Legalization Drastically Decreases the Price of Marijuana

As of October 2016, a pound of marijuana in Colorado cost around $2,500. But the price per pound now averages between $1,400 and $1,600. Tradiv, an online wholesale marketplace for marijuana, released statistics on August 29 after using the first-ever marijuana price tracking technology to compile the data.

Prohibition made it a requirement for buyers to pay a “risk premium” for marijuana, according to SF Gate. Experts at RAND estimate that 90-percent of the marijuana black market is a risk premium. In that market, a single gram costs up to $20, – which is what many Californians are currently paying per gram – but could become less than $2 per gram with full national legalization. In Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, where recreational marijuana is legal, prices have dropped rapidly.

One drug policy expert, Beau Kilmer, estimates that enough marijuana to supply the entire country could be grown within a few counties in Iowa. Smaller margins and over-cultivation in Washington have already caused one price crash.

The White House estimates that, annually, Americans are spending between $30 and $60 billion on marijuana.

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