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By Taxpayers Association of Oregon Foundation
The double-digit percentage growth in cannabis harvested in Oregon for recreational marijuana since legalization in 2015 has slowed to a trickle as the state saw its first-ever decline in sales in 2022, according to the latest Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission report.
A huge cannabis harvest in 2021 created a glut in the market, which is limited to sales within Oregon until national laws change to legalize recreational marijuana and allow interstate commerce of the crop.
Usable marijuana increased by 27 percent in 2020 but only by 1 percent in 2021 and 2 percent last year. Harvests decreased in 2022 after the large crop the previous year, which created more supply than demand, lowered prices, and cut the narrow margins for business owners.
The report indicated drops in both the number of people harvesting cannabis and the number of retailers selling it.