Former Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury has officially endorsed Measure 80 on the November ballot that would replace Oregon’s system of marijuana prohibition with a taxation-and-regulation model that would allow adults 21 and older to purchase cannabis at state-licensed stores only.

“Our nation’s war on drugs has really been, for decades now, a war on Americans of color and our poorest, most vulnerable citizens, and the ban on agricultural hemp has been the collateral damage,” says Bradbury in a press release Sept. 19 from Roy Kaufmann at Yes on 80.

Bradbury served 14 years in the Oregon Legislature before serving two terms as Oregon’s secretary of state. “I urge my fellow Oregonians to vote yes on Measure 80, which is an historic opportunity to show our fellow Americans a way to end the failed drug war, begin a new, sensible approach to marijuana, and restore hemp to our farmers and hi-tech entrepreneurs for biofuel, textiles, and advanced manufacturing,” he says.

Oregon is already among the nation’s biggest importers of hemp. But, under the current set of marijuana and hemp laws, hemp-product companies in Oregon are forced to import their raw hemp oil and fiber from countries like China, which makes those Oregon-made products less cost-competitive, says Kaufmann. Measure 80 would allow Oregon farmers to grow hemp to be sold to Oregon’s hemp food, biofuel, and textile companies, which would keep money in our economy and create many living-wage jobs around the state.

“When we repeal marijuana prohibition, we remove the number one barrier to re-introducing agricultural hemp into our sustainable economy,” says Yes on 80 chief petitioner Paul Stanford. “With one simple act of voting yes on 80, Oregon voters can end the drug war, regulate marijuana responsibly, and restore hemp for farmers and small business.”

To learn more about Measure 80, visit www.vote80.org or http://octa2012.org

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