To: Oregon Liquor Control Commission, The Oregon State House, The Oregon State Senate, and Governor Kate Brown
OLCC Director of Marijuana Programs Tom Burns Conflict of Interest
***Please share and discuss publicly*** I'm calling out Tom Burns, the new OLCC director of marijuana programs via measure 91 voter approval, for serving in a position for public benefit, but has a resume displaying 20 + years of serving pharmaceutical interests: G.D. Searle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._D._Searle_%26_Company) and GlaxoSmithKline (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GlaxoSmithKline) as a lobbyist.
Biography sourced from http://www.oregonlive.com/marijuana/index.ssf/2014/12/oregon_liquor_control_commissi_1.html
Tom Burns
Age: 61
Job: Director of marijuana programs for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission
Education: Bachelor’s degree from California State University at Stanislaus; studied economics and political science
Family: Burns has a longtime partner, Brent Miller, who retired as director of the California State Library System; the couple has a son, Alex, 19.
Work history: Burns worked in California state government for 17 years, beginning as education policy advisor to then-Gov. Ronald Reagan. He went onto work as a policy advisor and later executive officer for state Senate. From 1990 through 2008, he worked as a lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry, representing G.D. Searle & Co. and later GlaxoSmithKline, where he went onto become vice president for state government affairs. In 2002, while working for GlaxoSmithKline, Burns and his family moved to Oregon. He retired from the pharmaceutical industry in 2008 and took a job as an aide to state Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland. In 2009, he was hired as director of pharmacy programs for the Oregon Health Authority. He was tapped to manage the dispensary program in 2013.
I have been to two public meetings with OLCC commissioners and I am astounded by the ineptitude of the commissioners in regards to cannabis, which makes me feel that we have the wrong people in important publicly paid positions (your tax dollars at work!). Personally, I don't want to see our tax dollars pay for any persons salary that has previous employment by unethical pharmaceutical corporations. I would like to file an injunction based on this conflict of interest and propose a public election for these publicly funded positions of power. I would also like to see petitions set up at local businesses and dispensaries around the state of Oregon to see what the public sentiment towards the appointment of a person who has a long history with the pharmaceutical corporations working as the Oregon Liquor Control Commission director of marijuana programs. I love Oregon and I will always protect the air, water, earth, food, and health of the state and for the people. Thanks! ***Please share and discuss publicly***
Biography sourced from http://www.oregonlive.com/marijuana/index.ssf/2014/12/oregon_liquor_control_commissi_1.html
Tom Burns
Age: 61
Job: Director of marijuana programs for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission
Education: Bachelor’s degree from California State University at Stanislaus; studied economics and political science
Family: Burns has a longtime partner, Brent Miller, who retired as director of the California State Library System; the couple has a son, Alex, 19.
Work history: Burns worked in California state government for 17 years, beginning as education policy advisor to then-Gov. Ronald Reagan. He went onto work as a policy advisor and later executive officer for state Senate. From 1990 through 2008, he worked as a lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry, representing G.D. Searle & Co. and later GlaxoSmithKline, where he went onto become vice president for state government affairs. In 2002, while working for GlaxoSmithKline, Burns and his family moved to Oregon. He retired from the pharmaceutical industry in 2008 and took a job as an aide to state Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland. In 2009, he was hired as director of pharmacy programs for the Oregon Health Authority. He was tapped to manage the dispensary program in 2013.
I have been to two public meetings with OLCC commissioners and I am astounded by the ineptitude of the commissioners in regards to cannabis, which makes me feel that we have the wrong people in important publicly paid positions (your tax dollars at work!). Personally, I don't want to see our tax dollars pay for any persons salary that has previous employment by unethical pharmaceutical corporations. I would like to file an injunction based on this conflict of interest and propose a public election for these publicly funded positions of power. I would also like to see petitions set up at local businesses and dispensaries around the state of Oregon to see what the public sentiment towards the appointment of a person who has a long history with the pharmaceutical corporations working as the Oregon Liquor Control Commission director of marijuana programs. I love Oregon and I will always protect the air, water, earth, food, and health of the state and for the people. Thanks! ***Please share and discuss publicly***
Why is this important?
I am starting this petition in order to:
1. ensure that Oregon's recreational cannabis laws serve and benefit the people, environment, and the economy of Oregon with sustainability in mind, not just fiscal interests.
2. ensure the state of Oregon's tax dollars paying for the salaries of those serving the public aren't wasted on employees that have served in industries in the past that may cause a conflict of interest
3. ensure that the people appointed to these positions serve the public and state legislators ethically, intelligently, and without bias.
I believe with these three points in mind we can write the best possible marijuana laws that will create a strong local economy, protect our invaluable environments due to the influx of growers and people moving to the state, and ensure that this medicinal plant isn't perverted by recreational use. This needs to be a public discussed subject that utilizes that vast amount of science surrounding the cultivation and use of cannabis's social, economic, health and environmental impacts. Thank you for your interest and please share and discuss publicly!
Sincerely,
Wesley Wagner (petition author)
Oregon resident since 1991
[email protected]
1. ensure that Oregon's recreational cannabis laws serve and benefit the people, environment, and the economy of Oregon with sustainability in mind, not just fiscal interests.
2. ensure the state of Oregon's tax dollars paying for the salaries of those serving the public aren't wasted on employees that have served in industries in the past that may cause a conflict of interest
3. ensure that the people appointed to these positions serve the public and state legislators ethically, intelligently, and without bias.
I believe with these three points in mind we can write the best possible marijuana laws that will create a strong local economy, protect our invaluable environments due to the influx of growers and people moving to the state, and ensure that this medicinal plant isn't perverted by recreational use. This needs to be a public discussed subject that utilizes that vast amount of science surrounding the cultivation and use of cannabis's social, economic, health and environmental impacts. Thank you for your interest and please share and discuss publicly!
Sincerely,
Wesley Wagner (petition author)
Oregon resident since 1991
[email protected]