PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Two of the first states to broadly legalize marijuana took different approaches to regulation that left Oregon with a vast oversupply and Colorado with a well-balanced market. But in both states pot prices have plummeted.
An Oregon report by law enforcement found nearly 70 percent of legal marijuana grown goes unsold, while a state-commissioned Colorado study released Thursday found most growers are planting less than half of their legal allotment and still meeting demand.
Oregon has a vast number of illegal marijuana grows competing with the legal market. Yet in both states retail marijuana prices have fallen by about 50 percent since 2015.
The information offers case studies for California and other pot-friendly states as they ramp up their legal markets.