Too much marijuana in Oregon, prices down

Associated Press (ap.org, May 31, 2018); Seth Auberon, Crystal Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly

Glut of marijuana in Oregon is cautionary tale, experts say

PORTLAND, Oregon - When Oregon lawmakers created the state's legal marijuana program, they had one goal in mind above all else: to convince illicit pot growers to leave the black market.

That meant low barriers for entering the industry that also targeted long-standing medical marijuana growers, whose product is not taxed. As a result, pot production boomed -- with a bitter capitalist consequence.

(PHOTOS) A marijuana harvester examines buds going through a trimming machine near Corvallis, Ore. Three years after Oregon lawmakers created the state's new legal marijuana program, marijuana prices in the state are in free fall and the craft cannabis farmers who put Oregon on the map decades before legalization are losing their businesses to emerging chains and out-of-state investors.

 

Now, marijuana prices here are in freefall, and the craft cannabis farmers who put Oregon on the map decades before broad legalization say they are in peril of losing their now-legal businesses as the money market adjusts.

 

Oregon regulators on Wednesday announced they will stop processing new applications for marijuana licenses in two weeks to address a severe backlog and ask state lawmakers to take up the issue next year. Experts say the dizzying [de-]evolution of Oregon's marijuana industry may well be a cautionary tale for California... More