Although the Vancouver City Council voted Dec. 7 to limit recreational retail cannabis locations at six, the council won’t vote until its Dec. 21 meeting on the new language of the zoning code. I strongly encourage the city to allow the additional three locations suggested by the state.
The current six stores have $33,870,212 in annual sales through the end of November. This equals over $5 million per location. This is effectively a state and city organized monopoly on this new emerging business development. Too few people are reaping the rewards, with many people being locked out of the opportunity to create a new business and new jobs. While I understand that current license holders don’t want to lose any sales, they don’t have the right to own the monopoly they currently enjoy.
I compared the average sale of the now open marijuana stores to some other businesses and found that the top two stores are producing more sales than the average of 11 fast-food chain restaurants. It is no wonder that the current licensees do not want any competition. There is an argument that Oregon’s sales will hurt the current locations but the market demands should dictate the number of outlets needed. I encourage the city council to issue any additional licenses the state authorizes.
