The 2023 Oregon legislative session kicked off yesterday. It’s a regular session this year, meaning we’re in for a longer stretch– a 160 day calendar, versus the 35 day affair we see in even-numbered years.
Following November’s elections, the state government also looks quite different than the last few years, from the Governor’s office on down. For this reason, contacts I’ve spoken with in the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) and elsewhere are reticent to forecast what may happen with cannabis laws.
For its part, the reinvigorated Oregon Cannabis Association (OCA) has voiced a request of “do no harm.” Specifically, it has also voiced opposition to any local tax increase (could be a real fight), thrown support behind social consumption (like every year; not happening) and addressing wasteful and onerous packaging requirements (a good idea).
Below, I’m going to summarize the draft bills currently teed up for this new session. Before I start, a similar caveat to last year: a majority of these introduced or enrolled bills will not pass. Certain early offerings will fall aside, or be consolidated into an omnibus or “Christmas tree” bill. We tend to see one of those bigger bills each session, alongside work around
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