Strong December drives 2020 Oregon cannabis tally to more than $1.1B

The final numbers are in for Oregon cannabis in 2020, and as expected, they’re impressive — on both the adult-use and medical sides of the industry.

Combined sales were $95.9 million in December, up 39.2% compared to a year earlier, driving the total for 2020 to $1,110,520,723.

That was a 39.7% increase over the $795.1 million sold in 2019 — a big uptick from growth rates of 22.6% in 2019 and 24.1% in 2018, according to data from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

Sales leaped when the pandemic hit in March and stayed strong, with some typical seasonal variation, as the year wore on. As the Business Journal reported, they crossed the $1 billion mark the day before Thanksgiving.

Adult-use sales alone topped $1 billion for the year, ending at $1,001,295,497, up 37.9%.

But medical sales through retailers had an even more remarkable 2020, in percentage terms: Stuck in the $60 million to $70 million range the previous three years, they shot up more than $40 million to $109.2 million, a 58% increase over 2019.

Medical sales are not taxed, but adult-use sales carry a 17% state levy along with 3% local taxes in most cases. That’s made cannabis a rare bright spot for government budgets.