[Vision2020] Oregon marijuana sales 420% stronger along Idaho border

[Kenneth Marcy]

https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2020/01/oregon-marijuana-sales-420-stronger-along-idaho-border.html 




 1. Business <https://www.oregonlive.com/business>


  Oregon marijuana sales 420% stronger along Idaho border

Updated Jan 17, 2020;Posted Jan 17, 2020

A state economist predicts Oregon marijuana sales will rise 80% in the 
coming decade.

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By Mike Rogoway | The Oregonian/OregonLive 
<http://connect.oregonlive.com/staff/MikeRogoway/posts.html>

A new state analysis finds marijuana sales are strongest along Oregon’s 
border with Idaho – a state where recreational marijuana is not legal.

"In things you cannot make up, Oregon sales per adult along the Idaho 
border are 420% the statewide average,” wrote Josh Lehner of the Oregon 
Office of Economic Analysis in a report issued Friday 
<https://oregoneconomicanalysis.com/2020/01/17/fun-friday-more-marijuana-border-effects/>. 
(420, of course, is a colloquial term referencing marijuana or cannabis 
consumption.)

Lehner found a similar phenomenon on Idaho’s border with Washington, 
another state where recreational marijuana is legal.

“The sales in counties along the Idaho border were much stronger than I 
anticipated,” Lehner wrote. “Obviously recreational marijuana is not 
legal in Idaho, but even after throwing the data into a rough border tax 
model that accounts for incomes, number of retailers, tax rates and the 
like, there remains a huge border effect.”

A “border effect” describes the phenomenon when two neighboring 
jurisdictions have different rules, prompting residents of one area to 
travel to the nearby region to take advantage of the different rules. 
Another well-known example is Southwest Washington residents traveling 
to Oregon to purchase products without paying a sales tax.

The Marijuana Policy Project says <https://www.mpp.org/states/idaho/> 
Idaho is the only state in the U.S. that with no law for medical or 
therapeutic marijuana. Supporters are gathering signatures to legalize 
medical marijuana there.

Beyond the border effect with Idaho, Lehner forecast continued rapid 
growth in Oregon marijuana sales over the next 10 years.

“Our office’s forecast calls for sales to grow approximately 80% over 
this time period as incomes rise, the state’s population increases, and 
marijuana becomes more socially acceptable and usage rates rise,” he wrote.

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway at oregonian.com <mailto:mrogoway at oregonian.com> 
| twitter: @rogoway <https://twitter.com/rogoway> | 503-294-7699
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