Oregon Governor Signs Bill Allowing Marijuana Businesses To Provide ‘Trade Samples’ At Industry Events

The governor of Oregon has signed a bill into law that will allow marijuana businesses to offer samples of their products at trade events, while removing restrictions on wholesale transactions between cannabis companies at those gatherings.

About a week after the measure from Sens. Floyd Prozanski (D) and James Manning, Jr. (D) advanced through the legislature, Gov. Tina Kotek (D) gave it final approval on Wednesday.

The law will allow licensed marijuana producers, processors, wholesalers and retailers to provide “trade samples” of their products to other cannabis companies at trade shows and temporary events registered with the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC). It will not, however, allow the general public to receive samples if they aren’t permitted workers in the industry.

The measure also removes a restriction that currently mandates a 24-hour waiting period after a wholesaler transaction is made with another company before the product could be provided, with the goal of minimizing costs associated with transporting cannabis after the event ends.

Producers will be able to offer seeds and samples of immature plants to permitted cannabis workers, within the possession limits dictated under state statute.

Following the bill’s passage in the Senate, Tucker Holland, co-founder of the Oregon-based marijuana company Entourage Cannabis, told KOIN that the legislation could help give the industry a more effective means of promoting transparency and quality control by dissolving burdensome regulations at trade events.

“Overly burdensome regulations—particularly those that no longer serve the original purpose—can unintentionally fuel the very issues they were meant to prevent,” he said. “When legitimate operators are hamstrung by outdated rules it creates gaps that the illicit market is all too eager to fill.”

In a similar vein, Colorado lawmakers sent a bill to Gov. Jared Polis (D) earlier this month that would make a series of changes to the state’s marijuana laws, including revisions to help more people participate the industry and reduce certain regulatory restrictions on cannabis businesses.

The measure also proposes a policy change that would make it so any worker employed by a retailer with an occupational license could receive cannabis samples from a licensed business up to 20 days per month. As it currently stands, marijuana cultivators and manufacturers can only provide samples of their products to managers of cannabis retailers for research and development purposes.

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Meanwhile in Oregon, a Portland resident recently filed a second prospective ballot measure aimed at legalizing social consumption areas for marijuana, introducing it little more than a month after submitting a similar proposal that would legalize cannabis cafes.

Separately, a federal judge recently blocked a voter-approved law mandating that cannabis licensees enter into labor peace agreements with workers.

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