Oregon NORML holds twice-monthly meetings for our members who are Oregon Medical Marijuana Program cardholders. The meetings are held at the Village Ballroom at 700 NE Dekum, Portland, Oregon. You must be in line for the meeting and inside before Noon - the doors lock at Noon and no one is admitted after Noon.

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At these meetings, you will be able to pick up a marijuana seedling to begin your medical marijuana garden. Our expert growers will be there to answer your questions about growing. Our executive staff will inform you about the latest attempts to change Oregon's Medical Marijuana Act at the Legislature and help you get involved politically to protect and expand your rights. The meeting offers patients, caregivers, and growers to network and begin new caregiving relationships, so that the spirit of sharing medicine without profit is maintained in our state.

Cardholder Meeting Frequently Asked Questions

What time is the meeting?

The doors open for the meeting at 11:00am. The meeting itself begins at 12:00 Noon, at which time we LOCK THE FRONT DOORS. That means, if you show up at Noon, you're not getting in.

What if I'm a little bit late?

Then you are not getting in.

What if I just drove / rode a bus / crawled on my hands and knees from 100 / 200 / 300 miles away and spent my whole day just to get here and I'm a patient suffering more than anyone else ever has and I'm desperate for medicine and the bus got a flat and the dog ate my homework and I show up at 12:01pm. Can I get in?

No.

Come on, have a heart, just this once, won't you please, I won't tell anyone, I came so far, how could you not let me in, what's the big deal, please, oh please, let me in?

No.

Pretty Please?

I said no.

Why do you have to be so strict about Noon?

At Noon we start the meeting. When we start the meeting, patients are allowed to medicate. In order to medicate legally, they must be out of "public view". A locked door on a private meeting makes it out of "public view". If that front door is opened after noon, it is now "open to the public", therefore, not out of "public view", and thus over 200 cardholders would suddenly be breaking the law in order to let you in late.

OK, so I'll plan ahead a little and get there early...

Get there early. While the doors open at 11:00am, there is always a line that forms hours before that.

Hours?!? Why is that?

Because we give away plant starts and some people want to have the first pick at the best plants. While in line, you will be required to fill out paperwork. We are able to move the line inside fairly quickly once we open the doors at 11am.

What sort of paperwork do I need to fill out?

We require you to sign a statement that you recognize that marijuana is an illegal Schedule I drug according to federal law and that you will not hold Oregon NORML liable should the feds show up and arrest us. It also signifies that you understand the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act and agree to abide by its rules and the rules of Oregon NORML. You must sign this statement every time you attend a meeting, no exceptions.

What sort of requirements do I have to fulfill? Is it only open to patients, or can caregivers come? What about growers?

In order to attend, you must be a cardholder in the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. That card can be a patient, or a caregiver, or a grower, but you must have a card. If you're a patient in a wheelchair, for example, and you bring someone to help you with mobility, that person must have a caregiver card to enter. No card, no entry!

I just barely applied for my card, I haven't received it yet from the state. Can I attend?

Yes, so long as you bring the official program registration paperwork that you received from DHS upon submitting your doctors' recommendation to the state. It must bear the official DHS stamp to show it was received. If you turned your paperwork by mail, you must send it in by certified mail and show the certified letter receipt.

Do I need to bring ID?

Yes, bring your Oregon State Drivers License or Photo ID. Only Oregon cardholders may attend (sorry, Vancouverites, but law prevents us from inviting you). You must be 21 or older to attend (we are holding the meeting in a bar, after all).

Does the meeting cost anything?

No, there is no "cover charge" or "entry fee" to attend the meeting. However, you must be a member of Oregon NORML, because of the need for the meeting to be "private" and not "open to the public". You can join at the door. Memberships last for one full year and cost only $35 / year. This will grant you entry to at least 20 meetings per year, as well as provide discounts on Oregon NORML merchandise and events. We only take cash or checks.

Will you help me find a caregiver or a grower?

Not exactly. We do not run a "referral service" to pair up patients and growers and caregivers - there is too much liability and administration for us to handle. But we do provide these meetings as a "networking service". It's up to you to approach people and introduce yourself.

Will you help me find some medicine or a plant start?

Sort of. Again, we do not run any sort of "dispensary service", but we do facilitate the donations of plants and medicine from patients and growers with excess to patients and growers in need. If our members are generous and give lots of starts, we place those at our clone table and allow you to pick one out. If we get lots of medicine donations, we'll divvy it out as equally as possible to patients as they leave the meeting.

How can I donate plants and medicine to the meeting?

Show up to the line before 11am. Those with medicine or plants to donate get to move to the head of the line.

However, all plants will be inspected by one of our master growers before it is allowed to be donated. We are looking for mites, molds, fungi, or just weak plants. A stem and a leaf in a Dixie cup won't cut it. Our master grower is the final arbiter of whether your plants or medicine can be accepted.

Those who provide the most selfless public service through donations will be recognized with an award at the Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards.

What happens at the meeting?

First you stand in line and fill out your paperwork. As the line moves in, if you are a new attendee and need to join Oregon NORML, you can step out of the line to purchase your membership then get entry.

As you enter, your paperwork will be checked. Your signature will be verified against your drivers license. Your OMMA card will be inspected. If you pass all three, your hand gets stamped and you rejoin the line for entry.

Once you enter, you can stay in line to go past the clone table. This is for those who need to pick up a starter plant. Then you can find a place to sit for the meeting.

At Noon, the front door is locked and the meeting begins. Oregon NORML staff will begin by covering the latest agenda items, political campaigns, and signature drives. Part of attending these meetings is becoming a politically active citizen to defend our medical marijuana rights. Freedom ain't free.

After business is concluded, patients are allowed to medicate and everyone can network and socialize.

Is this legal?

Depends on who you ask. As far as the State of Oregon is concerned, yes. We are following the medical marijuana law. We have even had Portland Police summoned to our meeting and they have recognized our right to this meeting.

But if you ask the federal government, no, this is all illegal drug activity and could lead to severe fines and prison time. This is a negligible, but non-zero risk you must realize you are taking. We've been running for over three years without any federal scrutiny, but those doors could be broken down by DEA at any time.

However, unlike California, we are not operating a for-profit, buyer/seller market here, so we believe we are not on the federal radar.

Can I buy or sell some medicine to help myself or someone else out?

Absolutely not. THERE IS NO BUYING OR SELLING OF MARIJUANA MEDICINE OR PLANTS AT THIS MEETING! Anyone who is caught doing so will be kicked out immediately and membership revoked.

I make really neat wristbands / incense / whatever, can I sell those?

No. You may not sell any sort of product. This is our meeting. We sell stuff to help pay the rent on the hall. We don't need people's trinket money buying your incense when it should be helping cover the bills for the community.

I'd like to pass out flyers / cards / handbills for my organization / band/ church...

No. This is an Oregon NORML private meeting and you may not solicit inside our meeting or outside as people wait in line.

What's the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

What do you mean, African or European?

Are you always this grumpy?

No, but I'm writing this FAQ in response to what must be the fiftieth email I've received from a patient showing up five minutes after Noon and complaining about not being let in, complaining that nobody ever told them that they had to be in by Noon, despite the bold I've put on the website numerous times before clearly stating that the doors are locked at Noon. So don't take it personally. I like you. I really do. I apologize for my grumpiness. :-)