Portland, Ore. – The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), the nation’s leading advocacy organization dedicated to reforming state and federal marijuana law, will be hosting a free, public town hall meeting on Sunday, January 27, 2013 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Matt Dishman Community Center in Portland.

The town hall, entitled “Marijuana: Setting a Path Toward Regulation in Oregon” will feature special remarks from U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR).

“The advances that we have seen in sensible drug policy reform from voter initiatives and state legislatures throughout the country, have gained indisputable momentum over the past months,” said Blumenauer. “The entire landscape is shifting, and conversations like those being hosted by the Marijuana Policy Project are crucial in leading the way to a future where Congress will enact sensible and necessary reform on the national level.”

The panel, which will be moderated by MPP’s Oregon representative Roy Kaufmann, will also feature insights and comments from Steve Fox, MPP’s Director of Government Relations and the key architect of the successful 2012 Colorado Amendment 64 campaign, which won with 55 percent of the vote.

“I am looking forward to sharing the stage with Congressman Blumenauer, who is committed to reforming our nation’s marijuana laws,” said Fox. “Following our historic victory in Colorado last November, MPP is excited about the prospect of passing initiatives to regulate marijuana like alcohol in a number of other states and we believe the voters of Oregon will support such a measure in the near future. This forum will be an opportunity for interested individuals and organizations from across Oregon to engage in a thoughtful discussion about this plan.”

For more information, contact Roy Kaufmann at Oregon@mpp.org.