Starting in July, Oregon residents will be allowed to possess recreational marijuana, but not to buy or sell it—so instead they’re giving it away.
According to the Statesman Journal, retail shops are unlikely to be licensed to open until the fall of 2016. The state won’t be accepting applications for growers and retailers until the beginning of 2016.
And Oregon residents can’t even hop over to Washington, where marijuana is legal to buy, and bring it back home—transporting it across the border is still illegal, and carries the risk of prosecution under federal law.
It is, however, legal to grow up to four plants on a private residence, and you can give it away (to adults over 21) for free.
Free weed events are already popping up across the state, starting at midnight on Tuesday, when Portland’s National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law (NORML) chapter will give away small amounts of marijuana and marijuana seeds to adults with ID.
“We’re calling it a celebration of the midnight hour,” Russ Belville, head of Portland NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) told the Statesman Journal. “Where adults will be allowed to give it away rather than allowing the black market to thrive on our new legality.”
According to TIME, another free weed event in North Portland on July 3, “Weed the People,” will allow attendees to consume or take home up to 7 grams of “free” marijuana—after paying the $40 entry fee.
“This is more than free weed. This is more than vendors, food and vapes,” the event page declares. “This is history in the making! Join us for a day to remember!”
