Medical pot bill frozen in Salem

SALEM — Lawmakers on a special joint House and Senate marijuana committee deadlocked Monday on a bill that would place a variety of new limits on the state’s medical marijuana program, creating significant uncertainty for the policy’s future.

The failure to reach agreement also threatens the committee’s key task, implementing Measure 91, the recreational marijuana legalization initiative that voters approved in November. The fight over medical marijuana has meant the committee has not passed any bills related directly to setting up the legal recreational market, with less than two months left in the scheduled session.

The committee’s obstinate disagreement involves only a small section of Senate Bill 844: whether elected leaders in cities and counties should be allowed to ban medical marijuana retailers, known as dispensaries, within their jurisdictions. When dispensaries were first authorized, the Legislature allowed local governments to do so until May 1. Twenty-six counties and 146 cities...

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http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/33078171-75/oregon-lawmakers-face-key-vote-tonight-on-medical-marijuana.html.csp