To Governor Kate Brown and Members of the Oregon Legislature

We, the people of Oregon and beyond, sign this petition to urge the Oregon Legislature and Governor to pass and implement HB 3112, the Oregon Equity Investment Act. With the passage of legalized cannabis six years ago, Oregon led the way in ending cannabis criminalization and the unjust over-arrest and over-incarceration of Black, LatinX and Indigenous people in our state, which was more than double the arrest rate for White Oregonians.

Since legalization, we have done little to restore rights and opportunities to individuals and their families whose lives were disrupted and forever damaged when they were convicted of a simple cannabis offense. The detrimental economic and opportunity impact on people and communities stemming from systematic racism and over-policing, of which cannabis criminalization played a large role, has long been ignored. Countless barriers, from the inability to find work, get a home loan, secure an education grant and more, are placed in the way of people convicted of cannabis crimes and has long held back entire families and communities in our state.

Cannabis legalization has led to an influx of tax revenues far beyond what was ever imagined when cannabis was legalized in 2014. With significantly increased cannabis tax revenues and with our Black, Indigenous and Latinx communities at their most economically vulnerable following 2020, it's time to invest in equity and economic repair for Black, Indigenous and Latinx people with the passage of HB 3112.

HB 3112 would allow for the direct investment of a portion of our cannabis tax revenues for housing, health care, and educational needs into these communities as we commit to restoring essential rights and privileges to those who have been stripped of them simply due to cannabis criminalization.

HB 3112 would provide an automatic and free path to expungement for some 28,000 Oregonians allowing them access to loans, better opportunities for jobs and an ability to begin building the generational wealth that has been denied them.

HB 3112 would provide an expedited path and opportunities to cannabis business ownership for Black, Indigenous, and LatinX Oregonians.

And all this can be done without raising taxes by utilizing a portion of the cannabis tax revenues that continue to grow.

We, as consumers, cannabis business community, and simply concerned citizens, believe the use of cannabis tax revenue to repair harm done to Black, Indigenous and Latinx communities is an appropriate and necessary way to restore rights and opportunities.

We urge you to pass HB 3112.