Report
from
Oregon
10/02/98
(As election day approaches, DRCNet correspondent Bear Wilner will be keeping us abreast of developments from Oregon as that state prepares to vote on not one, but two marijuana-related initiatives. The following is his first report.) As readers of The Week Online are likely aware, Oregon is one of five states that will vote on marijuana-related ballot initiatives this Fall. (Voters will also consider an initiative in the District of Columbia.) Oregon is unique, however, in that two such questions will appear on its November ballot. The first, Measure 57, began as a bill (HB 3643) that was passed by the Oregon Legislature and signed into law by Governor John Kitzhaber, MD on July 2, 1997. The bill's backers intended to overturn Oregon's 1973 law that decriminalized the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, which was the first such law in the nation. Currently, possession of under an ounce is treated as a violation akin to a traffic ticket and is punishable by a fine of at least $500 but no more than $1000. HB 3643 would re-elevate the offense to misdemeanor status, with potential penalties including a jail term of thirty days, a six-month driver's license suspension, and compulsory drug treatment, as well as fines. Furthermore, it would expand law enforcement officers' abilities to conduct searches in connection with a marijuana bust; under current law, no arrest is permitted and search powers are limited during a stop for a violation. In accordance with a rarely-used state constitutional provision, citizens gathered enough signatures to suspend the effectiveness of the new law until a statewide vote could be held on it. If Measure 57 passes, HB 3643 will go into effect; if the measure is defeated, it will not. The Measure 57 campaign has been heated at times but has not been an overwhelmingly visible presence in the state, as, for example, have recent initiative campaigns concerning sexual minority rights. Polls indicate that the measure is likely to fail, meaning that voters seem to prefer the status quo. The campaign against Measure 57 shares space on lawn signs around the state with the campaign *for* Measure 67, the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act. Combined efforts aside, though, it is the latter initiative that has the far higher profile as Election Day approaches. This proposed law, part of the nationwide family of initiatives sponsored by Americans for Medical Rights, would create a statewide registry of patients whose doctors recommend that the use of marijuana might help alleviate certain otherwise intractable health conditions. Such patients would be free to possess and grow sufficient quantities of marijuana for personal use. It prohibits public use and driving under the influence. The campaign for Measure 67 is being led by Dr. Rick Bayer, a Portland-area physician. He has proven to be an articulate and thoughtful advocate in numerous public appearances, including a live call-in show on Oregon Public Broadcasting radio that matched him with a journalist and a measure opponent. In a recent appearance before the state Criminal Justice Commission, Sheriff Dan Noelle of Multnomah County, which includes Portland, claimed that Measure 67 is a cynical precursor to efforts to legalize other drugs, contending that marijuana has no medical effectiveness and that, in fact, it "contributes to violent and assaultive behavior." Some of the state's largest newspapers, including the Albany Democrat-Herald and the Eugene Register-Guard have editorialized in favor of Measure 67. Polls show it enjoying the favor of the voters, in line with similar surveys in other states and nationwide. Recently, a headline-grabbing development of relevance to both measures has arisen in the farmland of Western Oregon's Willamette Valley. On September 15, deputies of the Linn County Sheriff's Office raided the home and lumberyard of Bill Conde, a longtime drug policy reform activist. Mr. Conde has hosted several large festivals on his property in the last few years that featured live music and speeches by him and other activists. Linn County officials contend that marijuana and other drugs were widely used and sold at these festivals. Mr. Conde's attorney, Brian Michaels, replies that Mr. Conde's arrest broke a lengthy history of good relations between him and the county and was accompanied by clearly unrelated and disproportionate searches and seizures. The Conde case has sent a wave of concern throughout the state. Coming as close as it does to Election Day, it reminds some reformers of the 1996 raid on the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers' Club, which directly preceded California's vote on Proposition 215, the initiative whose passage now allows the use of medical marijuana in that state. Along with business records and other materials, lists of names and addresses that had been gathered for clearly political purposes are now in the hands of police agencies. In addition, deputies seized a computer that controlled a large electronic sign clearly visible from Interstate 5, which runs directly past Mr. Conde's lumberyard; the signboard formerly displayed messages like "Vote no on 57. Vote yes on 67."
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