WA County Sees Dip in Rec Sales After Oregon Launch

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Not surprisingly, recreational marijuana shops in southern Washington State took a big hit in October once Oregon residents could legally begin buying limited amounts of rec cannabis in their home state.

Sales in Clark County, Washington, which is right across from Portland, dropped from $1.8 million in September to $1.1 million in October, the Columbian reported.

But shop owners in southern Washington remain upbeat about their long-term prospects.

Those stores saw an unexpected spike in sales after rec possession and consumption became legal in Oregon in July. Many Oregonians crossed into southern Washington to purchase from rec shops, as they couldn’t yet buy in their home state.

Once Oregon dispensaries began selling cannabis to recreational customers in October, locals no longer needed to drive to Washington to buy marijuana. So sales figures for shops in southern Washington simply reverted to what they were in June, one shop owner told the Columbian.

In other words, summer sales were artificially inflated, making it look like marijuana revenue fell off a cliff in October.

Washington shop owners are waiting for the Oregon sales tax to kick in for rec purchases at dispensaries, which begins in January. That, they said, will give them a true sense of how competitive the two state systems will be.