Seattle Marijuana vs. Spokane Marijuana

February 15, 2017

washington-marijuana-By Lukasz Stefanski — Photo: Lukasz Stefanski/ shutterstock

Since the legalization of recreational marijuana in the evergreen state in 2014, marijuana has been selling like crazy. Washington state is becoming a hub for great weed, just like California and Colorado. There are two major hubs for cannabis right now in the evergreen state, and both are almost as far apart from each other as you can get in a state of its size. These are of course Seattle and Tacoma and Spokane County. So what’s the difference? How is Spokane selling more weed than Seattle? Here’s what we dug up.

Spokane Marijuana

Weed is flying off the shelves in a small county on the eastern side of Washington State. It’s literally selling better than grocery essentials like bread and milk. Retail sales continue to outsell many major kitchen staple products in Spokane county, Washington, according to The Seattle Times.

spokane skyline — By Mark Wagner (User:Carnildo) – Own work, CC BY 2.5, Link

The Seattle Times took a look at the numbers provided by the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board and noticed that in a given month, marijuana sales in Spokane county were over $5 million last march, which is about the same amount as people spend at local book stores, museums, and live-music venues. The Seattle Times also reported that the average household in Spokane spends on average $225.64 on recreational weed, which is more than the average of $154.85 on wine, $155.37 on milk, and $109.71 on bread. Beer still outsells marijuana with an average spend of $232.70 per household.

Spokane is also home to over 50 dispensaries, most of which are licensed for recreational sales. Most of the cannabis is locally grown by licensed marijuana cultivators in Spokane county or outsourced from legal grows in Seattle and Tacoma. There isn’t a difference in herb quality between the two cities, as Washington has specific cultivation laws.

Seattle / Tacoma Marijuana

Seattle and Tacoma marijuana skyline — By Rattlhed at English Wikipedia – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., Public Domain, Link

If you haven’t had the chance to take a look at our interviews with Seattle dispensaries, you should be sure to check them out. We covered 10 of the most interesting recreational stores in these cities, and they’re definitely worth a read.

The weed scene in Seattle and Tacoma is a lot different from the weed in Spokane, however. There is a culture surrounding recreational cannabis in these two progressive cities, and you can see the influence of the cannabis in street art as well as with the general vibe of the place. Seattle and Tacoma really embraced their use of marijuana, and the culture as a city expanded. It still feels artsy and friendly, but people are open about their use and happy to have it. Seattle and Tacoma sell the most weed in the state by far with hundreds of dispensaries between them.

Overall the difference is not in the quality of the marijuana. The difference comes down to the cultural development of cannabis use between the two cities, which overall is something to be celebrated. If you’re going to stop and visit a rec store in either city you won’t be disappointed, so don’t worry! Either embrace the hustle and the art of Seattle and Tacoma or shoot for a relaxing vacation in Spokane County.