The marijuana industry
in Kitsap is just getting started.
That fact was underscored this week by recreational marijuana revenue numbers released by the Liquor Control Board.
There were
three marijuana businesses up-and-running in the county long
enough to report sales to the state. Those three businesses
combined for $392,398 in sales from July through the start of
October.
Two producer/processors, Nine Point Growth Industries of Bremerton and Green Apple of Silverdale, accounted for $234,346 of that total. Crockpot, a retail outlet in Port Orchard, reported $158,052 for August, September and October.
The state collected $98,101 in excise tax from those three businesses.
Sales should pick up as the so-far sporadic marijuana supply becomes more robust. Two new marijuana stores also opened this month, and a third marijuana producer/processor recently came online.
Early marijuana sales were
a mixed bag across the state. The
Associated Press reported the state’s top two retailers were
both in the Vancouver area (conveniently close to
Portland). One of those shops reported $1.7 million in sales.
According to the AP, the state hopes releasing the numbers will provide more financial transparency and prevent money laundering in the industry. It allows a bank or credit union to check for discrepancies between the revenue marijuana businesses’ report to the state and the money funneled through their bank accounts.
Financial institutions remain leery of working with marijuana businesses, despite having received conditional approval from the federal government. Many of the federal conditions involve monitoring marijuana business activity for signs of fraud.
Along with revenue numbers, the liquor board also released a list of warnings and fines it has issued to marijuana businesses so far. No Kitsap marijuana companies were listed.
Follow Kitsap Sun business reporter Tad Sooter on Twitter at @tsooter. Contact him at tad.sooter@kitsapsun.com or leave a comment below.
