OCTA 2012
The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act 2012, or OCTA 2012, is a proposed Oregon law that would create a state license to allow possession, sale and (most importantly) private cultivation of marijuana. This law is the realization of what pro-legalization proponents have voiced. The thought is that, by legalizing it, the popular consumption of a relatively harmless drug (compared to tobacco or alcohol) will migrate from petty criminality to state revenue source.
Some critics of the act point out that the license will serve to encourage unlicensed marijuana cultivation. This is oddly similar to the support of the Alcohol prohibition of the 1920's.
Timeline
- On March 28, 2011, the state gave permission for organizers to begin canvassing for signatures to put the law on the ballot (see PortlandWiki news blurb).