Oregon recreational cannabis sales hit $160 million

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Oregon’s emerging recreational marijuana industry surpassed $160 million in sales for 2016 at the end of September.

Those numbers could be even bigger in reality, however, because the Oregon Department of Revenue is still waiting on some cannabis businesses to file quarterly tax returns from earlier in the year. An agency spokeswoman said that only 80% of medical dispensaries selling rec have filed returns for the first quarter of 2016.

Hundreds of medical dispensaries in Oregon have been selling limited amounts of adult-use products for more than a year – mostly flower, but since June, also edibles and extracts – and have been paying a 25% sales tax on those products since January.

As the rec program oversight transitions to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), that sales tax will drop to 17% and customer purchase limits will increase, meaning rec sales numbers could increase even more.

Oregon retailers had sold $100 million of adult-use products by the end of July, and the Marijuana Business Factbook 2016 projects the state will see $180 million to $220 million in rec sales by the end of the year.