Five years after Oregon legalized recreational marijuana, its lawmakers now are trying to rein in production, fearing the state’s big weed surplus will tempt some licensed businesses to sell their products out of state or on the illegal market. Such diversions could invite a crackdown from the federal government and cast a pall over the […]
oregon marijuana
Oregon has too much cannabis. Two laws may help the state manage its surplus
Matt Miller’s family has farmed pot in Oregon since well before it became legal. But since the market flooded after recreational use was approved by state voters in 2014, prices have plummeted, putting strain on the operation he runs with his wife, Rhea. Oregon’s lush climate and weed-tolerant culture have long resulted in large and […]
Behind Portland’s blockbuster marijuana deal: a Russian billionaire, cannabis consolidation
A billion dollars for a Portland marijuana company. It’s an astonishing figure. Last month’s deal for Cura Cannabis was the biggest acquisition in the history of legalized marijuana in the United States. It’s a sign of just how quickly the market is emerging. And that’s just the beginning of the story. Curaleaf, the Massachusetts company buying Cura’s […]
Oregon, awash in marijuana, takes steps to curb production
Oregon is awash in pot, glutted with so much legal weed that if growing were to stop today, it could take more than six years by one estimate to smoke or eat it all. Now, the state is planning to curb production. Five years after voters legalized recreational marijuana, lawmakers have given the Oregon Liquor […]
Oregon’s marijuana surplus not gloom and doom of booming market
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission at the end of January issued a study claiming there’s enough marijuana to supply the state’s recreational market for 6.5 years. The “2019 Recreational Marijuana Supply and Demand Legislative Report” stated the finding was in theory and stems from over-production. Brandon Krenzler and Erin Purchase argued just how theoretical the […]
Oregon aims to create an export market for marijuana
What a difference a state makes. Last week cannabis industry watchers had their eyes on Idaho, where news broke about the Idaho State Police arresting a truck driver for transporting hemp across the border. That same week the state of Oregon held a hearing on a Senate bill that would eliminate the prohibition on interstate […]
Signs of maturity: Facts and figures for Oregon’s marijuana market, three years in
Oregon’s marijuana market is reaching maturity, more than three years into the state’s grand experiment. The once-illegal drug already has brought in more tax money to Oregon than expected. A robust industry has sprouted in Lane County. And marijuana production has led to jobs, hundreds of them in Lane County. These numbers help put pot’s […]
Oregon marijuana prices dive — and sales soar
Rampant overproduction in Oregon’s market for legal, recreational marijuana has produced a 50 percent drop in prices, according to state economists. That widely documented collapse has been tough on farmers and retailers — but a boon for consumers. A new state analysis finds the price collapse sparked a big uptick in marijuana purchases and a […]
Marijuana is getting cheaper. For some states, that’s a problem.
Wholesale marijuana prices in Colorado have fallen by a third in just the past 12 months, continuing a price crash that began soon after the drug was legalized. Although this implies that some marijuana entrepreneurs are going to go bankrupt, the bigger financial hit will be felt by states that tax marijuana based on its […]
Registered medical marijuana patients dropping fast in Oregon
Medical marijuana patients and growers across the state are abandoning the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. Long considered a source of Oregon’s black market, medical marijuana is fast falling victim to a combination of red tape and a different kind of market force: the convenience of recreational retail sales. “Medical could officially have a gravestone,” said […]
Oregon Has Too Much Marijuana On Hand, While Colorado’s Pot Supply Is Just Right
Two of the first states to broadly legalize marijuana took different approaches to regulation that left Oregon with a vast oversupply and Colorado with a well-balanced market. But in both states prices for bud have plummeted. A new Oregon report by law enforcement found nearly 70 percent of the legal recreational marijuana grown goes unsold, while an […]
Marijuana Prices Crashing In Oregon After State Stoked Weed Glut
When Oregon lawmakers created the state’s legal marijuana program, they had one goal in mind above all else: to convince illicit pot growers to leave the black market. That meant low barriers for entering the industry that also targeted long-standing medical marijuana growers, whose product is not taxed. As a result, weed production boomed — […]
With A Cannabis Surplus, Oregon Marijuana Farmers Move To Hemp & CBD
A glut of legal marijuana is driving Oregon pot prices to rock-bottom levels, prompting some nervous growers to start pivoting to another type of cannabis to make ends meet — one that doesn’t come with a high. Applications for state licenses to grow hemp — marijuana’s non-intoxicating cousin — have increased more than twentyfold since […]
Oregon To Contribute $1.5 Million A Year To Local Law Enforcement To Cut Down Black Market Cannabis
Oregon legislators want to bust the state’s marijuana black market by giving money to counties with big illegal pot production and little law enforcement. In the recently ended legislative session, state lawmakers approved a bill that will dedicate $1.5 million a year to help local authorities crack down on the illegal marijuana trade. Rob Bovett, […]
Oregon Marijuana Prices Plummet As More Producers Appear
The retail and wholesale prices of pot in Oregon are falling with the proliferation of producers and recreational marijuana shops, according to an analysis by a state economist. “The biggest thing is just competition,” said Josh Lehner, an economist with the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis in Salem. “As we get more stores, as we […]
Audit Shows Marijuana Regulators Are Lacking In Oversight
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission lacks “robust” monitoring and enforcement controls to track the state’s $480 million marijuana industry, making illegal sales difficult to detect, a new audit concludes. The Secretary of State’s review raises alarms about how effectively the agency oversees the flourishing marijuana market in Oregon. The report comes as Oregon finds itself in the […]
Oregon Officials Set New Grow Limit on Medical Marijuana
Oregon public health officials this week drafted new rules for how many plants medical marijuana cardholders may grow at home or at a grow site registered with the state. The regulations are the result of legislation passed this year to tackle the flow of medical marijuana into the black market. The bottom line for medical marijuana […]
Despite Setback, Oregon Advocates Continue to Look at Public Use of Marijuana
When Oregon voters in 2014 approved the ballot measure legalizing recreational pot, they specified that pot use in public places would remain unlawful. But as marijuana growing, processing, retailing and consumption have swelled in Oregon, so has the chorus pushing for the right to toke on pipes or joints or inhale from vaporizers in public […]
