PORTLAND, Ore. — It might take actually moving the Oregon-Idaho border west to end Malheur County’s reign as Oregon’s top pot spot.
Despite a 6.4% sales decline, the border county was Oregon’s per capita leader in cannabis sales in 2022, its third straight year at No. 1.
Malheur County racked up $104 million in sales, which works out to $3,243 for each of its 32,095 residents. Although down from $3,477 in 2021, that beat second-place Curry County’s $427 per capita sales by several multiples.
Idaho is one of a dozen states where neither recreational nor medical cannabis is legal. Ten weed sellers in the Malheur County city of Ontario, right on the state line with Idaho, make hay selling mainly to folks from the nearby Boise-area population center.
Overall, cannabis sales in Oregon declined 16% in 2022. With its mere single-digit slide, Malheur County’s market share grew from 9.2% of statewide sales to 10.5%.
Every county in the state saw a sales decline in 2022. The biggest was in Wasco County, down 35.9%, the smallest in Hood River County, off 2%.
That narrow decline allowed Hood River County to jump from seventh to fifth in the per capita rankings. Multnomah County, which held the No. 5 spot in 2021, slid to sixth as sales tumbled from $311 million to $238 million, or $383 to $294 on a per capita basis.
KGW’s news partner the Portland Business Journal has a full list of counties’ total sales, percentage change from 2021 and per-resident sales.