Pubdate: Tue, 12 Apr 2016
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2016 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Kip Hill, The Spokesman-Review

POT SALES TOP WINE, BREAD, MILK IN SPOKANE COUNTY

Hit $5 Million in March

But Beer Sales Still Come Out on Top

Legal marijuana sales in Spokane County topped retail sales of wine 
and kitchen staples such as bread and milk last year.

That's according to sales numbers from the Washington Liquor and 
Cannabis Board and a survey of household expenses by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Not all marijuana sold in Spokane County is consumed by county 
residents. State law allows the 17 state-licensed pot shops in the 
area to sell to anyone older than 21, regardless of where they live.

But with monthly sales topping $5 million for the first time in 
March, retailers in the county are selling marijuana at an 
ever-quickening pace - on track to top receipts at area bookstores, 
museums and live-music venues, according to figures released by the 
Washington Department of Revenue.

Spokane County marijuana retailers reported a little more than $43 
million in sales last year, according to the state Liquor and 
Cannabis Board. That's an average $225.64 per household.

By comparison, retail beer sales were $232.70 per Spokane County 
household last year, according to the Consumer Expenditure Survey 
administered by the Census Bureau. The average household spent 
$154.85 on wine, $155.37 on milk and $109.71 on bread in 2015.

The calculated marijuana average ignores the "80/20 rule" - 20 
percent of people are responsible for 80 percent of an effect, said 
Brian Smith, Liquor and Cannabis Board spokesman. An independent 
study by the Rand Corp. in 2013 found the rule applied to 
Washington's nascent marijuana market - that roughly one-fifth of the 
population accounted for the vast majority of marijuana sales.

The Liquor and Cannabis Board tracks marijuana sales of $2.8 million 
a day statewide, Smith said. "That seems pretty robust," he said.

Grant Forsyth, chief economist at Avista and an adviser on industry 
trends to local governments, said it's difficult with available data 
to compare spending on marijuana with other household items. The 
federal government administers the Consumer Expenses Survey and also 
classifies marijuana as a controlled substance, hindering efforts to 
study the purchase of pot with the same rigor as other household expenditures.

"We don't have a lot of consumption data, so it's hard to see how the 
market is going to evolve," Forsyth said.

Smith said comparing total marijuana revenues to receipts reported by 
the Department of Revenue might provide a clearer comparison of 
marijuana's economic effect on the region.

For the third quarter of 2015 - July through September - marijuana 
sales in Spokane County reached $12.4 million. That's slightly less 
than bookstore revenue of $12.6 million and is below the $15.8 
million from arts, entertainment and recreation, including live-music 
venues and museums, during that period - the most recent for which 
the comparative data are available.

Marijuana sales rose further in the county in the first quarter of 
2016 to $14.5 million. That includes a slight decline in sales in 
January over December. Total revenues are likely to continue to 
increase, as medical-marijuana dispensaries will come under Liquor 
and Cannabis Board control in July.

Because state laws were rewritten last year to enable tax-revenue 
sharing with local governments based on sales, more revenue means 
more money for cities and counties.

Spokane County can expect to receive $442,917 from the state in 
excise taxes on marijuana this year, according to the most recent 
Liquor and Cannabis Board estimates. The city of Spokane will be 
allotted $123,011; Spokane Valley, with its moratorium on new 
businesses, will be capped at $75,824.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom