CO Works to Save the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program
Salem, OR – Compassionate Oregon is leading efforts to preserve the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) as declining enrollment threatens its financial sustainability. Senate Bill 176, introduced through the Senate Judiciary Committee, seeks to address budget shortfalls, enhance patient protections, and improve industry standards through expanded budtender education requirements.
Under SB 176, several significant reforms would be implemented:
• Reduced Regulatory Burden for Patients: Patients will no longer need to register personal grow sites with the state or track cultivation and transfer activities. Additionally, all grow site oversight, inspections, and enforcement would be repealed.
• Modernized Medical Cannabis Cards: The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) would transition from physical cards to a fully digital/electronic system.
• Improved Dispensary Standards: Dispensaries would be required to carry low-potency flower products, and retail staff would undergo enhanced education to better serve medical patients.
• Consolidated Cannabis Data: OMMP, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC), the Department of Agriculture, and the state reference lab would centralize cannabis-related data for streamlined product evaluation.
• Grow Site Transition and Expanded Access: Grow sites serving three or more patients will transition into the OLCC system, while growers with three or more patients will be reclassified under OHA/OMMP rules as “exclusively medical producers.” These growers will have expanded access to OLCC licensees, greater participation in the adult-use market, and the ability to provide cannabis to any registered medical patient.
Since its inception in 1999, OMMP has served over 300,000 Oregonians, from minors to seniors,
providing protections and privileges beyond those available to adult-use consumers. The
program has historically been funded through patient and grower fees. However, since the
legalization of recreational cannabis, OMMP enrollment has plummeted from nearly 80,000
patients at its peak to just 15,000 today.
This decline has also severely impacted designated grower participation. The number of grow
sites with three or more patients has dropped by over 95%, from 4,200 sites to just 150 today,
leaving many patients without affordable access to medical cannabis.
Budget reports now indicate that the program’s declining enrollment has created a significant
funding shortfall, jeopardizing its ability to cover administrative costs. Compassionate Oregon is
advocating for SB 176 as a solution to ensure OMMP’s survival and maintain essential services
for patients who rely on medical cannabis for their health and well-being.