Oregon’s embattled recreational marijuana industry posted its second straight monthly sales drop in December, hit by a supply shortage and problems related to product testing.
For all of 2016, however, tax collections totaled $60 million – well above the $43 million that state officials anticipated, the Statesman Journal reported.
A number of factors have contributed to the supply squeeze in recent months. A significant amount of cannabis failed to pass stringent state testing standards. Also, a shortage of operational testing labs severely crippled the state’s supply of marijuana. It was enough to shutter some marijuana businesses.
Add to that a slow licensing process, and the state’s marijuana industry hasn’t fully rebounded.