Over a million pounds of usable marijuana was harvested last year in Oregon
Oregon has created a monster. For two years running, cannabis farmers in the state have harvested over a million pounds of marijuana, which is not necessarily a good thing. The amount of product available has reduced prices, meaning growers aren’t getting the return that they had anticipated.
Oregon has 1,107 licensed farmers, as well as 900 farmers vying for licenses with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC). Producing a million pounds of usable marijuana is a huge task and, given that none of it can be shipped out of the state because of federal regulations, the entire stock must be consumed by users among the four million people who call Oregon home.
It’s a huge surplus that is creating issues. According to reports, Oregonians only consume about 375,000 pounds per year. This means that two-thirds of the crops are potentially going to waste. However, farmers aren’t willing to eat all of the costs and are turning to the black market to move their products and reduce their losses.
A bill being considered could help to turn things around. Oregon hopes to find approval for the exportation of cannabis to other legal states, provided those target states don’t lie on the opposite side of any non-legal territories. According to the founder of Oregon’s Craft Cannabis Alliance, Adam Smith, “There are plenty of markets that would be thrilled to have world-class cannabis.”
He’s probably right, but it’s highly doubtful the federal government would simply turned a blind eye to the activity. If previous rumors are true, however, 2019 could be the year that the feds approve marijuana, which could mean that Oregon will be able to export the hundreds of thousands of pounds not consumed within its borders.
