Starting next year, recreational and medical marijuana sold in Oregon must be screened for nearly 60 pesticides commonly used in cannabis cultivation.

Labs analyzing pesticides will have to be accredited by the state, a rigorous process designed to ensure they are using appropriate equipment and scientific methods.  

Labs, not growers or processors, will be required to take samples from every batch. Marijuana concentrates, which tend to be contaminated at higher levels than flowers, must be tested before they go onto store shelves or used to make edible products.  

And marijuana that tests at levels higher than what the state allows must be destroyed under the watchful eye of a state regulator.  

What a thriving business it is for Marijuana shop owners in Oregon as news reveals more places to get pot in the state.

Latest news has revealed that the number of Marijuana shops have increased in the state of Oregon, and it's mostly because of medical requirements although recreational use has already been legalized.

As part of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission's rules and regulations regarding the sale of recreational marijuana, all marijuana businesses that operate in the state must be majority owned by a legal resident of Oregon, who has lived in the state for more than two years. Experts in the marijuana industry say the rule is unnecessarily restrictive and may be a social justice issue, and they are working to change it.

What does our nation’s capital Washington D.C., Alaska, Washington, Oregon and Colorado have in common? Their economy is rapidly growing due to a huge spark in the use of recreational marijuana. Among the most common, Colorado, there are four other areas where the recreational use of the plant is legal. Since then, four out of the five areas discluding Alaska, fall onto MSN’s top ten best economies in the country. There are also 18 other states that have legalized the medicinal use of cannabis as well.

By Anthony Johnson

People are advocating for medical marijuana for ‘less than pure reasons,’ says Edward Bednarczyk

BUFFALO, N.Y. – When medical marijuana dispensaries in Oregon opened their doors to sell to anyone who is 21 years or older last month, the lines between recreation and medicine were officially blurred, said Edward Bednarczyk, PharmD, pharmacy practice chair in the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

What seemed like a long shot has turned out to be the best option available. And it’s natural.

(COLORADO SPRINGS, CO.) - A young man named Coltyn Turner may turn out to be an integral cog in the wheel that gets the Federal government to pay attention to patients benefiting from cannabis as medicine. In fact, Coltyn would greatly appreciate some time with the President of the United States.

He would tell President Obama that cannabis saved his life.

2 years ago, Coltyn Turner was dying from Crohn's Disease. He was diagnosed at age 11, though he suffered from the condition since birth.

By 13, “I was so weak I was writing my own will,” said Coltyn Turner. Today, he is a thriving 15-year old.

Oregon's breweries and dispensaries offer lessons for how policymakers might nurture a small-business comeback.

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. — At first, Jon Turner was just a software guy who really liked to brew beer. He cooked up two batches a week in his kitchen and kept his hard-drinking friends well supplied. He once brewed one pale ale over and over for a year to get it just right. In 2011, at a national conference of home brewers, he fell under the spell of a panel called “Going Pro.”

SAM Oregon is an affiliate of the national SAM organization, led by prohibitionist Kevin Sabet. I find it hilarious that SAM Oregon uses Ben Carson to support marijuana prohibition. SAM Oregon posted a quote from Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson where he states his opposition to marijuana legalization.

SALEM, Ore. — Indoor growing operations for legal marijuana businesses are causing problems for Oregon’s electrical grid, according to officials from electrical utility company.

Pacific Power said Wednesday that Oregon marijuana grow operations have taken grids above capacity, blowing out seven transformers since July and causing outages and equipment damage, reported The Statesman Journal.

The problems are a remnant of marijuana’s black market past, when substandard electrical work powered the lights at growing sites.