Weed and Booze Sales Skyrocket as Oregon Prepares for Solar Eclipse

Photo by Vortex Farmacy. 

With an estimated one million extra people headed to Oregon for the total solar eclipse, demand for weed and booze is at an all-time high.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), which is expecting anywhere from a 20-40 percent increase in sales surrounding the eclipse, is urging stores to stock up early so their deliveries don’t get stuck in traffic. Big money can only be made if the product gets there in time.

The OLCC is even keeping tabs on international tour groups headed to Oregon from China and Brazil, anticipating what kinds of liquor their guests are going to want.

Oregon liquor sales have been climbing these past several years. But now with the solar eclipse, they are expecting to break records, especially in small towns where the so-called path of totality will pass through.

Weed shops are also gearing up with some astronomy-inspired products, such as the strain Moon Puppies.

“It’s Chem Dog crossed with Lemon Skunk, it has a wonderful smell on it,” said Leigha Christensen of Oregon’s Finest, a shop in Portland, which expects double or triple the number of sales from curious tourists.

Growers themselves can’t do much to make their plants produce more, but Oregon’s Finest, the first state licensed cannabis dispensary in Oregon, is ordering 25 percent more product than usual.

They also plan to hand out special packages of pot and eclipse glasses.

“I think events like this overcome that stigma because we get to talk to more people and provide that education that is really needed,” Christensen told KGW.Com.

Both the OLCC and marijuana shops will be closely watching for fake IDs and visibly intoxicated people during the mad rush.

A concern of emergency personnel is thousands of stoned people wandering around outdoors during the peak of Oregon’s fire season and on the roads driving to where they’ll watch the eclipse.

The last time a total solar eclipse was visible across the entire contiguous United States was on June 8, 1918.

With more than 12 million people living in the path of totality, and millions more traveling to see the historic eclipse, the rush to make money is also on, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Hotels have been sold out for years. Eclipse viewing glasses are back-ordered on Amazon. Airbnb reports that people are charging thousands for a one-night stay in their homes. There are eclipse-specific T-shirts, mugs, posters, books, iPhone cases, pillows and leggings being sold—even Porta-Potty rental companies are getting in on the act.

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