Oregon Cannabis Market Might Mirror Our Own

So after November, what next? A recent trip to the cities of Medford and Bend up in Oregon might shed some light. These communities are not unlike our own Central Coast towns in atmosphere. The recreational market is starting to mature in Central and Southern Oregon, and my guess is our market will follow a similar path.

Bend and Medford have many dispensaries, perhaps too many. Most are located in C quality commercial buildings that were probably desperate for tenants. A few had impressive storefronts in high traffic areas, such as Oregrown and Tokyo Starfish in downtown Bend. These two seem to have a steady flow of traffic, with the latter located close to an upscale food market similar to Whole Foods.

Less impressive locations seemed quite empty upon inspection. They will have to survive on local customers in search of more competitive pricing. Tourists will gravitate toward the better located dispensaries for a while, not unlike any other kind of business. Customers will pay substantially more at these stores though, and as the novelty of this new business wears off, price wars will grind on the A location dispensaries. It’s not hard to imagine the same thing happening in Santa Barbara and its neighboring towns.