recreational marijuana sales by county vs. I 502 voters
I 502 in Washington won the minds of 2012 voters, gaining 55.7 percent of the vote, but a large number also voted against, and hate to see retail stores popping up in their state. Taking the results apart county by county, we thought it would be interesting to see the differences in sales versus votes. Let’s see how the numbers stack up.
sales of the opposition, or lack thereof
Garfield, Franklin and Adams counties all had the highest number of ‘no’ votes for I-502, with Garfield racking up the most with 62.17 percent of voters rejecting legalization of recreational marijuana. Garfield county’s final 62% vote against I 502, only represented 789 people of its 2,266 total. In its population study, the Liquor Control Board said that it would only be allocated a single retail license. But before it could issue a license, the county put up a moratorium on any recreational activities, which lasted until last month. Since then, there have been no applications submitted to the state to set up a marijuana business. A similar story has transpired in Franklin County, which voted against I-502 with 61 percent of the vote. The Liquor Control Board allotted the largest city in the county, Pasco, four possible retail licenses and one for the county as a whole. Since that time, Pasco established an ordinance prohibiting recreational marijuana sales last July. The county passed a limited moratorium that has since expired and the state currently has nine applications for a retail license but has not issued one, yet. Adams County, whose population voted against I 502 with 60.62 percent, has no current moratorium or ban in effect. However, it doesn’t have a retail location there yet, either. Only two applications are pending with the Liquor Control Board for the possible two locations the regulatory department allotted for the county.
the other side of the I 502 coin
On the other side of the recreational marijuana divide, bringing in a log of the $56 million according to state Dec. 1st numbers, is the counties that had the most excitement for passing I 502. Jefferson, King and San Juan counties all showed over 65 percent of the vote in favor of legalization and their retail records hold that sentiment up. San Juan County had the highest support for the initiative in the state with 68.39 percent of the vote being for legalization. However, the one retail store in that county only opened last month and has since only brought in around $12,000, not including excise tax. Jefferson County has had a bit more luck in adding to the state’s sales. The Liquor Control Board has approved two retail licenses so far for the four possible. One of the stores has yet to open, though has the license to proceed. The other, named Sea Change Cannabis, looks to be a veritable success story, with sales numbers growing by a third each month. So far, Sea Change Cannabis’ year to date total, which is the year to date total for Jefferson County at large, stands around $241,200. Perhaps it’s no surprise that King County, with the largest population in the state is bringing in the most money by far. With only four stores so far, out of a possible 61, Uncle Ike’s Cannabis City, Green Theory and Herbal Nation have pulled in a total $6,939,000. Bothell’s Herbal Nation has done the best since opening on Aug. 18, making $2.6 million since then. Seattle’s first pot shop, Cannabis City has come in a close second with $2.5 million made since they opened in July. Many counties have fallen in between these two extremes, though tell an interesting story of their own. Pierce County, which has the second largest population in the state and voted in favor of I-502 with 54.04 percent, passed an outright ban on marijuana activities earlier in the year. This put the many Tacoma and surrounding entrepreneurs on the defensive as to the future of their marijuana businesses. Meanwhile, Vancouver’s bustling scene has done very well, getting all sorts of tourism from neighboring Portland, though that might change as Oregon strings together its own industry. For a more detail lay out of monthly earnings by application number, check out the lists available from the Liquor Control Board.
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