Cody Thornton, left, and Ryan Thompson are among a crew collecting signatures in late May 2024 along Highway 395 to put a recreational cannabis measure on Hermiston's November ballot. Umatilla County Elections Division reported the effort failed to gather enough valid signatures to make the ballot.

HERMISTON — The Hermiston City Council voted in March against putting a commercial cannabis measure for voters’ consideration on the November ballot, but residents may get an opportunity this fall to allow retail marijuana sales within the city.

An effort is underway to gather enough signatures of registered Hermiston voters to have such a measure on the November ballot.

The man behind the effort is Jeremy Archie, a Portland resident who owns The Treasure Valley Cannabis Co., in Ontario.

Signature gatherers recently began the petition process to gather the 1,614 valid signatures needed to get the measure on the November ballot. As of Thursday, May 30, they had collected 1,250 and Archie said he expects to wrap up the effort this week. The signature sheets must be turned in by June 7.

“We’re close, but they have to verify who is a registered voter and whether they are all in the city limits,” Archie said.

He said he expected to have between 1,400 and 1,450 by the end of May 31 with a goal of collecting double the required number of signatures “so we have plenty to buffer us for non-eligible voters that may have signed.”

The city of Hermiston received confirmation May 22 from the state’s Election Division that Archie submitted the necessary paperwork to circulate a petition inside Hermiston city limits.

City Manager Byron Smith sent out a memo to city staff informing them of the effort. Smith said he anticipates the city receiving phone calls with questions about the signature-gathering effort. He told staff the effort is not considered “soliciting” as they are not selling anything.

Recreational marijuana was first allowed in Oregon after Measure 91 passed in 2014 statewide with 56% of the vote. Hermiston voters, however, rejected the measure by 62%. The Legislature allowed cities and counties whose residents voted against the measure by at least 55% to prohibit recreational or medical marijuana from being produced or sold within their jurisdictions.

A ballot measure was put before Hermiston voters in 2016 that, again, would prohibit recreational cannabis sales inside city limits. That measure passed with 54% of the vote.

This spring, the Hermiston City Council voted 7-1 against including another cannabis-related measure on the ballot.

That’s when Archie stepped in.

“Once we heard of the Hermiston City Council vote, I called my attorney to find out how fast we can get it on the ballot,” Archie said.

He made a similar effort in Ontario. He was one of three petitioners seeking to allow the sale of recreational marijuana inside city limits. The effort succeeded, the measure passed and Archie opened The Treasure Valley Cannabis Co.

He said he “absolutely” would open a cannabis store in Hermiston if the measure gets on the ballot and passes.

Archie’s ballot initiative, as outlined, would prohibit any cannabis store from locating within 1,000 feet of a school or another cannabis store. It also prohibits sales between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

It also would provide for a 3% sales tax on all cannabis sales to be collected by the city. Pendleton, which allows recreational cannabis sales, collects about $400,000 annually from the 3% sales tax it receives.

Archie had a crew of four people gathering signatures last week and said he hoped to add four to six more for the weekend.

He said the process has gone well, but a few have expressed their displeasure.

“We’ve had people honk and give us the thumbs-down,” he said. “But we’re abiding by state law.”

If enough valid signatures are collected and the initiative is put on the November ballot, Archie said he will work toward getting the measure passed in November.

“We’ll continue our effort to stay out in front of people and remind them to vote,” Archie said. “It’s not enough to sign the petition. You have go out and vote for it in November.”