Marijuana is now legal and for sale in Washington. Will Oregon be next?

Kari Chisholm

As Oregonians get ready to consider legalizing marijuana, we get a chance to see how the process unfolds for our neighbors to the north.

The first retail shops in the state are opening today, with a pair of shops opening their doors just across the state line in Vancouver tomorrow.

Of course, there appear to be some real problems with the legal supply of marijuana for the retailers. From NBC News:

The state faces a huge backlog for licenses. There are only 18 license reviewers sifting through thousands of applications. The first approvals for growers didn’t go out until March, which left at most two growing cycles to stock the shelves.

That's created an inescapable shortage of product, and a growing population of desperate, irate business people. Some have already gone under as opening day was delayed again and again. Others are trying to sell or hold on long enough to break even. ...

As a result the price of a gram could exceed $30 dollars, compared to half that or less in the park around the corner or the medical shop a block away.

Of course, once it gets really going, we'll see what the impact really is. In Colorado, sales -- and thus, tax revenues -- have been well below expectations.

And yet, I can say from personal observation this spring, it seems that half the people walking around downtown Denver are stoned.

My question for you: As marijuana legalizes in Washington, what will you be watching for? Is there a real-life result that would change your mind from No to Yes, or Yes to No?

By Kari Chisholm July 08, 2014