Marty's Travels

My house has wheels

Pot: Oregon and Colorado

I had the chance to hear the chatter about the upcoming vote in Oregon to legalize cannabis. As of a few days ago, the pro-legalization side had accumulated several million dollars, while the against side reported they had nothing. Neither had spent anything on their campaigns.

Today the pro side started campaigning, a month before the vote. The against side has, of course, not spent anything. When it passes, Oregon will be hugely under what Washington and Colorado charge in taxes. Prices in Oregon will be a fraction of the other legal states. This doesn’t look good for those stores in Vancouver across the river from Portland, where the residents are used to shopping in Oregon to avoid sales taxes.

Now I’m approaching Colorado, and will have a chance to understand how their system works. Their system is different, but not hard to grasp. Taxes are a bit lower than Washington, but still high.

But yesterday the Colorado rules kicked in that open up the growing, processing, and retailing licensees to anyone, which will work almost identically to that of Washington. So they’ll have three classes of license: Medical (registered by the state but not regulated or taxed), Vertical Retail (licensees grow and process and sell under strict regulation and collect high taxes), and Wholesale (licensees can grow or process or sell under regulation and high taxes).

That term “wholesale” is what I’ve seen being used lately, but it’s not accurate. I expect a new term will surface in a week or so.

Colorado invented the “local prohibition” techniques to keep cannabis out of individual communities, Washington localities followed suit, and Oregon is prohibiting such things.

So who has the right answers? California of course, if they can get their act together. But that’s asking a lot…..