cannabisnews.com: Introduction To The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act





Introduction To The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act
Posted by FoM on September 16, 1999 at 09:15:55 PT
Source: CRRH
The Cannabis Tax Act (CTA), which would reform state marijuana laws, is sponsored by the political action committee, Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp (CRRH).
Our volunteer efforts to place the first CTA, the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act (OCTA), on the ballot for a vote in November 1996 gathered over 56,000 of the 73,261 signatures we needed to qualify. We made it two-thirds of the way on our first try, with less than $10,000. In 1998, we started again from zero and this time gathered an additional 70,092 signatures of the 73,261 required. Our organization is many times larger and stronger now and we are certain that we will qualify for OCTA within a year. We will then move on to force a vote on this issue in Washington, California, and beyond, to place CTAs on the statute books across America. We will keep doing so until we win and cannabis is legally regulated. Your help is greatly needed to gather those signatures and to present our case to voters. Please register to vote and help us. If you can, please consider making a money contribution. Every donation demonstrates our grass-roots support. Please contact us. Please note: Since OCTA is the model we have been primarily working with to date, its specifics are discussed here in detail. However, many of the references to OCTA will apply to other state's future proposals. About OCTA The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act (OCTA) will regulate the sale of cannabis in state-run package stores. We estimate that hundreds of millions of dollars will be raised each year for state revenue, perhaps more than 20 percent of a state's total budget, 90 percent of which will go to the state general fund, 8 percent to drug-abuse treatment programs, 1 percent to drug education and 1 percent to create and fund an agricultural committee that promotes hemp fiber, protein and oil crops and industries. We will take that money out of the underground economy and regulate an untaxed market that constitutes Oregon's largest industry. By allowing responsible adults to purchase marijuana in state package stores, we will stop the ongoing decline in social services and state educational funding for public schools and colleges, provide money for other state programs and lower the state legislature's ability to raise taxes for these programs on the general population. We want to emphasize that OCTA will save Oregonians money for their own use, rather than require them to pay more taxes for state programs. OCTA will raise tens of millions of dollars each year to fund substance-abuse treatment upon demand for alcoholics and other addicts. Currently, 90 percent of these people are turned away when they seek treatment. OCTA is the solution. In Oregon, the sale of distilled alcohol products is controlled by a state-run monopoly; OCTA will use this existing infrastructure to regulate the manufacture and sale of marijuana, while minimizing start-up costs to the state. This also helps ensure that OCTA will be upheld in the inevitable federal court challenge that will follow its passage, since international treaties mandate the system of controls OCTA implements. OCTA will let doctors ameliorate or even end the suffering of many patients with a diverse assortment of illnesses and injuries. Marijuana is much safer, more effective and less costly than many alternatives currently in use. OCTA will also deregulate the industrial production of hemp fiber, seed oil and protein crops. The cannabis sativa plant produces more fiber, protein and oil than any other plant on earth. Hemp paper and fuel are not capital intensive and can be produced on a local basis with comparatively little money. Let's put economic control back into local hands and create thousands upon thousands of sustainable jobs by passing OCTA. OCTA will put Oregon on the cutting edge of exciting new developments that are environmentally sustainable and economically profitable. We will create thousands of new jobs in the energy industry -- the biggest business there is -- as well as in the paper, fiberboard and textile industries. Tourism will boom! At the same time, OCTA will return much control to our farmers, and away from the multinational industries that dominate our political process and destroy our environment. These capital-intensive, non-sustainable, and environmentally destructive industries have usurped our economic resources and clear-cut huge tracts of the world's forests, given us massive oil spills, wars, toxic waste, massive worldwide pollution, global warming and the destruction of entire ecosystems. Prohibiting the cultivation of this ancient plant, the most productive source of fiber, oil and protein on our planet, is evil. In its place we have industries that give us processes and products that have led to unprecedented ecological crisis and worldwide destruction of the biological heritage that we should bequeath to our children, grandchildren and future generations. OCTA was carefully crafted over a period of years, with the input of dozens of people. The first third of the text, or Preamble, is a finding by the people, giving the reasons we are breaking from federal drug scheduling. The Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp (CRRH) needs money, computers, equipment, and, most of all, volunteers to petition. Please help us restore freedom to America. Please help OCTA! We need your help to make this happen. Please do what you can. Even a few dollars will enable us to mail petition sheets to supporters around Oregon. Copyright © CRRH http://www.crrh.org/ http://www.crrh.org/octa/intro.html
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #1 posted by Andrew T. Owens on May 27, 2001 at 10:01:16 PT:
legalization of marijauna
I think it would be very exciting if Oregon was to be the very first state to legalize marijauna. Not only would our economy grow but other states would hopefully follow in our footsteps and who knows, maybe people would be nicer to eachother once in a while.
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: