MARQUETTE COUNTY, Mich. (WLUC) – According to the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency the state’s average price of recreational marijuana dropped to $95.12 per oz. in November.
It is a 50% decrease from last year’s price of $191 per ounce.
The Fire Station Cannabis Co. Co-owner Logan Stauber said one reason is an increase in licenses issued by the state.
“In January of 2021 we saw about 1,200 licenses and that number has now grown to roughly 1,800 throughout the state. Michigan is a state that allows for free trade,” Stauber said.
Melo Cannabis in Ishpeming is one of the state’s newest dispensaries. Owner Brice Sturmer said more retailers lead to increased competition and supply.
“When legalization first happened, it took a little while for a lot of growers and producers to get online but now they’re open in full capacity pricing has changed a lot,” Sturmer said.
Stauber says sales have increased across the state.
“We’ve seen about a 38% increase statewide. Last year in 2021 the state as a whole did about 1.3 billion in sales and right now, we’re on track for $2 billion in sales closing the sale.”
While low prices may be good for consumers, Sturmer said it hits growers hard.
“They’re probably feeling the pinch the most on these sorts of issues. We’re trying to find an alternative here at Melo to focus on quality and pay growers what they want to get paid for their quality cannabis products,” Sturmer said
Fire Station Pricing Analyst Griffin Pepin said prices will stabilize in the near future.
“If you look over at Colorado, Oregon, Washington, those states are starting to get into the stabilization and we’re seeing prices back up, they hit their plateau and now they’re increasing by 15 to 20 percent across the state,” Pepin said.
H/T: www.uppermichiganssource.com
