Jackpots of weed sales across the border from Idaho

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just saw an AP article from yesterday titled First Nevada pot dispensary on Idaho line cleared to open, about how the little casino town of Jackpot (population 1,244) will begin selling marijuana - which is not legal in Idaho. It is 45 miles south from Twin Falls, Idaho (population 45,951). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another article by Natalie Fertig at Politico on April 18, 2021 titled Border Weed: how the hometown of Tater Tots became a cannabis capital has a bar chart showing the absurdly high per resident sales in Malheur County, Oregon (whose largest city is Ontario). I’ve added the county population and (name of the largest city) in my version, which is shown above. Malheur County has over 7.5 times the sales that Multnomah County (with Portland) has!

 

Those articles reminded me how adjoining states have very different laws. For example, Oregon has no sales tax, while Idaho charges 6%. Conversely, Oregon has a beverage container deposit law, while Idaho does not. Nevada has gambling everywhere, so border towns like Jackpot and West Wendover (next to Utah) get out-of-state visitors.

 

And while Idaho and 47 other states allow self-serve sales of gasoline, Oregon (with some exceptions) and New Jersey do not. The situation in Oregon was discussed in yet another article by Andrew Damitio at Medium on November 13, 2019 titled The Insanity of Oregon’s Self-Serve Gas Ban.