We Asked Portlanders: What Does “OLCC” Stand For?

It’s been a rough year for the state agency that regulates booze and weed.

REMINDER: A sign warns people not to smoke marijuana in public. (Blake Benard)
By Aaron Mesh

4/20 is days away, and the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission could use a party. So far, this hasn’t been a year to celebrate for the state agency that regulates booze and weed.

First, Gov. Tina Kotek caught longtime officials slipping each other rare bottles of Pappy, a scandal first revealed by The Oregonian. Last month, WW’s Sophie Peel started probing why La Mota had grown into the state’s second-largest cannabis dispensary chain while piling up tax liens and lawsuits. That’s raised thorny questions about the weak appetite the OLCC has shown for regulating its licensees.

That’s a lot for Oregonians to wrap their heads around. So for this week’s episode of the Hot Mic, our weekly sidewalk civics quiz, we sent filmmaker Zave Payne to a downtown dispensary to ask shoppers a comparatively simple question:

What does the acronym “OLCC” stand for?

Watch their answers here.

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