As Oregon hits the 10-year mark this month for its Adult Use cannabis program, the most frustrating aspect is where within Pacific Wonderland one may legally consume cannabis.

The short answer is within your home, or front/back yard, provided you have a fence or other view blocking structures. This is to prevent those under the age of 21 from seeing you do pot weed, which could result in…something, probably dire. #wontsomeonePLEASEthinkofthechidren.

If you choose to leave your home, your options are limited. You may not consume on sidewalks, in alleys, doorways, cars, parks, benches, beaches, rivers, bridges, fields, or anywhere indoors. You may consume in an outdoor space, with the aforementioned view blocking barriers in place, so long as the space is not near a school, daycare, etc.

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Cody Weiss

Mind you, as anyone with a functioning nose can attest, those laws are roundly ignored, with joints, blunts and bongs being lit up by scofflaws often. The enforcement against public cannabis consumption isn’t a top shelf priority for police in most places, so those who choose to partake publicly aren’t fearful of imprisonment or hefty fines.

It’s the height of hypocrisy to charge a 20% tax on products which you then forbid people to use publicly. Tokers simply wish to be treated on par with users of another intoxicating adult product – alcohol. To keep people from drinking in public, Oregon regulates and enforces alcohol consumption spaces such as bars, cafes, restaurants, festivals, grocery stores, beer stores, concerts, street fairs, and many, many more.

Legal indoor spaces for those 21 and over to use cannabis have existed both here and abroad, and at present 12 states allow licensed spaces for indoor consumption, all of which prohibit alcohol sales. I’ve had the opportunity to visit cannabis cafes in Canada, San Francisco, and was a regular patron at the late, great Portland-based, membership-based Northwest Cannabis Club (NWCC), which I reviewed way back in 2017.

None were located in a dispensary, you couldn’t purchase cannabis, an entry fee of $5-$10 was charged, and a variety of smoking and vaping implements were available for use at n/c, along with non-infused food and drinks for purchase. Despite fears of regulators, the most disruptive activity during my visits to all these spaces was hearing patrons coughing after a sizable hit. No one passed out, started a fight, did lines off the table, etc.

At NWCC, I spoke with other members who shared that the club allowed them their only legal indoor consumption option, as they lived in federal housing where cannabis use could result in eviction. It also gave them a much needed space to socialize with others, a critical benefit for those whose health, age and mobility had limited their options.

But after a decade of legalization, it begs the question: what’s the problem with cannabis consumption spaces, and will Oregon ever get any again? A new ballot initiative effort by the Oregon Cannabis Cafe Coalition to allow licensed cannabis consumption cafes and lounges has passed the first hurdle for appearing on the November 2026 Oregon ballot. Once the first round of recently submitted signatures are certified, OCCC will need to collect another 120,000+ signatures to get onto the ballot. If passed, it would go into effect Jan. 1, 2027.

Proving once again that if you want things done, get a woman on it, OCCC’s founder Justyce Seith has been taking on this Herculean task solo, and needs the support of Oregon’s cannabis consumers to make this happen.

As she shared with Marijuana Moment, the cannabis social lounges would prohibit alcohol and cannabis sales, close by 2 a.m., and the licenses to operate one “…would be available only to small cannabis business licensees, known in the state as microbusinesses.” As indoor smoking or vaping, other than a private residence, violates Oregon’s Clean Indoor Act, the initiative would exempt the lounges through a range of air cleaning and monitoring actions.

Seith told Marijuana Moment that her most pressing need is to raise money “…for professional petitioners, billboard advertisements, web design and community events,” as well as gathering those 120,000 signatures.

—Get details at their website or IG account @orcannacafec.