2025 Annual Cannabis Policy Report

Read 2025 Annual Cannabis Policy Report 

About Annual Cannabis Policy Report

The 2025 year was characterized by significant transition, persistent public safety challenges, and mounting economic pressure on Portland's regulated cannabis industry. Alongside this structural objective, the advisory body's adopted 2025 priorities reaffirmed its commitment to advancing the Portland cannabis landscape with a sustained focus on  public safety, social consumption initiatives, public outreach and community engagement. 

Public safety remained the most urgent and persistent challenge.  Although law-enforcement data reflected a year-over-year decline in reported burglaries, robberies, and vandalism at cannabis businesses, retail locations continued to experience a disproportionate share of criminal activity, particularly during evening operating hours. This ongoing exposure to violence and property crime undermines the physical safety, mental well-being, and economic stability
of business owners, employees, and surrounding communities. Engagement with business owners, law enforcement, and prosecutors identified systemic barriers to effective crime prevention and response, including disincentives to reporting repeat incidents, legal risks associated with surveillance and evidentiary practices, and staffing shortages that constrain proactive policing. The Cannabis Program convened two Cannabis Public Safety Forums to facilitate sustained, solution-oriented dialogue between cannabis businesses and city and county partners, emphasizing coordination, data transparency, and practical interventions that promote safer working conditions and more access to public safety resources.