KATE BROWN Governor August 22, 2017 The Honorable Jefferson B. Sessions US. Department of Justice Of?ce of Legislative Affairs Main Justice Building, Room 1145 950 Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 Dear Mr. Attorney General: Thank you for your response to the April 3, 2017 four governor letter regarding potential changes to the Cole Memorandum. Since your appointment as United States Attorney General, Oregon has been quick to engage both the United States Attorney?s Of?ce for the District of Oregon and the Department of Justice Central Of?ce on this issue. This engagement has been with an toward cooperation and education. Oregon shares many of the concerns you raised in your letter relating to diversion and usage of marijuana by minors. My of?ce recently gave a presentation to the attorneys you have tasked with evaluating states with regulated, legalized marijuana. See Exhibit A (?Oregon Marijuana Regulation?) This presentation was aimed at demonstrating the ways in which Oregon has worked to ensure compliance with the Cole Memorandum since the January 2017 inception of our legalized marketplace. To be sure that you have heard about them directly from me, I would like to highlight some of the key points from this presentation: 0 As of January 2017, all recreational marijuana sold through the state-licensed marketplace in Oregon is tracked ?from seed to sale,? utilizing the ?Cannabis Tracking System.? Radio frequency identi?cation tags are used in conjunction with strict security and camera requirements to ensure that product is not diverted at any stage. 0 Oregon Senate Bill 1057, a bill I supported and which I signed into law on May 30, 2017, now places all medical marijuana sold though the state-licensed marketplace into the same ?seed to sale? tracking system as recreational marijuana. This bill also institutes more strict plant limitations on marijuana growers. 254 STATE CAPITOL, SALEM OR 97301-4047 (503) 378-31 1 1 FAX (503) 378-8970 as The Honorable Jefferson B. Sessions August 22, 2017 Page 2 0 Oregon Senate Bill 302, a bill I supported and which I signed into law on April 21, 2017, increases criminal penalties for marijuana crimes such as unlawful extraction and so-called ?super possession.? The bill also makes it easier to prosecute the unlawful import and export of marijuana products, a provision speci?cally aimed at stopping diversion of marijuana across Oregon?s borders. 0 Oregon boasts the most robust testing regime of any state to legalize marijuana. This testing regime speci?cally addresses the Cole Memorandum tenet to avoid exacerbation of any public health consequences associated with legalization. The Oregon Health Authority has already begun a public communications campaign entitled ?Stay True to You,? which is directed to preventing marijuana use by minors. Additional tax revenue is earmarked with this speci?c goal in mind for the future. 0 Robust security and ID requirements at retail stores ensure that all product is separated from publicly accessible areas by a closed and locked security door, and that no minor can access or even view marijuana products. 0 Oregon continues to dialog with our partners in other states that have legalized marijuana in some form. These continued conversations allow us to foster best practices when it comes to compliance with the Cole Memorandum. Despite the concerns surrounding legalization of marijuana, there can be no denying that Oregon has bene?tted from this industry. Oregon has already realized $60.2 million in revenue and created over 16,000 jobs for Oregonians. Tax revenue from the marijuana industry is used to fund schools, to provide mental health and drug treatment and to assist both state and local law enforcement. This does not even take into account cost savings to the criminal justice system. As stated in the April 3, 2017 letter, a dismantling of the Cole Memorandum would have the opposite effect, driving existing lawful product into the unregulated black market and funding criminal enterprise. You discuss in your letter the January 2017 dra? report by the Oregon State Police. It is important to understand that this draft report does not (and frankly does not purport to), re?ect the ?on the ground? reality in Oregon in 2017. This document was originally meant to provide a baseline understanding of the state of things related to marijuana in Oregon prior to legalization. Of course, such a baseline provides little insight into the effectiveness of Oregon?s post- legalization regulatory measures aimed at Cole Memorandum compliance. Indeed, Oregon?s fully tracked and regulated marketplace only began in January 2017. There are additional concerns with the draft report. The Oregon State Police determined that the draft report required signi?cant additional work and revision, because the data was inaccurate and the heavily extrapolated conclusions were incorrect. After this determination was made, an individual leaked the knowingly and deeply ?awed draft report to the media. I would draw your attention to the sources relied upon in the document, which include an assortment of random blog and newspaper articles that should hardly form the basis of an informed policy discussion. See Exhibit (?Letter from Oregon State Police Superintendent Travis Hampton?) The Honorable Jefferson B. Sessions August 22, 2017 Page 3 I am con?dent that Oregon?s regulated marketplace, coupled with our enforcement work, will serve to ensure compliance with the Cole Memorandum. My staff looks forward to continuing its work with both the United States Attorney?s Of?ce for the District of Oregon and your of?ce in Washington DC to end black market marijuana operations, and to provide mutual education and support of our legal and regulated marketplace. To those ends, I look forward to a continued partnership. Respectfully, (n Governor Kate Brown Enclosures: Exhibit A ?Oregon Marijuana Regulation? Exhibit ?Letter from Oregon State Police Superintendent Travis Hampton