Oregon Dispensaries Ask to Sell Recreational Cannabis

A glut of licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Oregon has made it difficult for some operations to turn a profit.

As a result, some dispensary owners are pleading with state lawmakers for a lifeline: approval to sell recreational marijuana.

The owners are hoping to sway members of a joint legislative committee considering a bill that would allow dispensaries to sell a “limited number of marijuana products to recreational users” until the state’s rec system comes fully online, according to the Oregonian.

There are currently 310 dispensaries scattered across the state, with another 93 dispensary licenses pending from the Oregon Health Authority. As a result, the majority of dispensaries aren’t turning a profit, according to one marijuana consultant.

The Oregon recreational marijuana system won’t be up and running until the second half of 2016, but if legislators allow dispensaries to start selling recreational, that could conceivably double their sales, one dispensary owner told the committee.

Recreational marijuana becomes fully legal to possess and consume in Oregon on July 1.