Oregon has inadvertently grown enough excess marijuana to keep its residents smoking for the next decade. How does this happen, and what can be done about it? The sweet stank of excess marijuana began to reach the noses of Oregon news outlets in 2018. Publications such as Willamette Week, Portland Mercury, and KGW would begin to bear tidings of what was essentially an impractical bounty. In February of this year, Pamplin Media Group came out with an eye-catching figure: Oregon had grown enough marijuana to theoretically last its consumers six and a half years. To put it in more tangible terms, Oregon grew enough marijuana in 2017 to give every resident in the state a half-pound of pot. Then, in 2018, they did it again.
How Does That Happen?
How did Oregon manage to legally grow more marijuana than it could reasonably smoke? It all started in 2014 when Oregon joined the ranks of states that had passed recreational marijuana use. When this happened, there was a sudden surge in demand for licensed growers. Oregon lawmakers were also adamant that previous black market growers be included in the process. To do this, they made the filing fees for grow licenses extremely low, implemented low taxes on the product, and instituted a “no limits” policy regarding how many licenses would be issued. So, in a way, Oregon has essentially reaped what it sowed. Now, it needs to figure out what to do about it.
What’s The Plan?
In the short term, Oregon has already passed State Bills 218 and 582. The former gives the Oregon Liquor Control Commission jurisdiction to deny applications for marijuana production licenses. The latter gives Oregon’s governor the ability to enter into marijuana-based import and export agreements with other states. In other words, Oregon has put the state’s production capabilities on ice and opened itself up to the possibility of selling some of its excess marijuana to other states.
Although both of these laws are a step in the right direction, there are some major concerns held by individual growers. Many of these growers are sitting on a product that dispensaries and wholesalers simply aren’t interested in because of oversupply concerns. As a result, some growers have resorted to the black market. This may seem rash, but these growers put in months of hard work with the intent to sell their harvests. They have few options to sell legally, and the legal alternative to selling is to simply destroy the stuff.
How Does This Affect Me?
While the state denies permit applications and tries to sell drugs to its neighbors, and while the growers are forced to either burn their product or actually sell drugs to their neighbors, what is the reality for Oregon consumers? Well, in the short term, it has meant that marijuana prices have plummeted. In fact, Oregon currently boasts the cheapest weed in the country. Buyers in Portland, OR have recently been offered entire eighths of Oregon’s finest (sort of) for as little as $6. A Portland staple, Floyd’s Fine Cannabis, has even been advertising $40 ounces as of late.
As it stands, Oregon is beginning to navigate through the thick haze produced by an unprecedented excess of marijuana. Whether it be by placing a ceasefire on grow operations, selling the shit across state lines (legally and illegally), or by coming up with innovative ways to make weed fly off the shelves. In the meantime, for the everyday Oregonian consumer, it would seem as though the cup runneth over.
