is a strain of cannabis allegedly developed by Dutch seed breeder known as "Shantibaba"[1](other sources name "Ingemar")[2] and its known for its abundance of white trichomes and high potency.[3] White Widow has been reported to leave the user with a relaxed feeling. It, like most indica marijuana varieties, is a good appetite enhancer. However, being a cross between sativa and indica (60% Indica, 40% Sativa) it also has the sativa quality of mood enhancement - bringing on an interest in activities one may not normally enjoy. The variety won the Cannabis Cup in 1995.[4][5]
White Widow grown in Amsterdam is known to contain up to 20% of the active ingredient THC. White Widow buds are covered in crystals, giving it an almost snowy look. As of late as 2011, it sells for approximately 8 Euros per gram in The Netherlands.[6] In Seattle and Tacoma, it is available from dispensaries for Medical Marijuana patients for a donation of $12 US per gram.
White Widow is a strain that is fairly easy to grow, and especially in Europe because of its resistance to mold and colder climates.
The other photo showing weed and a bunch of cash is a little misleading. Photo should show a baggie of weed, Taco Bell wrappers and remnants, beer or Mtn. Dew bottles and the TV and game controller all laying on a well used coffee table.
 @last boyscout I have neither seen nor heard of a weed only related addiction, death or accident, nor have I ever seen it destroy lives and families or provoke violence in someone. Alcohol on the other hand........I have seen ALL of the above. The only thing that pot smokers get addicted to is the fridge! ;)
@last boyscout I'm my case a empty wine glass,remmanats of fruit and vegetables along with my iPad,iPhone and remotes.
 @last boyscout Spend a lot of time around weed, Mtn Dew and game controllers or are you just making that all up?  Tell it to Michael Phelps.
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Your avatar photo is misleading. It should show an ignorant hillbilly with BBQ stains down the front of his shirt and beer foam on his chin, yeah? Generalizations are easy.
 @Playanekes You girls really need another hobby.
@last boyscout @Playanekes Speaking of hobbies,just got back from the gun range trying out my new glock .45.They tried to engage me in electon talk but I politely declined.
@last boyscout I've recorded three albums, my battle bots have appeared on 56 TV networks worldwide, plus a video game, I've published magazines, DJed radio, I have Snoopy's Dog House and a Fokker Tri-plane replica in my front yard, a boat in the back, no debt, a college degree, a kid in private school, a wife of twelve years and I'm a flight instructor and commercial pilot, licensed DPSST-armed, CHL holder, practice MMA as often as I can. So tell me, there, Mr Self-Righteous Sexist Ignorant-Scout: where am I going to find time for another hobby? Is it going to be modeling or whittling or watching football or knitting socks or whatever in hell it is you DullScouts do? Maybe some parcheesi? Breakdancing, some Twister? "Girls?" Do you commonly mistake girls for boys. Are you a scout leader or something?
 @last boyscout  @Playanekes so do you boyscout
@last boyscout I also thought you were a big personal freedom buff, unless YOU don't agree then freedom is void, right? Keeping cannabis and industrial hemp illegal is absurd and its goverments way of destroying a method of strengthening our society, the federal government has great racket keeping it illegal. And if your retort is the same nonsense the feds and uninformed are telling you save it for some one else.
@OliverNicholas if you talk about taking away one of THEIR liberties (I drive a jeep...ORV use is an example), they turn purple with rage and feces will literally explode from their pants. Wull y'all can't tell me what to do 'cuz I'm a 'Merican! Land of the free, unless the Nanny Statists of America say otherwise.
@last boyscout If thats how you percieve yourself using cannabis, by all means picture it. I on the other hand am an avid consumer, proffesional, own my own house, Veteran and Father. I don't eat Taco Bell's "food" and I don't drink alcohol or Mt. Dew... You are a little credulous pal if you buy most of the stories of what it does to people.
 @OliverNicholas  @last The interesting thing is he's describing a scene that many American non-smokers and certainly the stock market and American corporations would condone:
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Eating and drinking American products and staying home for cheap entertainment rather than driving out to a drinking establishment for a good Friday night or to watch the football games or NASCAR. As if a well-used coffee table is a bad thing. Ours is 30-years old but I'm not going to throw it out and go down to Ikea for a new one if I can fix it.Â
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Somehow, the fact that I like Taco Bell, XBOX and old furniture makes me one of those people. Hmm. Not so bad. I'm a HUGE fan of Fallout3.
@Playanekes@OliverNicholas
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"Last Boyscout" would have you bar crawling and drunk driving instead of staying home playing Xbox:
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"Comparing traffic deaths over time in states with and without medical marijuana law changes, the researchers found that fatal car wrecks dropped by 9% in states that legalized medical use â which was largely attributable to a decline in drunk driving. Â Also, people are more likely to smoke weed at home or in private, rather than out at bars or other public events that require driving to get to. Â "
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Source:Â
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Medical Marijuana Laws, Traffic Fatalities, and Alcohol Consumption by D. Mark Anderson, Daniel I. Rees (November 2011)Â