Economic advisors in Oregon have released their first estimate of what the state will make taxing marijuana sales. As in Colorado and Washington, the numbers are large and growing.

By the end of 2017, the state expects to have brought in as much as $67.2 million in marijuana taxes. That number is expected to grow to more than $156 million from 2017 to 2019, giving the state more than $210 million to distribute from marijuana tax coffers.

It also means that those who have invested in the marijuana industry are doing well.

An Oregon Senate bill could bring cannabis clubs to the state, giving locals and tourists alike a legal place to consume in a social setting outside their own homes.

Senate Bill 307 would allow state-licensed lounges to permit cannabis consumption among adults 21 and older, provided the city or county has not banned cannabis establishments.

The legal marijuana industry brought in upwards of $4 billion in sales in 2016, according to a new report from the Marijuana Business Daily. And small-town America is riding the high.

In the eight US states where recreational marijuana is legal, the marijuana "green rush" has breathed new life into the rural communities that welcome it. Cultivation facilities, dispensaries, and infused products companies create jobs and tax revenue for the cities and states, which then supports public infrastructure and community efforts.

Here are five towns that came back from the brink thanks to legal weed.

New appointment elevates leading producer’s commitment to GMP standards

Wana Brands–Colorado’s No. 1 edibles brand–has expanded its ranks with the addition of progressive culinary professional Todd Garston as Operations Director. Wana Brands co-owner Nancy Whiteman made the announcement. Garston is based in Wana Brands’ headquarters in Boulder.

When Oregon voters approved medical marijuana almost two decades ago, supporters assumed there’d be more research into it’s health benefits. 

But, it’s mainly into growing more marijuana cheaper- not finding the next FDA approved marijuana drug.

Let me take you on a short flight-of-fancy. Imagine, you’re starting your own pot farm.  First you get land and water rights. And then, you’ve got to find the right strain of cannabis.  

“Well so there’s a lot of legend and laws. So in general it’s like, my friend Billy gave me this. And he told me that he got it from this guy. And ….. this is the original thing. This is the lost cut of Panama Red from so and so in 1978,” Mowgli Holmes, chief scientific officer at Phylos Bioscienc,  said.   

One of the biggest problems with consuming marijuana for many American’s is the disapproval of their employer to its use. Even in legal marijuana states, few if any protections exist for employees that consume cannabis in their off time. Since the metabolites remain in your system for weeks and not hours, a drug test can pick up traces of cannabis in your system. Even legal medical marijuana patients under state laws that are usiing cannabis are subject to discrimination practices by employers.

The city of Portland has joined with cannabis businesses in lobbying for a bill that would allow consumption of cannabis at licensed lounges akin to tobacco smoking patios.

“The same way as Oregon and our city celebrate our craft beer and wine industry, Portland welcomes and wants to provide opportunities for our emerging craft cannabis industry,” Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, who oversees the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, the city’s cannabis regulatory body, said in testimony submitted to the Joint Committee on Marijuana Regulation this week.

Recreational marijuana sales and taxes were included in Oregon’s quarterly Economic and Revenue Forecast for the first time. The report came out Tuesday and projects an upward trend for marijuana revenue.  

Even though voters passed the measure legalizing recreational marijuana in 2014, sales didn’t actually begin until October of the following year. With a limited amount of data, the Office of Economic Analysis drew on numbers from states that legalized recreational marijuana before Oregon did.

As a doctor at Tigard-based American Cannabinoid Clinics, Rachel Knox said her job is taking the guess work out of medical marijuana

“Patients have been using cannabis like throwing darts at the wall,” said Knox. “They hope it lands on that bull’s eye which is their medical condition, whether it's pain or cancer or anything in between.”

That notion was something digital marketing professional Rick Bakas  could relate to. His mother, a medical marijuana patient, has multiple sclerosis.

The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) oversees the medical marijuana cardholder registry for patients and regulates medical marijuana dispensaries, processors and grow sites.

Their role includes administering the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act by overseeing the registration, database, tracking and reporting requirements for patients, growers, processors and dispensaries.

The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program is part of the Center for Health Protection.