Washington State has 164 retail marijuana shops this week, compared to a half dozen a year ago. There are 458 licensed growers, most of which will be delivering their product into the retail market for the first time this month.
Sales (I use “out-the-door” prices which includes the excise taxes) last month were $60 million dollars. Compare to Colorado at $64 million, but they can measure the medical market, which Washington can’t.
Prices in Washington at the retail stores run from $10-$20 a gram, and trending downwards. Quite favorable compared to Colorado, much better in a lot of cases.
Oregon can begin selling retail on October 1, which will put a huge dent in Washington’s sales. The two busiest shops in the state are in Vancouver, WA. Oregon will be able to draw a lot customers from Washington due to lower taxes, if the prices reflect that difference.
Actually, I’ve noticed that taxes don’t seem to play the role in sales as people think. Look at the 35%-50% taxes on liquor in Washington, it doesn’t matter in sales. 40% on marijuana is barely noticeable.