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SB 558 would allow trade‑show samples, expanded employee samples and producer‑to‑producer transfers, industry says
Summary
Senate Bill 558 would permit OLCC-registered business trade events to host licensee-to-licensee wholesale sales and samples, expand employee sampling and allow producer-to-producer transfers without shared ownership; industry witnesses said the changes would reduce waste and support small farms.
The Senate Committee on Judiciary heard testimony Feb. 17 on Senate Bill 558, which would permit licensed marijuana businesses to provide samples at OLCC‑registered, licensee‑only trade events; allow wholesalers to sell or transfer items to retailers at those events; expand limits on employee samples and permit producers to give seeds and immature plants to permitted workers and to transfer products between producers without a shared‑ownership requirement.
Jesse Bontecou, executive director of the Cannabis Industry Alliance of Oregon, described the proposal as a product of an eight‑month policy committee and said the changes are intended to remove inefficiencies that currently force businesses to make redundant deliveries or impose impractical tracking burdens. “These are registered events, where businesses are able to come together and meet with each other… and yet we can't make transfers at these things,” Bontecou said, describing logistical waste when a licensee must return a product to a remote facility before it can be shipped to a buyer.
Producer witnesses said the bill would support quality control, research and development, and small‑farm collaboration. Jason Lampman, the owner and operator of two licensed producer facilities, told the committee that allowing producers to transfer product between farms would align cannabis farming with standard agricultural practice and help small operators meet demand without forced expansion.
Wholesalers and processors urged that allowing limited samples to employees and budtenders would improve product education and retail offerings. Marissa Rodriguez, chief operating officer of Nimble Distribution, said current sample limits and tracking requirements are “burdensome” and that enabling reasonable sample limits for quality control and education would reduce repeated deliveries and costs.
Witnesses and sponsor staff said all transfers under SB 558 would remain subject to OLCC tracking (Metrc) and other compliance requirements; proponents emphasized the changes are limited to licensee‑to‑licensee transfers and samples, not consumer sampling or public consumption. The committee did not take formal action on the bill at the hearing.
