Demand at pot shops remains strong

Published 11:45 am Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Earlier this year, Smooth Roots, an Oregon-based marijuana dispensary, opened the doors to a new shop along Marine Drive in Uniontown.

The location near the roundabout on the edge of the west side made it a challenge to draw customers, Joe McDaniel, a manager at the store, said, but the flow of people has picked up as the year went on.

The addition of Smooth Roots marks the eighth recreational marijuana shop in Astoria.

The majority of dispensaries are located downtown. Four — Hashtoria, The Farmacy, Good Life Collective and Smooth Roots — sit along Marine Drive and two — Five Zero Trees and Sweet Relief — are posted on Commercial Street. Mr. Nice Guy, a business with over 20 shops across Oregon and California, has locations on Bond Street and Olney Avenue.

A number of pot shops have opened in Astoria since recreational marijuana was legalized by Oregon voters in 2014. While some shops have come and gone, closures are often quickly followed by the arrival of new ones.

Despite a high volume of dispensaries, often within blocks of each other, managers and employees of pot shops say that their customer base remains strong.

Several reasons — tourism, consumer demand, variety of product and restrictions elsewhere — were cited as to why larger marijuana companies see potential in Astoria and why eight dispensaries are able to coexist.

“You got your slow season and your fast season in the summer, with the tourists and everything — cruise ships,” Preston Roper, a manager at Mr. Nice Guy, said. “But once the tourists filter out, we still have our locals.”

Pluto Rodriguez, an employee at Mr. Nice Guy, said she views the large number of dispensaries as sustainable because of the diversity of product across stores, whether it be different strains of weed, different brands of edibles or a more specific product.

“We don’t all carry the same products,” Janick Langley-Williams, an employee at Five Zero Trees, said. “The biggest thing I love about having so many dispensaries in town is that if I don’t have something that someone is specifically looking for I can refer them to the next shop. Ultimately, it all hits us so uniquely so if I don’t have the product that one person wants, I want to make sure they can find it.”

Shortly after legalization, Warrenton implemented time, place and manner restrictions on marijuana. City code states that recreational production, processing and wholesale activities with marijuana shall be located only east of U.S. Highway 101 and at least 1,000 feet from any school, church, park or child care center. It also requires that marijuana businesses must occupy stand-alone, single-use buildings.

Because of the restrictions, few pot shops have tried to take up residence in Warrenton and there are no active recreational dispensaries. Astoria shops say that they get a big boost from customers from Warrenton and even from southwest Washington state.

With so many shops nearby, dispensaries are forced to get creative in order to stand out.

“I’ve helped lots of different pot shops for lots of different companies and everybody does it a little differently,” McDaniel said. “Just the way that (Smooth Roots) does products and pricing and everything, it just beats the game. It’s competition-based, you’re trying to beat the competition.”

Dispensary employees pointed to their shop’s special discounts, low prices, product selection, exceptional customer service and extensive knowledge in cannabis as appeals for customers.

“All of us here are pretty knowledgeable about our craft and what we do here,” Austin Mattila, an employee at Sweet Relief, said. “I think it definitely speaks volumes when we have repeated customers that have been coming in for the last seven years or so.”

Others pointed to an attempt to engage with the community, even if the interest is not always reciprocated.

“It’s a little difficult being a dispensary, not everybody wants us around,” Roper said, noting that Mr. Nice Guy was struggling to gain traction with a food drive.

Although there has been some resistance to more dispensaries in the past from residents, business owners and city leaders, some pot shop employees said they have not seen as much pushback lately.

For customers, the options may be overwhelming. One customer at Sweet Relief, Dmitry Bahrt, said that he likes several dispensaries across town, but customer service, prices and proximity play into his decision of where to shop.

“I like (Sweet Relief) because of the discounts,” Bahrt said, adding that he lives just up the block from the dispensary.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Langley-Williams said, he saw much more consumption in marijuana, but added that it has started to slow down since.

According to the state’s website, Oregon generated more than $178 million in total tax revenue from marijuana sales in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, which was up from $133 million the year before. The state brought in just over $170 million this last fiscal year.

Astoria has local 3% tax on the sale of recreational marijuana.

Some pot shop employees are surprised by how many people locally use marijuana. “It’s a heavy amount,” Langley-Williams said. “I’ve gotten to meet a huge amount of this community just being a weed dealer.”