A medical marijuana card used to be the key to buying and possessing pot in Oregon.
But the rise of recreational marijuana is making the cards primarily valuable only as a discount card, and not a necessity to buy, said Sam Elkington, owner of Track Town Collective in Glenwood. The card exempts the buyer from Oregon’s state and local marijuana taxes, which are levied on recreational cannabis.
Daily sales at medical marijuana dispensaries — once cutting-edge hubs for the marijuana industry — have plummeted as a result.
STATE BY STATE: Oregon Cannabis News
“Medical only is smaller than small,” Elkington said of the dispensary niche. On Monday at Track Town, customers had bought just $58 worth of cannabis products by mid afternoon, reinforcing why Elkington so far has been able to employ only himself at the store.
Elkington’s dispensary at 3675 Franklin Blvd. draws about three medical marijuana customers a day. Another 15 to 20 potential customers come in asking for recreational cannabis, but he can’t sell to them — yet.
The rapid growth and evolution of the marijuana marketplace in Oregon is prompting Elkington to apply with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to become a recreational dispensary. He plans to let his status as a medical marijuana dispensary with the Oregon Health Authority lapse in March.
Top image: © Carlos Restrepo | Dreamstime
