Legalization

In 2015, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed an emergency bill declaring cannabis sales legal to recreational users from dispensaries starting October 1, 2015, during an “early sales” period, through the end of 2016. Additional legislation signed into law by Governor Brown in March 2016 allowed the sale of medical and recreational cannabis from the same outlets. Effective January 1, 2017, cannabis can be sold for recreational use only by businesses that have obtained a “recreational license” from the OLCC, such businesses can also sell for medical use. Cannabis investor pitch deck

Applications

Through December 2022, there were 4,389 submitted applications and 2,862 (2,693 in 2021) licensed recreational cannabis businesses in Oregon, including 1,408 (1,388) producers, 331 (305) processors, 276 (218) wholesalers, 827 (760) retailers, 19 (21) laboratories and 1 research facility.

Market

In Oregon where concentrates and edibles were only allowed for the first time in the adult-use channel in July 2016, the transformation in category happened almost overnight.

Oregon cannabis market had an established medical cannabis industry before the legalization of recreational cannabis, and early adult-use sales through existing dispensaries took place before the first rec-only retailers were licensed, which explains the relatively quick turnaround time.

Retail sales grew from $643 million in 2018 to about $795 million in 2019 and reached about $1.1 billion in 2020. Cannabis solventless extraction

In January 2021, total sales reached $101 million, 45% higher than January of 2020. Then, in April, the state hit $110 million in total sales, breaking $100 million in adult-use sales in a single month for the first time since recreational cannabis sales began. In 2021 the combined sales reached the $1 billion mark in October and totaled $1,177 million in December. 2022 brought in about $994.2 million.

While flower sales remain dominant in Oregon, with flower contributed about 56% (60% in 2021) of sales year-to-date, as growth in other categories including concentrates, edibles and topicals all outpaced flower.