This article originally appeared in Forbes by Linda Yoshiko.
There are a lot of differences between California and Oregon. Ten months of sun versus ten months of rain. In-n-Out versus Voodoo Doughnuts. Vans; Doc Martens.
Sure, we now have recreational cannabis in common. In certain regions in both states, you can even have it delivered to your home. But that’s where the retail cannabis trends in California and Oregon differ most: the home delivery scene.
In southern Californian cities, delivery is king. It was king before recreational laws even passed, when medical marijuana patients were able to have cannabis delivered prior to this year. The LA Times reports 128 permits have been issued throughout the state to marijuana retailers allowing them to deliver to homes, and gives an example of magnitude via online cannabis marketplace and delivery app, Eaze, which facilitated more than 500,000 deliveries since the sale of pot for recreational purposes began in January.
Meanwhile, delivery services in Oregon struggled to stay afloat since January. There are only six licensed in Portland right now, the most densely-populated and weed-friendly city in the state, and none of them are exactly adding vehicles to the delivery fleet. In fact, even the ones that are seeing better sales are still too bootstrapped to afford employees.