Drivers heading north on I-5 in southern Oregon not only enjoy the region’s towering mountains and evergreen forests, they are also treated to the occasional enticement. At various points along the way, giant billboards appear, shouting out messages like “NEED WEED? Exit Here” and the succinct “MARIJUANA! This exit.”

And when motorists pull off the highway and wander into those shops, they’re finding weed at unbelievable prices. One shop offered grams of the popular Blue Dream strain for $2, and bargain-hunting buyers could walk out with an ounce for only $45. A number of other strains were also available for $100 an ounce or less.

Five years after Oregon legalized recreational marijuana, its lawmakers now are trying to rein in production, fearing the state’s big weed surplus will tempt some licensed businesses to sell their products out of state or on the illegal market.

Such diversions could invite a crackdown from the federal government and cast a pall over the legal pot industry. Last year, the U.S. attorney for the District of Oregon put the state on notice when he announced that curbing interstate trafficking was his top cannabis law enforcement priority. 

Oregon’s saturated recreational cannabis market has been stealing headlines nationwide, but it’s exploding CBD-driven hemp market may not be too far behind. The promise of profits has brought in farmers from all ends of the industry, but some fear the boom may cause the entire cannabis industry to crumble.

A unit of wheat is a called a bushel, and a standard weight of potatoes is called a century. But hemp as a fully legal U.S. agricultural commodity is so new, a unit of hemp seed doesn't have a universal name or an agreed-upon quantity.

That's one example of the startling lack of uniformity -- and accountability -- in an industry that's sprung up almost overnight since the U.S. late last year removed hemp from the controlled substances list.

A global hemp research lab announced June 13 in Oregon, coupled with a nascent national review board for hemp varieties and a handful of seed certification programs nationwide, are the first stabs at addressing those concerns -- and at creating accountability by standardizing U.S. hemp for a global market.

Since Oregon legalized recreational cannabis in 2014, the state’s government has been distinctly pot-friendly… maybe even a little too pot-friendly. But the state, which legalized medical cannabis 1998 and decriminalized small-time possession in 1978, is now attempting to pass more pioneering legislation and write into law the ability to import and export cannabis between states.

When states legalize pot for all adults, long-standing medical marijuana programs take a big hit, in some cases losing more than half their registered patients in just a few years, according to a data analysis by the Associated Press.

Oregon State University’s Global Hemp Innovation Center will be the largest hemp research center in the USA say OSU officials.

Like much of the accelerated activity in the sector, the move by OSU has been triggered by the signing of 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp, recognised it as an agricultural crop and removed it from the federal controlled substances list.

“We believe that Oregon State University is uniquely positioned to serve the global need for research-based understanding of hemp as a crop and for its use in new products,” said Alan Sams, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences.

Oregon, with a long history with cannabis, combined with some great weather in the southern part of the state, and relatively low barriers to enter the regulated market, has produced a lot of cannabis since the state legalized cannabis commerce. I mean, a lot. The huge supply of cannabis, a bounty, if you will, has led to rock-bottom prices, creating a cannabis connoisseur’s dream, but has made it exceedingly difficult for producers to make any kind of profit.

By now many of you have heard the devastating news: There’s too much marijuana in Oregon. Perhaps I should have told you to sit down first; for those who fainted after reading that sentence, my apologies.

All jokes aside, this is apparently a huge deal. State authorities put the surplus from last year’s harvest alone in excess of 2 million pounds of marijuana. With supply outpacing demand in the state, prices have plummeted, putting many businesses in the crosshairs of failure.