Oregonians could be able to buy marijuana for recreational use much sooner than anticipated.
State lawmakers Thursday debated whether to allow retail pot sales as soon as next month.
While it will be legal for adults to grow and use marijuana starting July 1, you won't legally be able to buy or sell it until retail shops go online next year. That's led some officials to joke that anyone with pot on July 1 will have benefited from an immaculate conception.
Now, lawmakers are considering a plan to allow medical marijuana dispensaries to sell pot to recreational users. That idea pleases Donald Morse, who owns a dispensary in Portland.
"I think it's in the best interest of everyone that we give them a means to obtain marijuana as soon as possible,” he said.
No decision's been made yet. Some lawmakers say they're concerned the state isn't ready for a huge increase in legal marijuana sales.
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