[Rolando Mota]

One of the weeklies wrote a hopeful article entitled IN WEED WE TRUST.

Conversations with Elfstrom, law-enforcement officials, judges and physicians, along with an analysis of existing data, suggest that the pot genie is out of the bottle. Medical marijuana has helped to legitimize pot culture in Oregon. Even the Supreme Court's recent ruling will have little effect. With all the other pressing problems out there, society seems to be passing pot prohibition by.
...
Of course, the fact that a lot of pot is grown here does not automatically mean a lot of pot is smoked here. But other data suggests that is true. Oregonians might be surprised to know that, according to a federal survey done in 2002-2003, almost 9 percent of all Oregonians aged 12 or over had smoked pot in the past month, as compared with a 6.2 percent average nationwide. Put another way, Oregonians were 43 percent more likely to have smoked weed in the last month than the average American.
...
But perhaps the most striking sign of weed's acceptance is that people who years ago were unwilling to talk about marijuana laws now do so without much prodding.

There may be no one tougher on crime in Oregon than Steve Doell, the hardcore conservative leader of Crime Victims United and the prime mover behind Measure 11, the state's minimum-sentencing law. He says he smoked pot in college and recalls, "As far as I was concerned, it was a great sleeping pill. It put me out." And though he's anti-drugs now, "I think it's probably a waste of time to use law enforcement to chase down people who have small amounts of marijuana for personal use," he says. "You certainly don't hear about many potheads going out and doing violent crime." As for federal laws on pot, he says, if the horror stories he hears about federal mandatory minimums on marijuana are true, "there's something wrong there."

Others feel even the penalties for illegal growers may be too stiff. "We make very serious life changes for people, and I'm not sure it's the right thing," says Multnomah County Circuit Judge Nely Johnson.

Currently, if you are busted with an ounce or less of marijuana in Portland, you face only a misdemeanor violation-a $500 ticket. Only for quantities above that do you face a potential felony, but the quantities must be very large to get any jail time. And you can get your first felony erased by signing up for drug treatment through Multnomah's drug court, called STOP.

Judge Beckman, former head of the STOP court, believes weed should be further decriminalized. He says society's acceptance of marijuana use-medical or otherwise-keeps growing, and the criminal-justice system has not kept pace-especially in federal courts, which he calls "draconian."

"My feeling is that the criminal-justice system is not really solving the problem," he says, adding that the focus should be on treatment, not incarcerations.

Beckman's and Johnson's concerns may be legitimate, but the fact is that the criminal-justice system in Portland has substantially already decriminalized pot, simply by choosing to prosecute it less.

While there seems to be more pot and more pot smokers-legal and illegal-than ever, the "war on pot," once a major source of controversy in Portland (see "Knock, Knock, You're Busted," WW, March 10, 1999), has virtually ceased. According to the Portland Police Bureau, the number of arrests for marijuana has dropped by 45 percent in the past five years. The number of pot plants seized annually by Portland drug cops-which hit its peak at more than 17,000 a decade ago-is now down to just a tenth of that, at 1,725.

A big reason for this shift in priorities is the state's medical-marijuana law, police say. In Portland at least, the laws on the books regarding marijuana in Oregon appear to be joining the many other laws already gathering dust. As Multnomah County Circuit Judge Ed Jones puts it, "We're not doing much about hunting in cemeteries either-but we've got a law about it."

Perhaps the person the most keenly aware of marijuana enforcement in Portland is the county's head drug prosecutor, Mark McDonnell, a soft-spoken senior deputy district attorney who says he is no anti-pot zealot. "I smoked pot when I was a kid, I know what it's all about," he says. "And let's face it, it doesn't do you a whole lot of good to sit around and smoke pot all the time, which is what a lot of these people are doing."

His unit is struggling with dangerous drugs like meth and heroin, as well as a staffing shortage due to budget cuts. That, combined with the medical-marijuana program, is making marijuana laws "impossible to enforce," he says. When officers "investigate it, charge it, go all the way to trial and the guy claims he has an affirmative [medical-marijuana] defense...the case falls apart," says McDonnell. "We can't afford that."

As a result, "cops are essentially throwing up their hands," he says. "I don't even hardly pay attention to it anymore. [Marijuana enforcement has] become a nuisance.... Judges don't care. Generally speaking, juries don't care."

Does the dramatic drop in arrests mean there's less pot out there? "Hell, no," says McDonnell. The arrests now are driven by neighbor complaints or if the person violates what McDonnell calls "'the pig rule'-it's obvious that they are being a pig about it."

[Rolando Mota]

Here's another tidbit I noticed..

According to a 2004 DOJ report, a 1997 seizure by the Oregon State Police in Multnomah County accounts for the highest concentration of THC ever found in a sample analyzed by the federal government: 33.12 percent. The average THC level of pot in 2000 was 5 to 13 percent, according to the feds.

Nice info!!! I always like to read about stuff like this. Damn they seized some good weed!! 33.12!!?? Everyone stay safe and no being a pig about it!

[ganjarific]

Growing up in Portland, I can state that all of this is TRUE.

It was amazing to find out that the owner of Third Eye (prolly my fav economical head shop) was Herer's son.

As for the part about large amounts pot being grown in Oregon and the writer unsure of large amounts of people smoking it - about 9/10 Oregonians I know smoke. there are a lot of smokers in Portland; even more in eugene and ashland. and yes, the best outdo weed grows in the South of OR, but its all OREGANJA BABY!!!!!! even after pipe dreams and the necessary ID to get in t shops, i have seen the pot culture double in the last couple of years. its truly amazing. ive smoked pot from cali, washington, and even amsterdam. I will still hold true that my Oreganja compares to no other. medical sucks. its all about the homegrown Oregon Luv!

KEEP ON SMOKING PORTLAND! YOULL ALWAYS BE MY HOME BASE!!!

KEEP ON GROWIN GREEN OREGON

peace, luve, and smoke

-grific

[cannakid]

well i can atest to the purple kush that growes up their but medical pot in general is very very good, like the trainwreak's and the moui myst's. it all in the selective breeding of top strains to produce the ideal medical quality.

and the de-criminalization would only be soo much of a help, if our government could just look at hollands "Harm Reduction Policy" they could find a cure to the plague of organized crim, econimic bleeding, drug traficing, cultivation, and wide spread addiction. if they wher to see such drugs as meth, extacy, and coke as "hard" and cannabis and hashish as "soft" they could introduce legislation as required. so for trafficing, possesion, sale, or use of hard drugs their would be dier consiquenses treating the substances and highly addictive toxic agents. and the possesion of small amount of marijuana or consentrates for personal use would be acsepted. as with alchihol or tobacco their would be treatment programs and educational services. the generally theory behind this is that marijuana is not in any way a danger to public health exept for its current prohabition and the black market suply that has arose from its public demand, i might add that a good pesentage of this demand is for medicinal perposes.

only time will tell if its the federal government that runs this country or the citizens its made up of. till then ill be waiting with the rest of america for the sevolution of drug policy and the compleation to this long standing war on drugs.

oh ya the federal government classes marijuana as a narcoric drug. here are a few definitions as well...
{"The term "marihuana" means all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L., whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds or resin. Such term does not include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination."}

{"The term "narcotic drug" means any of the following whether produced directly or indirectly by extraction from substances of vegetable origin, or independently by means of chemical synthesis, or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis:
A) Opium, opiates, derivatives of opium and opiates, including their isomers, esters, ethers, salts, and salts of isomers, esters, and ethers, whenever the existence of such isomers, esters, ethers, and salts is possible within the specific chemical designation. Such term does not include the isoquinoline alkaloids of opium.
(B) Poppy straw and concentrate of poppy straw.
(C) Coca leaves, except coca leaves and extracts of coca leaves from which cocaine, ecgonine, and derivatives of ecgonine or their salts have been removed.
(D) Cocaine, its salts, optical and geometric isomers, and salts of isomers.
(E) Ecgonine, its derivatives, their salts, isomers, and salts of isomers.
(F) Any compound, mixture, or preparation which contains any quantity of any of the substances referred to in subparagraphs (A) through (E).
"}

now realy cant see what could cause marijuana to be clasified along with narcotics, hash meby becaus it is consentrates. but pot can be eaten fresh off the plant or dried, cured and smoked it isnt tainted in any way its actually very natural. this is why i smoke pot and dont sniff, simply enjoy the fruits of nature rather than the poisons of man. and untill a theriputically safe substance like marijuan is taken out of the rainkes between LSD and mescalin america will contunue to have a dark shadow glooming above and a general public illness of wide spread drug adiction and econimic bleeding. it would only be rational and patriotically coragious to inact this Harm Reduction policy and begin a new era, lurn a new leaf on american scociety and its relations with the world and narure. god bless...

[wikidcalibudgrl]

good info ,, and two thumbs up for the Harm Reduction policy! I only wish this country would enact such a policy. An i really don't see their connection to narcotic drugs there either,,, maybe we all should sue :LMFAO :sasmok:

hell ya got a link for that?

[cannakid]

yes Harm Reduction is my dream for america, i fermley beleave that juat as it healped the dutch with their violant crim and wide spred drug addiction it could help us out with the problems of herion, crack, and extacy, not to menchen the ever increacing epidemic of methamphetamine thoughout 47 states. and we all remember pablo escibar and the scorpian catrels right, well twenty years later and they have imigrated onto our streets and start buy buisnesses and realestate. now with theas organizations deeply rooted in american society it gives the gov. reson to spy on the privit sector ignoring our freedoms and finding any means to reduce the constitutional rights of the average american. this get horrifying when i get into john shcroft and his victory act, wich would uterly creat the crime of narco terrorizm and deam all drug dealers/traficers as terrorists and probly sent to GITMO. all the while with the flow of cocain coming at such high raits that the price is actually droping. their is great anxiety in theas days of watching our social security die off while we spend hudreds of billions of dollars over seas, first to bomb then to rebuild. it is a very blind and ignorant forign policy this "War on Terrorizm"
i can only dream of a day when our country can see the dangeres of theas toxicly addictive drugs and the safe, theraputical qualities of marijuana. when we can cut off the flow of billions of dollars of american income to forign drug cartells and and start benifiting from the hemp plant for industry, and agraculture. the potenchal for hemp is endless from paper to plastic to food products, soap, cosmetics, fertilizer, textiles, and paints. also hemp as a resorce for bio-fuil is very exiting, it is fully renuable and bio frendly. their is just soo much good that can come of the full federal decriminalization of marijuana for persional use and following up with the high penalties for 'hard' drugs would lead most addicts away from toxic chemicals and towards the theraputic sticky herbals.
when the people of our nation can accept that their is a problem with 'hard' drug addiction in this country and acknoledge the benafitial healthy effects of marijuana. i can only dream... but what a dream it is

its just a sad reality when our great legislative prosses sees marijuana as a greater threat to public health then methamphetamine, very sad indeed...

[cannakid]

the defintions came from the DEA's wb site https://www.usdoj.gov/dea/agency/csa.htm, 'The Controled Substance Act of 1970'