SALEM, Ore. – A Salem judge has ruled against putting a second marijuana legalization measures on Oregon's ballot.
Meanwhile, the owner of what's billed as a medical marijuana "resource center" in Eugene has been charged with illegal pot dealing and money laundering.
Legalization proposals
The Statesman Journal reports the decision from Judge Mary James on Wednesday upholds a secretary of state decision that the measure didn't have enough valid signatures.
One legalization proposal has made the November ballot as Measure 80. It would authorize the state to regulate cultivation of the drug and tax it. Similar proposals are on the ballot in Washington and Colorado.
The failed measure would have amended the Oregon Constitution to legalize marijuana use by adults and allow lawmakers to regulate it in connection with children and public safety. It was silent on whether the state could tax it.
Thursday is the deadline for getting measures on the ballot.
Police raid
The operation, called Kannabosm, provides marijuana to people who use the drug legally for medical reasons.
The Eugene Register-Guard reports police arrested the owner last week. An affidavit says patrons paid not only membership fees but also street prices for marijuana. The medical marijuana laws don't allow sales.
The owner is 58-year-old Curtis Dean Shimmin (SHI-min). He hasn't appeared in court. In a Facebook post Monday, he said raids at Kannabosm and his properties involved illegal seizures of medical marijuana.
He has argued in a Register-Guard interview the transactions aren't technically sales. Instead, he says, they offset grower expenses and "storage and handling" at Kannabosm.
