SOU to Host Panel on Marijuana Legalization

(Ashland, Ore.) —Southern Oregon University’s Division of Social Science is sponsoring a panel discussion on marijuana legalization in Oregon. The panel, “Oregon’s Measure 91: Social Science Perspectives on the Consequences of Legal Recreational Marijuana” is free and open to the public. It is scheduled to take place Monday, April 20, at 7 p.m. in the Meese Room inside the Hannon Library on SOU’s main campus in Ashland.
“Regardless of someone’s personal thoughts or feelings on Measure 91, the legalization of marijuana for recreational use in Oregon is going to have a profound impact on our community,” according to Dr. Echo Fields, associate professor of sociology at SOU. “The panel will feature faculty from a variety of fields that will be addressing the emergence of growth of this new industry.”
The faculty panel will feature Fields; Dr. Daniel Rubenson, professor of economics; Dr. David Carter, associate professor of criminology and criminal justice; and Matt Vogel, Health Promotion Specialist with the University’s Student Health and Wellness Center.
“We will be taking an academic approach to the subject, and discussing potential impacts from the legalization of recreational cannabis, including the transformation of an underground economy into an ‘above ground’ one, issues affecting campus policies, possibilities for business development and economic growth, consequences for the criminal justice system, and the emerging ‘potiquette’ as people figure out how to incorporate newly legal marijuana into interpersonal relationships, neighborhoods, and workplaces,” Dr. Fields said.
The panel is free and open to the public.
-SOU-
About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100% of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.