Website helps compare pot prices throughout U.S.
The Internet makes it easy to compare prices for a lot of things — you can shop around for the best deal on shoes, or research what salary you should be asking for in a job interview. Now, it’s also helping people make sure they’re not getting ripped off on the black market.
PriceofWeed.com, a website that asks people to anonymously submit the cost of marijuana they purchase in their area, has collected a lot of data on the street price of both legal and illegal marijuana around the U.S. over the last few years.
According to the site, the average price for an ounce of marijuana in the U.S. is now $286.35. Marijuana is now significantly cheaper throughout most of the West, as well as Florida and Mississippi. It remains the priciest in Virginia, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, New Hampshire and Vermont.
The reasons for price trends aren’t clear, since marijuana is still illegal in many places (including federally), and there isn’t a lot of data on growing and distribution. However, the price trends appear related to the supply of marijuana in the U.S., which is in turn partly linked to state-by-state legalization and decriminalization of the drug.
Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Alaska and Washington D.C. have all legalized recreational marijuana, and medical marijuana is legal in roughly two dozen more states. Although states that have legalized marijuana often add hefty taxes, the increase in supply that comes with legalization tends to drive down the price in those areas anyway. Whether it’s legal weed or street weed, the presence of increased supply of both medical and recreational marijuana around the U.S. is pushing the prices down.
Floating Sheep, a blog that created a map of marijuana prices using PriceofWeed.com data in 2011, also attributed the price differences to variations in supply. The blog noted the lower prices near areas with a lot of marijuana production, including Mendocino, Trinity and Humboldt County in California — a huge marijuana-growing area known as the “Emerald Triangle” — as well as Kentucky and Tennessee.
One mystery is the District of Columbia, where prices remain high despite the (sort-of) legalization in February. The high price could have to do with a lack of officially sanctioned sales. The district’s rule change made marijuana legal, but prohibited pot shops, open-air smoking or exchanging of marijuana for money, though barter is OK.