Cannabis and border towns in the United States

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Since 2012, various jurisdictions in the United States have legalized cannabis for recreational use. Because there are no border controls between U.S. states and citizens are allowed to travel freely between them, this has resulted in the proliferation of cannabis dispensaries located in towns that border states where cannabis remains illegal. These dispensaries can often be a significant source of revenue for the local economy of a city; for example, the city of Ontario, Oregon generated $100 million in cannabis sales less than two years after allowing dispensaries. [1]

Contents

This article lists cities and towns throughout the United States located at or near a state line that have at least one cannabis dispensary.

Border towns with cannabis dispensaries in the United States

Haverhill, Massachusetts

With the opening of new dispensary Full Harvest Moon which sits directly on the state line between New Hampshire and Massachusetts prompting many close by New Hampshire residents in Plaistow to make the short trip over.

Antonito, Colorado

Located just north of the New Mexico border, Antonito's authorization of retail marijuana shops resulted in a $295,000 annual increase in the city budget. The money has been used to pay for critical services and purchase the 106-year-old Warshauer Mansion for use as a future City Hall. [2]

Danville, Illinois

Located in eastern Illinois on the Indiana state line, Danville's first cannabis dispensary opened in May 2020. [3]

Dinosaur, Colorado

A town of less than 400 people, Dinosaur voted 102-50 to allow marijuana dispensaries in 2016 and serves residents of Utah. [4]

Iron Mountain, Michigan

Located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan along the Wisconsin border, Iron Mountain's first recreational dispensary opened in October 2020. [5]

Morenci, Michigan

Located along the Ohio border, the city of Morenci's dispensaries serve both recreational customers and Ohio medical cannabis patients who exhaust their legal supply in Ohio before purchasing more in Michigan. [6]

Ontario, Oregon

Ontario, Oregon repealed its ban on cannabis dispensaries in the November 2018 general election. Dispensaries opened in the town the following year and immediately saw a large influx of Idaho residents. Tax revenue from the dispensaries has enabled Ontario to expand its city budget and cease cutting funds for general services in the city. [7] However it, along with other dispensaries in Eastern Oregon, is one of the driving forces behind the creation of Greater Idaho due to the effect people there and in Idaho say it is having on their way of life and values.

Salisbury, Massachusetts

A resort town on the New Hampshire border. Police in nearby Seabrook, New Hampshire regularly confiscate cannabis purchased in Salisbury by residents. [8]

Sedgwick, Colorado

Located in northeastern Colorado near the Nebraska border, Sedgwick's cannabis dispensaries were a major benefit to the small town's economy. However, the town has also drawn the ire of Nebraska law enforcement officials, who believe it is to blame for the large spike in marijuana possession arrests in Nebraska-Colorado border towns since legalization. [9]

South Beloit, Illinois

Located across the border from Beloit, Wisconsin, South Beloit's first cannabis dispensary opened in 2020 following the legalization of cannabis in Illinois and has generated significant tax revenue for the city. [10]

Trinidad, Colorado

One of the first cannabis border towns, Trinidad's economy was revitalized by the legalization of marijuana due to its close proximity to both New Mexico and Texas. [11]

Uxbridge, Massachusetts

Located on the border with Rhode Island, Uxbridge has several marijuana dispensaries. As of September 2019, the city is considering establishing marijuana smoking clubs in the city. [12]

West Wendover, Nevada

Located across the border from Wendover, Utah, West Wendover's first dispensary opened in December 2019 and serves Utah residents in the western half of the state. [13]

Previously used border town dispensaries

From July 2014 to October 2015, recreational cannabis sales were legal in Washington but illegal in Oregon; accordingly, Washington-based dispensaries located along the Oregon-Washington border made considerable revenue from Oregon residents during this time. However, after Oregon began recreational cannabis sales in October 2015, revenue at state line dispensaries plummeted as Oregon residents switched to dispensaries in their own state. [14]

Huntington, Oregon was the primary city used by Idaho residents to purchase cannabis until 2019, when the city of Ontario (which is located closer to the Idaho border) opened its own dispensaries; cannabis sales subsequently declined significantly in Huntington. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ontario, Oregon</span> City in Oregon, United States

Ontario is the largest city in Malheur County, Oregon, United States. It lies along the Snake River at the Idaho border. The population was 11,645 at the 2020 census. The city is the largest community in the region of far eastern Oregon, also known as the Western Treasure Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dispensary</span> Office that dispenses medications

A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispenses medication per the prescription or order form. The English term originated from the medieval Latin noun dispensaria and is cognate with the Latin verb dispensare, 'to distribute'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in Oregon</span>

Cannabis in Oregon is legal for both medical and recreational use. In recent decades, the U.S. state of Oregon has had a number of legislative, legal, and cultural events surrounding use of cannabis. Oregon was the first state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis, and among the first to authorize its use for medical purposes. An attempt to recriminalize possession of small amounts of cannabis was turned down by Oregon voters in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legality of cannabis by U.S. jurisdiction</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Colorado Amendment 64</span> Referendum legalizing marijuana

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of cannabis laws in the United States</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in Massachusetts</span>

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Cannabis tourism in the United States is a form of drug tourism that exists in recreationally legal cannabis states. As of May 2023, 23 states, Washington, D.C., and Guam have legalized recreational cannabis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in Arkansas</span>

Cannabis in Arkansas is illegal for recreational use. First-time possession of up to four ounces (110 g) is punished with a fine of up to $2,500, imprisonment of up to a year, and a mandatory six month driver's license suspension. Medical use was legalized in 2016 by way of a ballot measure to amend the state constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis dispensaries in the United States</span> Local government regulated location

Cannabis dispensaries in the United States or marijuana dispensaries are a type of cannabis retail outlet, local government-regulated physical location, typically inside a retail storefront or office building, in which a person can purchase cannabis and cannabis-related items for medical or recreational use.

Border effects refer to asymmetries in trade patterns between cities and regions of different countries and those that are located in the same country. Usually, trade volume between the former is much less. Economic integration may be a solution to overcome these effects. A 2017 meta-analysis of 1,271 estimates of the border effect finds that borders reduce trade by one third.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in Nevada</span>

Cannabis in Nevada became legal for recreational use on January 1, 2017, following the passage of Question 2 on the 2016 ballot with 54% of the vote. The first licensed sales of recreational cannabis began on July 1, 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effects of legalized cannabis</span> Economic and societal effects of legalized cannabis

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in Missouri</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in Illinois</span>

Cannabis is legal in Illinois for both medical and recreational use. Illinois became the eleventh state in the US to legalize recreational marijuana effective January 1, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in Ohio</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in Washington (state)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis laws of Canada by province or territory</span>

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References

  1. ↑ Lynsey Amundson (23 December 2020). "Marijuana sales top $100 million in Ontario, Oregon – fueled in part by Idaho customers". Idaho News 6. Archived from the original on 2021-02-10. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  2. ↑ Migoya, David (2 January 2019). "Once a pass-through town, legal marijuana put Antonito on the map". Denver Post. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  3. ↑ "Cannabis dispensary opens in Danville". WAND TV Central Illinois (press release). 23 May 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-03-20. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  4. ↑ Lofholm, Nancy (25 February 2019). "Trouble in Dinosaur: Cop fired, town hall searched as border town reckons with new pot money, old problems". The Colorado Sun. Archived from the original on 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  5. ↑ Erwin, Alyssa (22 October 2020). "Rize U.P., Iron Mountain's first marijuana retailer open". WLUC. Archived from the original on 2020-11-01. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  6. ↑ Beggin, Riley (20 January 2020). "Along Michigan-Ohio border, small-town Morenci is transformed by marijuana". Bridge Magazine. Archived from the original on 2021-01-10. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  7. ↑ Parsons, Gretchen; Terhune, Katie (10 November 2019). "'This is the marijuana capital of Idaho': Pot sales bring cash infusion to Ontario". KTVB 7. Archived from the original on 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  8. ↑ Chiaramida, Angeljean (12 September 2019). "New Hampshire pot smokers beware". Foster's Daily Democrat. Archived from the original on 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  9. ↑ Steiner, Matt (25 April 2019). "Sedgwick, a struggling town on the Colorado prairie, found salvation in legalized pot". Colorado Springs Gazette. Archived from the original on 2021-03-05. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  10. ↑ Bruckman, Ari (10 December 2020). "Marijuana sales may be illegal in Wisconsin, but dispensary on Illinois border is making a killing". MyStateline.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-15. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  11. ↑ Roeder, Tom (24 February 2018). "Marijuana fuels Trinidad's revival - and a rise in black market arrests in neighboring states". Colorado Springs Gazette. Archived from the original on 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  12. ↑ Spencer, Susan (14 September 2019). "Mass/RI border town embraces booming cannabis business, plans for marijuana cafes". South Coast Today. New Bedford, MA. Archived from the original on 2019-09-18. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  13. ↑ Locklear, Michael (30 December 2019). "Utahns buying pot from new West Wendover shop will probably break the law". CBS 2 KUTV. Archived from the original on 2020-01-03. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  14. ↑ Noelle Crombie (8 April 2016). "Washington marijuana sales see 'border effect' from Oregon's new recreational market". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2020-09-16. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  15. ↑ Tony Lange (9 February 2021). "The Border-Town Effect: Dispensaries Boom on State Line". Cannabis Business Times. Archived from the original on 2021-02-19. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
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