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HEALTH CARE RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA
FOR MOST COMPANIES IT REMMNS
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• Choice First changes could streamline process Inside
By Dick Mason The Observer
Local veterans Small changes in how hav e mixed a landmark pieceof2014 opinions about legislation is administered t h e potential may make a big difference in of Choice First, the accessNortheast Oregon the revised veteransget tohealth care. version of This is the th e Veterans hope of Byron Access, Whipple, Union Choice and County's vetAccountability erans services Act of 2014. officer. Page 2A "I'm cautiousWhipple ly optimistic,"
Cherise Kaechele/TheObserver
Sue Blair, of lntermountain Mobile Service, said she doesn't expect the number of drug tests to increase due to the legalization of marijuana onWednesday.
Whipple said. He believes Choice First, a new versionofa federal program designedtogive veterans in rural areas like Northeast Oregon a better chancetogetprompt care from medical specialists, has promise. Still, he said, the jury will be out on the program, which is now being See Vets /Page 5A
• For mostlocalcom panies,zero-tolerancepoliciesform arijuana rem ain of marijuana in public and can grow up to four plants in their home. However, some Marijuana may be legal in the state of Oregon, but it businesses are holding strong is still illegal on the federal to their zero tolerance policies. 'The feds do not recognize level. For companies whose the legalization in Oregon," employees carry a commercial Frank Thomas, transit mandriver's license, it's business ager for Northeast Oregon Public Transit, said."Marijuaas usual — with zero tolerance for the drug. na will continue to be a drug Wednesday marked the they test for." first day recreational mariThomas said his employees are randomly drug tested juana is legal in the state of Oregon. Those older than 21 because the transit company can now possess up to 1 ounce receives grant funding from By Cherise Kaechele
The Observer
the federal government. Operating with a CDL is under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and Oregon statute, which means if a driver has a CDL, he or she is required to take random drug tests. C.J. Johnston-Rhodes, human resource manager for the NEOPT, said there are 30 bus drivers in Union County at NEOPT and it's mandated that50 percent ofthedrivers are tested once a year to continuetoreceivefederal
grants. The corporate office randomly chooses the employees, the time and the day of the tests, something Thomas and Johnston-Rhodes have no control over, Thomas said. "I'vebeen doing thisfor 20 years, and I've had one testpositive,"Thomas said. "I think it was a pre-employment test too. I don't see any of our staf being interested in it. I'd be naive to think it doesn't apply to the industry, but not really to the See Tolerance / Page 5A
FOURTH OF JULY
Fire officials urge caution with fireworks
Mariiuanalegalin adoINdalof0regon C 4k~'~ "
By Bryan Denson The Oregonian
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Bear Westerlind, an employee at the medical marijuana dispensary Kaya Shack, displays different types of marijuana flowers sold at the shop in Portland.
INDEX Calendar........SA Classified.......1B Comics...........7B Crossword.....3B Dear Abby .....SB
WE A T H E R Health ............6C Opinion..........4A Horoscope.....3B Outdoors .......1C Lottery............2A Spiritual Life..7A Record ...........3A Sports ............1D Obituaries......3A Television ......3C
Oregonians who plan to smoke, cultivate or carry cannabis under the state's new recreational marijuana law should make sure they do it in the roughly 47 percent of Oregon where it's strictly legal Fifty-three percent of the state is managed by such government entities as the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of LandManagement and National Park Service, where
federal laws list marijuana in the same category as heroin, LSD and ecstasy. Possession of small amounts of marijuana — anywhere in America — remains a federal misdemeanor that carries fines and the possibility of jail time. But federal authorities aren't exactly setting up roadblocks to catch people with that baggie of weed. The feds are resolute in punishing those who carry SeeLegal / Page 5A
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Last monthmay have been the warmest June on record for La Grande, with conditions drier than normal, but that will not stop fireworks on the Fourth of July. Eugene, which recently broke a heat record set in 1992, is banning the setting off of fireworks within certain streets and locations in town. Portland, which also joined La Grande in record-breakingtemperatures,considered banning legal personal fireworks due to dangerous fire conditions. 0$cials decided early Wednesday morning to SeeCaution / Page 5A
According to Oregon law, fireworks that fly, explode or travel 6 feet on the ground or 12 inches in the air are banned. The most common illegal fireworks are bottle rockets, Roman candles and firecrackers.
CONTACT US
F ull forecast onthe backof B section
Friday
What not
ByAlyssa Sutton The Observer
Saturday > i>i<
Sunday
95 / 6 0 ~
92/60
Sunshine; hot
Partly sunny
541-963-3161
Email story ideas to newsC~lagrande observer.com. More contact info on Page 4A.
Issue 78 4 sections, 28 pages La Grande, Oregon
MONDAY IN HOME A BUTTERY FINISH TO THE PERFECT PICNIC
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