Questions about moving to Oregon

Hey guys!

I'm at a point in my life where I finally have the opportunity to move to the west coast and pursue a career in the recreational and mmj field. Oregon is my choice since it seems like the friendliest place for a non resident to get settled and have a chance to break into the industry. Before I make the move though I was wondering if you guys could answer some questions for me.

Will I be approved for a recreational olcc workers permit even if my current residency is out of state? Or should I wait until I move to apply?

Would trimming or if possible dispensary work open up connections to be a part in a grow?

Is there an opportunity for someone who has many succesful grows(non legal) to find a position in the current industry?

Also any tips for someone trying to make this move would be awesome.

I'm sure I'll have more questions but this is where I'm at, so any help would be great!

You, like many, many others, are making a TRAGIC mistake.

First off, you can't just move into a state and get a license. That's simply not going to happen. They're going to see it for what it is: Yet ANOTHER person moving in to take advantage of the marijuana industry.

They will in all likelihood never, ever give you a license. Ever.

You'll be sitting in line behind the 10's of thousands of people that have lived in the state all of their lives who filed long before you ever got there.

You'll end up working at a car wash wondering why the fuck you ever even considered the idea.

TacoMac said:

You, like many, many others, are making a TRAGIC mistake.

First off, you can't just move into a state and get a license. That's simply not going to happen. They're going to see it for what it is: Yet ANOTHER person moving in to take advantage of the marijuana industry.

They will in all likelihood never, ever give you a license. Ever.

You'll be sitting in line behind the 10's of thousands of people that have lived in the state all of their lives who filed long before you ever got there.

You'll end up working at a car wash wondering why the fuck you ever even considered the idea.

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This is what I need to hear to help with making a legitimate decision.

Im not applying for a producers license just the workers permit required to touch recreational marijuana

The list of approved licenses for just the workers permit shows only 54 have been denied and only a couple hundred in the process of being approved

Looks like there isn't to many in limbo either

ajd0003 said:

This is what I need to hear to help with making a legitimate decision.

Im not applying for a producers license just the workers permit required to touch recreational marijuana

The list of approved licenses for just the workers permit shows only 54 have been denied and only a couple hundred in the process of being approved

Looks like there isn't to many in limbo either

Click to expand...

If you're just looking for a workers' permit you should be fine with a fairly clean criminal history. Just check the salary of places around where you're looking at living (it's often around minimum wage) and if that's enough for you to afford to live in OR, you're golden. It's a nice state but cost of living is somewhat out of sync with the wages (at least in the western parts non tech employment.)

Good luck, and potentially welcome aboard!

Oregon sucks, dont move here. it rains all the time, everyone is rude, and the beer sucks.

Isayno said:

Oregon sucks, dont move here. it rains all the time, everyone is rude, and the beer sucks.

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It does suck and it does rain all the time, but the beer is good and only half the people are rude.

Y'all are funny! Some folks from Idaho just got a producers license in Umatilla County who is an opt out county. I see what ya did there though...that's cute.

Ackmo said:

Y'all are funny! Some folks from Idaho just got a producers license in Umatilla County who is an opt out county. I see what ya did there though...that's cute.

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It's worth pointing out that if they got a producers license in a county who is currently banning production AND they're producing they're breaking the law. Presumably they're waiting for Umatilla County to allow production but wanted to get in quickly. Or perhaps they're just cool with not having legal protection. (*OR* they're in an area that allows it located in a county that bans it, in which case you should say something like GhostTown Organix got approval from Pendleton earlier this year and has now received their producer's license.)

Wages in Oregon are terrible. Unemployment is a serious problem. The weather is extreme. Working in the mj field in sales or trimming is a $13 hr job at best and if you are over 30 years old you are highly unlikely to get a job in the cannabis industry as it is a very age discriminating business. The people don't know what culture is here. Strange mix of people. Many homeless. Many bleeding heart liberals. Many rednecks. Very Few black people. Oregon has a strong racist history . Given the opportunity I would leave here. The willamette valley is the worst allergies in the world as it is the grass seed capital of the world and its air quality ranks in the top 5 worst in the country.

Apparently I'm in fact check mode due to my sativa:

A) forgot to mention to Ackmo: re: idaho this topic is about moving to portland, comparing eastern oregon (not Bend) to portland is like comparing weiser to downtown boise

B) DAT: Sorry, "The weather is extreme" in the valley???? I mean no disrespect, but have you ever lived ANYWHERE else for any amount of time? You get some nice winds in the gorge, but that's because it's the gorge so air is funneled there. As far as extreme weather consider say the midwest (more to MUCH more snow, more to MUCH more frequent tornadoes, more hail, MUCH colder temps), the south east (much more consistent heat, more humidity, more tornados, more storms, more hurricanes as you approach water), the north east (MUCH colder temps, MUCH more snow, MUCH more storms including versions named after the area because of their commonness); the south west (texas... enough said.) The only place where the weather is arguably less "extreme" than the valley is really southern california which has it's own problems with fire, mudslides, and cost of living issues As far as the air quality.... again, wrong, in fact so wrong it's bordering on a fox news commentary as you're conflating grass pollen with air quality and doing so inaccurately (grass pollen is bad for people who are allergic to grass pollen, I for example prefer the valley to eastern oregon as I'm allergic to the air here), and islamabad is actually the allergy capital of the world, see the oh my god the pollen article from willy week: http://www.wweek.com/news/2017/06/08/feel-like-your-nose-is-on-fire-thats-because-the-willamette-valley-has-pollen-counts-nearly-four-times-what-is-considered-very-high/The reason WV is considered the grass seed capital of the world is because it's a marketing term by the grass seed industry that is based there and employs a good number of people. The worst (on average) air in oregon is in Harney County at the 156th worst county, the first willamette valley county is Klamath county at 251st worse air (on avg again) (see epa site: https://aqsdr1.epa.gov/aqsweb/aqstmp/airdata/download_files.html#Annual click on 2016 data by county, read it perhaps?) Also, retail or manual labor at $13/hr is considerably higher than "no skill" jobs across the country (because of oregon's minimum wage raise), the problem is that the cost of living in the portland side of the state (plus these days bend) is far higher than our wages support due to people with their own money moving in and dramatically raising the cost of realestate. If you don't have a white collar job you're unlikely to get on the house ladder here which means as property prices rise, you'd be squeezed tighter and tighter.

As far as the homeless goes, the reason there are so many here is that our weather isn't bad compared to where they're from and by and large our laws don't stigmatize them as much as others... (SLC of course wins by actually giving a good portion of the homeless, HOMES!)


But yeah, if you don't want to live like it's NYC and aren't independently wealthy, don't consider moving to the valley. But hey, uhaul will take you out of the valley with all your stuff fairly affordably, the problem is you'll need a job wherever you move. ( https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/06/08/heres-how-much-you-would-need-to-make-to-afford-housing-in-your-state/?utm_term=.840fce86e4d8 is a nice article about how much you'd need to earn per hour for a full time job to afford rent of an apartment.)

/dismounts accuracy soapbox

Yeah I have lived all over the country. Extreme weather meaning that 9 months out of the year are rain and then 3 months very hot with no rain . To me that is extreme. Worst air quality I have ever experienced in my life due to my mold and grass and tree allergies . and the smoke from the wildfires every summer are painful for me. I forgot to mention how beautiful it is here and the coast is so beautiful. The most beautiful coastline on the west coast. If you don't move here do visit! I recommend taking 2 weeks from Astoria to Brookings. You will not be disappointed.

Oh, yeah mate, that's definitely not extreme weather. Here's a comparison of Portland vs seaside vs the us average for climate to give you an idea of the norms: http://www.bestplaces.net/compare-cities/portland_or/seaside_or/climate I'm from back east, portland is by far my ideal climate and the most mild climate I've ever experienced aside from a few years in the middle of england where it's mild enough they have drain lines on the OUTSIDE of their houses (persumably that will change as weather gets more extreme though...) BUT if you're allergic to mold then you really need to look at desert living (eastern oregon or bend if you're sold on oregon) you should NOT be anywhere west of the cascades unless you just have it in for your lungs as the whole mild thing means instead of snow, you get rain, and it never really dries out...

Thank you for the friendly advice, matey. I lived in Tucson Az for 2 years and had allergies there as well. While in Tucson I got skin cancer and now have an unsitely scar on my face . Also being allergic to sunscreen Arizonas deadly strong sun is a recipe for more skin cancer for me. I must avoid the sun so the PNW serves me well in that reguard as an active outdoorsy type. Do it in the rain , embrace the suck and stay positive. Cheers.

I was just making a joke about how you all are trying to discourage people from moving to Oregon. I didn't mean anything by it. The folks from Idaho getting their producer license in Umatilla Co. really did happen but its within Pendleton city limits who just opted in. The bill states that's county ordinance connot effect city and vise versa. I really was just being a smart ass and making a joke. I certainly did not intend to come across as a tool.

I live WA about 5 miles from Oregon. I'm thinking about making the move across state lines for the fact you guys still have some semblance of your OMMP. Though I'm sure the pack prices are in the toilet with there only being a handful of med dispensaries still buying from private growers. As well as micro canopy laws designed to allow smaller start ups. Here in WA we were completely gutted and displaced. I went from 10k watts of flower power to 3 plants 1 ounce. Thanx WA State for putting liquor control in charge of my meds and lively hood. Haha. It always has been and always will be all love for my neighbors to the south.

Sorry ACK, getting closer to full harvest means I smoke too much which then leaves me unable to get that someone is joking online (or frequently in person, fucking sativas! (FWP eh?) Honestly, I think Oregon is doing really well comparatively amongst the legalized states (except Colorado, 6 rec plants PER adult with no limit to harvest? Sign me UP!) I have heard rumor that WA was going to take a run at loosening their medical rules (and even consider allowing recreational home cultivation) but that was before the current admin's drug people started making a ruckus with the (various level of) legalized states.

DAT: tucson? that's awesome (aside from the cancer and apparently being allergic to life, fuck!) I love that little bastion of liberalness in AZ, my spouse hails from there originally (I hate the weather there, love the food, though the first time I had a sonoran dog was in pdx after I gave up visiting tucson! lol) I feel you on the sun as here in eastern oregon that's what we get until we get a quasi proper winter. The plants love the sun, me... not so much.