The post How Is Oregon Handling Its Cannabis Surplus? appeared first on High Times.
An overgrowth of weed has lawmakers and spectators alike wondering: how is Oregon handling its cannabis surplus? The state is currently producing more weed than the legal market can handle. And the surplus in cannabis production has become a sticky issue with lawmakers, law enforcement, and cannabis industry players. Here’s how Oregon is handling it.
A Spike In Cannabis Production
Billy J. Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the state of Oregon, published an opinion article last month in The Oregonian. In it, he described the state’s cannabis surplus.
Williams argued that Oregon’s legal weed industry has sparked more marijuana-growing activity than the state can handle. As a result, he said, much of the cannabis produced in Oregon is finding its way onto the black market.
“In 2017 alone, postal agents in Oregon seized 2,644 pounds of marijuana in outbound parcels and over $1.2 million in cash,” he wrote. “Overproduction creates a powerful profit incentive, driving product from both state-licensed and unlicensed marijuana producers into black and gray markets across the country.”
He concluded: “This lucrative supply attracts cartels and other criminal networks into Oregon and in turn brings money laundering, violence, and environmental degradation.”
The massive amount of cannabis being grown in Oregon most likely stems from a couple key factors.
For starters, Oregon has long been a prime location for growing cannabis. Even before weed became legal, growers found near-perfect environmental and climatic conditions for cannabis cultivation.
More recently, the legal industry has likely sparked an uptick in the volume of weed being grown in the state. In particular, Oregon has not set a limit on how many