The price of cannabis in the U.S. is anything but uniform.
An analysis of nationwide data shows that consumers can expect to pay anywhere from around $200 to nearly $600 for an ounce of high-quality marijuana, depending on where they live. The national average, corrected for outliers, lately stood at $318.72 per ounce.
Quality of product also has a significant impact on the overall price. The average national price for “medium-quality” cannabis fell nearly 20% to $256.08 per ounce, according to the global price index site priceofweed.com.
The findings, drawn from figures reported by priceofweed.com, point to the significant role that state-level policies and market conditions play in shaping the economics of the drug.
States such as Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, which overall have taken a more permissive approach and also allow recreational use, boast some of the lowest prices in the country. Consumers in Oregon enjoy the cheapest access, with an average price of $210.75 per ounce, followed by Washington at $232.90, and Colorado at $241.74.
These states have also suffered from severe oversupply in recent years – which can also be attributed in part to the permissive regulatory framework in those states – which has also driven down prices. For example, Oregon has issued a series of moratoriums and administrative halts on new licenses in recent years as it wrestled with how to control market expansion. When cannabis was legalized, the market did not have any caps on the number of licenses and fees were comparatively low.
States with stricter laws and more limited access on the other hand have much steeper prices. Washington, D.C., which has legalized possession and home cultivation but not sales, tops the list at $590.27 per ounce.
Regional trends also emerged, with many of the lowest-priced states clustered in the West, where most of the mature markets are located. The highest prices are concentrated in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, which have come online much more recently.
Despite notable outliers, such as Washington, D.C., many states fall within a relatively narrow price band, with 15 states averaging between $330 and $350 per ounce.
Experts say the disparities reflect the complex interplay of factors that influence pricing in each state, from the number of licensed businesses to the maturity of local markets.
A key reason for the price differences is “the length of time (in years) with a functioning competitive wholesale and retail market,” Rosalie Pacula, an economics researcher and cannabis policy expert at the University of Southern California, told Newsweek.
States with newly legalized markets typically see prices decline over time as competition rises and the industry matures, a pattern observed in early-adopter states like Colorado and Washington. Wholesale prices also play a key role, and regulations around sales at that level vary widely as well.
For example, according to Cannabis Benchmarks, “prepackaged” flower has become more common at the wholesale level – and the price for that version of product can be significantly higher than bulk alternatives.
“Due to the labor associated with weighing out and packaging flower ahead of sales, a higher price is often obtained for the prepackaged goods,” the data firm said.