Sales Drop for WA Rec Shops on Oregon Border

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Washington State marijuana stores along the Oregon border have seen their sales plummet since their southern neighbor’s legalization program went online last October, according to The Oregonian.

For example, cannabis tax revenues in Washington’s Klickitat County, to the northeast of Portland, dropped 47% since October, when marijuana stores started opening in Oregon.

Stores in Clark County, Washington, which is straight north from Portland, accounted for 12% of all cannabis sales in the state last September, but only 7% just three months after Oregon began rec sales in October.

Some observers also blamed the border store sales drop on the higher taxes in Washington, figuring that some consumers along the state line would be willing to drive to Oregon to save a few dollars. For example, Washington has a 37% state tax on recreational marijuana, compared to 25% in Oregon, where cannabis taxes will go down later this year to between 17% and 20%.