The Oregon coast provides breathtaking natural beauty, great seafood, and some of the highest per capita cannabis sales in the state. Local retail stores seem to believe that tourists were a big boost to the market as travellers are stopping in to experience state-legal marijuana from regulated stores, where they know that their products have been tested for impurities, THC, and CBD, as Fox 12 reported:

“At this point, it’s still a novelty so a lot of tourists are coming in and never seen legal weed,” Andrew Sauls said. “It’s exciting and maybe it’s completely nerve-racking and they walk through the door and they want the experience.” Sauls manages the dispensary Five Zero Trees in Cannon Beach and Astoria. “There’s days we will be as busy if not busier than some of our Portland stores,” Sauls said. He said he’s not surprised the northern coast held its own in pot sales. “Tourists they’re on vacation, so they’re already expecting to come down and have some fun and, you know, this is part of the expenses of that vacation,” Sauls said.

According to Fox 12, Clatsop County (home to just 39,000 people, including District Attorney Josh Marquis, one of the main anti-legalization zealots in the state) ranked 6th in per capita sales with $208 per resident, Tillamook ranks 5th at $214, and third-place Lincoln County actually outpaced Multnomah (the largest and most progressive county) with $284 per resident to $220. Whether the residents and tourists are utilizing cannabis medicinally or recreationally, or both, they are helping create jobs and generate revenue for Oregon’s schools, drug treatment programs, and other important state programs.

While there may be quite a few tokers in these small coastal cities, these per capita sales demonstrate the importance of tourism to the Oregon cannabis market and the state as a whole as the economic benefit filters out throughout our society. With Canada fully legalizing on October 17th and more states ending prohibition just about every year, it is important that Oregon remains a tourist destination for the cannabis community.

As travellers realize that California’s Bay Area, Las Vegas, and Vancouver, Canada, allow cannabis cafes, it will behove Oregon to keep pace. It is great that Oregon gives tourists an opportunity to legally purchase cannabis, the Beaver State should also allow safe, regulated locations where people can responsibly utilize cannabis with other like-minded adults.

Learn the latest about the Oregon cannabis system, and markets across the U.S., and the world at the International Cannabis Business Conference this September 27th-28th. Get your tickets by September 12th to save $200!