Oregon ended marijuana prohibition at midnight Wednesday, joining Colorado, Washington state, Alaska and the District of Columbia in legalizing recreational use of the drug.
The new law means Oregon likely will reap benefits that appear to have followed legalization elsewhere: Reduced crime, from a legal industry supplanting a black market; higher tax revenue, once weed is legal to sell; and police forces and courts unburdened by droves of misdemeanor pot offenders.
Oregon voters in November approved Measure 91 with 56 percent of the vote. As of now, adults 21 and older can legally possess up to eight ounces of marijuana inside their home and up to one ounce outside. Adults can grow up to four plants per household, out of public view.
Sign of the times.
(Score: 4, Informative) by tathra on Thursday July 02 2015, @08:13PM
all one has to do is look to Portugal [mic.com] to see the validity of the claims, all except for higher tax revenue and legal industry supplanting the black market since all they did was decriminalize.
drug use is way down, rates of infections of diseases associated with IV use is way down, drug-releated deaths are way down, significant drop in crime, etc. and this is only with a half-assed solution. legalization is definitely the optimal solution to the drug problem.