Much of the Oregon cannabis industry is struggling these days, thanks to a market saturated with growers, processors and retailers.
But that doesn’t mean consumers aren’t spending a ton of money on the weed, be it bud, concentrate, extract, edibles or any of the many other forms now available.
Recreational sales topped $520 million in 2017, according to data obtained from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, as the legal market settled into its first full year under a permanent licensing and taxing system.
The Portland Business Journal requested, and received, the first full-year sales data that tracks the cannabis trade in each Oregon county.
SLIDESHOW: Oregon Cannabis Sales, by county
About a third of those sales were in Multnomah County, which isn’t a surprise — it’s got the biggest population. But what happens if the population factor is removed from the equation?
We crunched the numbers for the 25 Oregon counties that have licensed retail marijuana operations and ranked them from lowest to, ahem, highest based on 2017 sales per resident. The results show an eclectic mix of urban and rural counties — not to mention coastal and inland — crowding the top of the list.
As for the leader, way out in front of all the rest, it might leave you scratching your head. We don't want to spoil the fun and give it away, but suffice it to say the explanation has a lot to do with the county's proximity to the only state bordering Oregon that doesn't have pot sales of its own.