Oregon Ballot Measure 67 (1998)

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Oregon Ballot Measure 67 of 1998, was an initiative petition which made Oregon the first state in the United States to legalize medical marijuana. The measure passed on November 3, 1998, by a margin of 54.6% to 45.4%.[1]

The measure made it legal for those with a "debilitating medical condition" to obtain doctor's permission to legally possess a small amount of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Some of the illness which qualify under the act include: cachexia; cancer; chronic pain; epilepsy and other disorders characterized by seizures; glaucoma; HIV or AIDS; multiple sclerosis and other disorders characterized by muscle spasticity; and nausea. Patients who have obtained permission (or their primary caregivers) may legally possess no more than three ounces of usable marijuana, and may cultivate no more than seven marijuana plants, of which no more than three may be mature. Approximately 10,500 cards have been issued to date. [2]

Groups supporting the ballot measure included Oregonians for Medical Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union who stated that medical marijuana was a way to manage pain of those who were suffering from medical conditions. The measure was opposed by various groups including the Christian Coalition,Oregonians Against Dangerous Drugs and then Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Noelle who claimed legalizing marijuana would be dangerous. [3]

Ballot Measure 33 was rejected by the voters in 2004 and would have expanded the law, allowing the creation of nonprofit state-licensed dispensaries, that could produce the drug and sell it to patients. The dispensaries would have been required to provide the drug to indigent patients for free. If, after six months of the measure's passage, a county lacked a dispensary, the county health division would have been granted a license to open a dispensary. The measure would also have increased to 6 lb (2.72 kg) the limit of marijuana that the patient may possess.

In 2005, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 1085, which took effect on January 1, 2006. The bill raises the quantity of cannabis that authorized patients may possess from seven plants (with no more than three mature) and three ounces of cannabis to six mature cannabis plants, 18 immature seedlings, and 24 ounces of usable cannabis. The bill also change the penalty for exceeding the amount allowed for state-qualified patients. The new guidelines will no longer give patients the ability to argue an "affirmative defense" of medical necessity at trial. Also patients who fail to register with the state, but who possess medical cannabis in amounts compliant with state law, still retain the ability to raise an "affirmative defense" at trial. [4]