Cannabis business owners in Oregon have called on lawmakers to permanently limit the number of new licenses granted in an effort to tackle market saturation.
Oregon became the fourth U.S. state to legalize adult-use cannabis in 2014, and the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission has since approved more than 3,000 cannabis business licenses.
According to the local news outlet Oregon Public Broadcasting, industry advocates argue that this has led to a saturation of the market, making it difficult for anyone to run a successful business.
While a number of temporary and informal measures have been brought in since 2018 to limit the number of licenses granted, these are due to expire in April, and the regulator says it does not have the legal power to refrain from issuing new licenses.
As such, the Cannabis Industry Alliance of Oregon, which represents more than 500 member businesses in the state’s nearly $1 billion industry, is calling for legal intervention.
The group has proposed new measures be enacted, ensuring that no new licenses can be issued unless there is less than one license for every 7,500 smoking-age adults in the state. According to the group’s board chair, Mike Getlin, this wouldn’t solve the current market saturation issue but would only prevent it from getting any worse.”
