Pubdate: Thu, 28 Aug 2014
Source: Westword (Denver, CO)
Copyright: 2014 Village Voice Media
Contact: http://www.westword.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?department=letters
Website: http://www.westword.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1616
Author: William Breathes

WHY IS THE PRICE OF RECREATIONAL WEED SO MUCH HIGHER THAN MEDICAL?

Dear Stoner: Why is the price of recreational cannabis usually 50 to 
100 percent more than its medical equivalent? I do fully understand 
that the rec weed is more heavily taxed, but I'm referring to the 
price before taxes. Isn't it the same weed? Does it cost more to grow 
it or license it - or is it just another example of price-gouging? I 
must be missing something here!

DJ From Ohio

Dear DJ: While dispensary owners will say that the high prices are 
due to the high cost of opening up a recreational dispensary, we 
don't buy it. Not that we doubt it was expensive to jump through the 
hoops of state and local licensing - but dispensaries had to pay for 
licenses for medical cannabis, too, and weren't jacking up prices on 
pot to $50 an eighth before taxes. It's hard to not see it as 
price-gouging when they are charging the same price as dealers did 
ten years ago, when the stuff was still illegal to buy and sell.

We've even heard rumors of price-fixing going on by members of 
certain industry groups, with dispensaries conspiring to keep prices 
higher across the board instead of jumping into the price wars that 
brought storefront medical marijuana prices down over the past few 
years. Whether that's true or not, at dispensaries that have 
converted fully to recreational sales, it's still common to find the 
exact same warehouse-quality eighth you bought for $25 in 2011 now 
selling for $50 pre-tax. It doesn't cost more to grow than it used 
to; in fact, in anticipation of legal adult sales, many medical 
dispensaries expanded their grows and built greenhouses to facilitate 
the increased production while lowering their overall cost of growing 
by taking advantage of natural light.

But here's the rub: As much as any logical, thinking person might 
object to the high prices even before the absurd taxes on 
recreational cannabis, there are clearly people out there paying it. 
In June, recreational pot stores made $24.7 million in sales - just 
$4 million shy of the total medical marijuana sales. There's no 
incentive for these places to drop the price of their ganja as long 
as the money is still coming in.

There is some light at the end of the (expensive) tunnel, though: 
Recreational dispensaries are starting to drop their prices as more 
and more shops open their doors. While such deals are still rare, 
we've even seen recreational cannabis prices come down to $200 an 
ounce and $25 to $35 an eighth.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom