Washington State voters approved adult-use cannabis legalization in 2012, making it one of the first states in the U.S. to do so. Washington was joined by Colorado in approving recreational cannabis legalization on Election Day 2012.
Legal sales of adult-use cannabis products began in Washington in mid-2014, and since that time, the state’s emerging legal cannabis industry has sold a considerable amount of legal cannabis products. Leading up to Washington’s historic 2012 vote, and also leading up to the launch of regulated recreational product sales in 2014, cannabis opponents predicted that the regulated industry would be ‘bad for children.’
However, data compiled and published by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board demonstrate that the state’s cannabis industry compliance rate for checking age before transactions is better than it is for alcohol sales. Below is a table containing multiple years of compliance rates in Washington State, via a 2024 government report:
As you can see from the Washington State government data above, the compliance rates for cannabis sales are not only far better year-over-year compared to alcohol sales, but also for tobacco sales and vapor product sales.
“Premises checks are random, in-person visits to a licensed location by an officer to gauge compliance with rules and offer assistance or education to the licensee and/or to answer their questions.” the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board stated in its report about compliance checks.
“The LCB prioritizes preventing youth access to age-restricted products in Washington State. Compliance checks are a specialized check involving an LCB officer and an investigative aide (IA) that is 18-20 years old. The checks assess the level of compliance related to sales of age-restricted products. This process involves a controlled, age-restricted product purchase attempt by the underage IA under supervision of an LCB officer using a national best-practice model.” the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board also stated.
“In 2021, survey data showed a 50% decline in youth cannabis and alcohol use in the past 30-days among 10th graders. The 2023 results show these numbers have remained stable since 2021. In relation to youth access to cannabis, rates have remained relatively stable.” the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board stated in an article on its website last year.
Keep all of this data in mind whenever you come across a cannabis opponent claiming that cannabis legalization should be prevented ‘for the sake of the youth.’ In Washington State, regulation is clearly proving to be better than prohibition from the ‘protect the youth’ standpoint.
“As of June 2025, the average item price has decreased to $11.88 from $12.00 in May 2025, reflecting a month-over-month decrease of 1%. Year-over-year, the average item price has seen a decline of 7.3%. Total sales in June 2025 amounted to approximately $90.96 million, marking a 4.9% decrease from the previous month and a 9.1% decline from the previous year.” stated cannabis data company Headset about the current state of Washington’s legal cannabis market.