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MEDICAL MARIJUANA Report: Over-production of medical pot feeds black market in Oregon Critics call the assertion an 'opinion,' and author admits it's a 'guess' By Shaun Hall Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Shaun Hall Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Jul. 25, 2016 @ 5:21 pm By Shaun Hall Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Jul. 25, 2016 @ 5:21 pm » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Medical marijuana growers in Oregon are producing far more product than they or their customer-patients can consume, feeding a black market that doesn't appear to be going away soon, according to a controversial new report. An estimated 70 percent of the crop will be distributed illegally next year, according to a draft report from the Portland consulting firm ECONorthwest, which has been hired by Josephine County and the city of Grants Pass to study the local economy, including the marijuana industry. In a state hoping to rid itself of the drug's black market, this is indeed a dark number. It is especially dark on a local level. On a per capita basis, Josephine County has by far the most medical marijuana cardholders (6,420), growers (4,617) and growsites (2,493) in the state. But the "70 percent" estimate is only an opinion, albeit an educated one. It comes mainly from one analyst whose conclusions were both supported and criticized by sources contacted by the Daily Courier. "It's really more opinion," said the analyst, Bob Whelan, who has testified before the Oregon Legislature for a group that advocated for legalized pot. "It's not like anyone goes out and collects information. You can ask 10 people and you get 10 different answers." Whelan, an economist for 40 years, defended his estimate by comparing the number of plants allowed under the state's medical marijuana program with the number of patients. "If you count the number of plants you can grow and compare it to the number of medical marijuana patients, it looks as though 70 percent is not being consumed," he said. "It's a guess based on what economists call disappearance — the difference between what is produced vs. what's consumed. It truly is a guess. I've had other people guess higher." Whelan said ECONorthwest's initial estimate of 60 percent diverted to illegal markets was upped after consultation with former Oregon State University instructor Seth Crawford, a former Galice resident who studied the Southern Oregon pot industry for his doctoral dissertation. Crawford, who now operates a hemp farm near Corvallis, supports Whelan's conclusion. "Seventy percent is probably about accurate," he said. "Oregon's marijuana production is three to five times what consumption is. We can't consume anywhere near what's produced here. Three to five times what's consumed is leaving here." Poppycock, says Peter Gendron, president of the Williams-based Oregon SunGrown Growers' Guild. "As a grower myself, and speaking for the people I work with, I would say that number's reversed," Gendron said. "I think they're upside down." Gendron also is president of his own marijuana-development business. "I develop legal canna-businesses," he said. "One hundred percent of my marijuana is distributed legally. I don't have any material that's being diverted." Josephine County Commissioner Cherryl Walker, who recently held a series of town halls about marijuana land-use regulations and related topics, didn't dispute the 70 percent estimate. "I'm not going to argue with it," she said, adding, however, that a person using the estimates should be "very judicious, because none of us knows." "You have so many people growing, you know it's not all on a legitimate basis," she continued, noting that illegal marijuana has been grown for decades in Josephine County. "Just because recreational marijuana is legal, someone's not going to stop growing to become licensed." Adding to the supply of marijuana is the increasing ability of growers to improve productivity of the best part of the marijuana plant, its flowers. Crawford estimated that 5 pounds of flowers are taken on average, per plant, while the best growers are getting 15 pounds of flowers per plant. "You guys are in, literally, one of the world's finest production environments, bar none," he said. "Highest quality flowers, biggest plants." Reach reporter Shaun Hall at 541-474-3722 or [email protected] . By Shaun Hall Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Shaun Hall Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Jul. 25, 2016 @ 5:21 pm » Comment or view comments Terms of Service /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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