The State of Oregon (where I have lived all my life) started accepting recreational marijuana business applications on Monday. It was a bit of a bumpy start due to some inclement weather in the Willamette Valley area where the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) headquarters is located. The OLCC was hoping to have a call center staffed for opening day to help answer questions about the applications and the application process. But due to snow and ice, the office was closed Monday.
But the office closure didn’t stop people from turning in their applications. It was estimated that the State of Oregon would receive about 800 applications total. On Monday alone there were 142 applications received. Per Oregon Live:
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission received 142 applications as of Tuesday morning from people hoping to enter the state’s new recreational marijuana market.
The agency said 75 of the applications came from growers, most of them with plans for facilities in Clackamas, Jackson, Lane and Multnomah counties.
According to a breakdown provided by the liquor control commission to The Oregonian/OregonLive, the counties with the largest representation among all applicants so far are: Multnomah County (30), Clackamas County (18), Jackson County (17) and Lane County (16).
I’d be curious to see the numbers at the end of the week. I personally know of a handful of people that haven’t turned in their applications yet, but plan to do so by the end of the week. The barrier to entry is so low in Oregon that I expect there to be more applications received in Oregon when it’s all said and done compared to other legal states, and that doesn’t even take into account that Oregon doesn’t have a very large population.
The State of Oregon plans to issue licenses in a staggered fashion, with the first approvals coming for testing facilities and outdoor cultivation. The State wants to make sure that there are testing facilities first so that all recreational marijuana growers and processors can have enough testing facilities to go to before they get their products to the stores. The State also wants to give outdoor growers the jump on licenses so they can get their planting done immediately after the ‘last freeze’ in early Spring as my outdoor grower friends always say.
