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Oregon may some day have the HBO show Sex and the City to thank for the salvation of legal cannabis.
Marijuana is already legal in Oregon, of course. But Oregon farmers currently have grown too much weed, and federal legalization might allow them to ship their wares across state lines, which is currently verboten under federal laws and guidelines.
Back to the Sex and the City theory of national weed legalization.
An espouser of this theory? Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland), who is arguably the state's most ardent support of the still nascent marijuana industry.
The argument goes like this:
Former Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon (she played the lawyer, Miranda) is running for governor in the state of New York, challenging the incumbent, Andrew Cuomo, from the left. She has name recognition as a famous actress (and has been an activist, particularly on funding for public schools).
Her positions have already pushed Cuomo to reverse course on key issues: giving parolees the right to vote, support for more funding for schools and the New York City's public housing agency as well as what's relevant to Oregon: legalization of marijuana.
In New York political circles, this is known as the "Nixon effect."
And the Nixon effect hasn't stopped at Cuomo's door.
Cuomo's reversal on marijuana legalization helped move U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who is minority leader, to sponsor legislation last week to legalize weed across the country, according to Blumenauer.
"Having Chuck Schumer come out, the consummate politician, who really always has his finger on the pulse, is very significant," Blumenauer tells WW. "I think it's in part because Ms. Nixon is going against Cuomo."
Democrats, even high-ranking ones, signing onto legal pot is nearly worthless with Republican control of Congress, but the minority leader's support does represent a significant step forward.
Blumenauer, a fierce advocate for Oregon's marijuana industry, stopped short of endorsing Nixon in her run for governor—but he says New York is not the only place politicians are campaigning on the issue of weed legalization.
And if Democrats around the country follow Nixon and start campaigning on the issue of marijuana legalization, it may also be thanks to Blumenauer, who says he's taken steps to educate fellow Democrats on how to talk about the issue.
"I have sent information to every single Democrat running for congress around the country that explains how to use this issue, how to talk about it, and why I think they ought to embrace it," he tells WW.