Oregon Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Prepare for Early Retail Sales

Marijuana goes on sale in just a few short weeks... here's what you need to know

"Girl Scout Cookies" Photo courtesy: Cannamedicine (Crystal Young, photographer)

(SALEM, Ore.) - Effective October 1, 2015 registered medical marijuana dispensaries in Oregon will be able to sell limited marijuana products to adults 21 years or older. "Early sales" of recreational marijuana includes seeds, dried leaves and flowers, and immature marijuana plants.

If a medical marijuana dispensary intends to sell to the recreational customers, the dispensary must notify the Medical Marijuana Dispensary Program five or more days before starting retail sales.

The form for dispensaries to apply to sell recreationally will be available on or before September 24, 2015, at mmj.oregon.gov, just six days before they are to open their doors to a completely new target market.

Beyond "early sales", OLCC applications for a license to grow, process, or sell marijuana for recreational use will be available by January 4, 2016, as is required by Measure 91. Learn more at www.oregon.gov/olcc

Opted Out Stays Out of Bounds

There are 345 approved medical marijuana dispensaries in Oregon. Not all of them will have recreational "early sales" available. Under HB 3400, local governments are allowed to opt out of allowing medical marijuana dispensaries or processing sites.

If a dispensary is located in a city or county that has adopted an ordinance prohibiting retail sales of marijuana, the dispensary is not eligible to participate in the early sales of limited marijuana products.

13 cities and 6 counties in Oregon have opted out of retail sales (see LIST), and about half of them will be visiting the marijuana sales question in their next general election.

A copy of the final rules regarding early sales is expected to be released on September 24th, 2015.

Buying Marijuana By the Book

• Only one quarter ounce of dried leaves and flower may be purchased by a retail customer in one day.
• There is no limit on the number or amount of seeds that can be sold to a customer.
• A medical marijuana dispensary may only sell 4 immature marijuana plants to the same individual between October 1, 2015 and December 31, 2016.
• Concentrates, extracts, edibles, topicals and other marijuana products may only be sold to OMMP patients and caregivers.
• The use of delivery or courier services is not allowed.
• Free giveaways, samples or otherwise giving or sharing marijuana products other than the limited marijuana products listed above (concentrates, extracts, edibles, topicals or other marijuana products) to retail customers is not allowed inside or outside of the dispensary.
• Each retail customer’s valid government issued ID must be checked to ensure that the individual is 21 or older before entry into the dispensary and before a purchase is made.
• A dispensary must collect a tax of 25% on all limited retail marijuana product sales starting January 4, 2016 under rules to be adopted by the Department of Revenue.

Documentation of Pot Transactions

• A dispensary is not required to document the name of the retail customer to whom a limited marijuana product was sold.
• A dispensary must develop a written policy that specifically outlines the steps it will take to ensure that no more than the allowed amount of retail marijuana product is sold to one person in a day.
• The transaction must be captured in the Point of Sale system and include the following:
  o The type of marijuana product sold
  o The amount of marijuana product sold
  o The birth date of the individual who bought the product
  o The sale price
  o The date of the sale
  

Any dispensary that is found to be violating an early retail sales rule will be prohibited from continuing to sell limited retail marijuana products to individuals. In addition, a dispensary’s registration may be suspended or revoked.

All of this is still just a temporary situation. Once "rec" retailers are in place, medical dispensaries will no longer be allowed to sell limited retail marijuana products ...after December 31, 2016.

Sources: Oregon Health Authority; Measure 91; and others

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