OREGON

OLCC begins licensing adult-use businesses

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission begins accepting recreational license applications; from January 2017 only OLCC-licensed businesses may sell to the adult-use market, ending the medical-dispensary bridge.

Early adult-use sales begin

Recreational sales start through existing medical dispensaries under emergency legislation, after Gov. Kate Brown signed a bill moving the launch date up a full year. Purchases were temporarily tax-free.

Possession and home grow legal

Measure 91 takes effect: adults 21+ may possess up to one ounce in public, keep up to eight ounces at home, and grow up to four plants per household.

Voters approve Measure 91

Oregon voters legalize adult-use cannabis about 56-44, becoming the third state (tied with Alaska) to do so, with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission tasked to regulate and tax it.

Voters legalize medical cannabis (Measure 67)

The Oregon Medical Marijuana Act establishes one of the nation’s earliest medical programs, allowing qualifying patients to grow or designate a grower.

First state to decriminalize cannabis

Oregon becomes the first U.S. state to decriminalize possession of small amounts, reducing it to a civil fine akin to a traffic ticket — a national first decades ahead of legalization.