DENVER (KDVR) — Rent is likely to grow again in the Denver metro, and marijuana prices may, too.
The COVID pandemic sparked a big change in marijuana prices. Sales reached their highest-ever levels between the summers of 2020 and 2021, and the price retailers pay for bulk cannabis has crashed ever since.
The average market price for a pound of Colorado marijuana bud has been falling since early 2021, according to Colorado Department of Revenue figures. In January 2021, bud was at its highest price since 2016 at $1,731 per pound. By April 2023, it had shrunk to less than half that price at $649 per pound, the lowest price ever recorded since Colorado began its first legal marijuana sales.
This month, though, retail prices have ticked upwards. The price for a pound of bud went from $649 to $703 in June. This is the first time retail has risen since October 2021.
This is the longest stretch of time since legalization that marijuana prices have been so low. They reached a low point in 2018 but promptly rose again through the pandemic. Since early 2022, they have been on average about half the price of the previous two years.
At the same time, Colorado’s total marijuana sales have fallen to five-year lows.
Total monthly sales have bounced between $125 million and $140 million since last winter. They haven’t been that consistently low since 2018.
H/T: kdvr.com
