Four years into cannabis legalization, the illegal market persists, production has proliferated unchecked and prices have plummeted, posing an economic threat to segments of the industry, according to a new report.

The Oregon High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, known as HIDTA, this week issued a deep and wide-ranging analysis of the marijuana market, casting the state's program in a harsh light. The report is the first such examination since legalization was approved by voters in 2014.

A comprehensive marijuana analysis has been a touchy political subject in Oregon. A draft report by Oregon State Police obtained last year by The Oregonian/OregonLive came under sharp criticism from the agency's brass and Gov. Kate Brown. The governor's staff characterized the draft as flawed, inaccurate and incomplete.

State officials dropped efforts to revise or finalize the document; it was revived by the anti-trafficking organization, a federally funded outfit that helps manage law enforcement resources in high-intensity drug trafficking areas throughout the state. The report issued this week was written by the same analyst behind last year's state police report.

The new report's findings echo those in the draft rejected by the governor: Oregon's rampant overproduction far outpaces consumer demand and legalization has done little to tamp down the export of cannabis to states where the drug remains illegal.

It examined trends related to butane hash oil production and noted the "acute hydrologic strain" the industry has created in southern Oregon's Rogue River Basin.

It concluded that the glut of cannabis in Oregon isn't only fueling the illegal trade, but also driving down prices. Since 2016, the market has seen a 50 percent price drop -- a trend that has hit Jackson, Josephine and Lane counties particularly hard.

Oregon's U.S. Attorney Billy Williams said the findings confirm concerns he has talked about in numerous contacts with top state officials. Williams, who has pressed state leaders to do more to contain the black market, called Oregon's cannabis market a "woefully under-regulated industry."

"These are genuine issues that just absolutely have to be addressed and so far they haven't been," he said. "It's yet another reminder for the state that they need to be looking at these issues in a responsive and comprehensive manner."

Added Williams: "I hope this is a wake-up call for leadership in the state of Oregon. I hope they take it seriously."

HIDTA sent a copy of the report to Brown's office. The governor's spokesman Chris Pair didn't respond to an email Wednesday seeking comment.

The report lays out Oregon's stubborn role in the illicit market, noting that between July 2015 and January 2018, nearly 15,000 pounds of cannabis worth an estimated $48 million was trafficked to 37 states.

The majority came from Jackson and Josephine counties, the heart of outdoor production in Oregon, as well as Multnomah, Lane, Deschutes and Washington counties.

Between July 2017 and March 2018, law enforcement seized nearly $1.7 million in proceeds coming into Portland International Airport from the illegal cannabis trade. Police also seized another $861,000 in marijuana moving through the airport during that period.

The report highlights the stark disparity between production and demand, concluding that there's one grow site for every 19 cannabis consumers in Oregon.

Oregon doesn't limit the number of cannabis licenses it issues.

According to the report, the state's legal market has the capacity to churn out 2 million pounds of legal marijuana annually. Meanwhile, according to HIDTA's estimates, consumer demand ranges from 186,000 pounds to 372,600 pounds a year.

To underscore the imbalance, it noted that nearly 70 percent of cannabis produced in the legal market hadn't been sold as of this year.

-- Noelle Crombie

ncrombie@oregonian.com

503-276-7184

@noellecrombie