Your Guide to 2021 Colorado Weed Prices  

As of 2020, Colorado is closer to a decade of recreational marijuana being legal than a modern preschooler is to third grade. While it’s been a ride, the laws governing cannabis sales in the state evolve every year. One of the factors that influence these legal changes? The average price of weed in Colorado. 

Colorado weed prices affect how much tax is collected. Legal weed prices also aid in reducing black market activity around cannabis, so long as they are low enough to prevent those selling it from being able to reliably turn a profit. 

That’s why we created this guide – to describe how much weed in Colorado is, how much it differs across the state and why. Let’s dive in.

Creating A Consumer Methodology for Determining The Price Of Weed in Colorado

According to the Colorado Department of Revenue, in October 2020 the average price per pound of flower for growers to dispensaries was ~$1300. 

Put another way, growers on average charge dispensaries the following:

• $81.25 per ounce

• $10.15 per ⅛ ounce

• $2.88 per gram

Once dispensaries have received the flower, the price doubles or triples before reaching the buyer. This is the result of paying employees, renting property, buying equipment, and other business operation expenses. 

In order to create a methodology that captures the consumer-end price, we’ve added 200-300 percent to the AMR price the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division uses for taxation. 

The Result?

Average Price Per Ounce in Colorado for Recreational Consumers: ~ $160 - $240 

Average Price Per 1/8 Ounce in Colorado for Recreational Consumers: ~ $20 - $30

Average Price Per Gram in Colorado for Recreational Consumers: ~ $5.76 - $8.64

We will use these as benchmarks in the analysis below. 

Determining Colorado Weed Prices

Prices of cannabis in Colorado vary based on brand, region, current specials, and dozens of other factors.

Built within this is a feedback loop for the state and cannabis producers and dispensaries. 

Once every three months, the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division, known as Colorado MED, uses data from grower to manufacturer (like an edible producer) or seller (such as a dispensary) to determine an Average Market Rate (AMR). The AMR is the basis for taxes and is reviewed based on weight. 

In the chart below, available on the Colorado Department of Revenue website, you can see that growers of marijuana in Colorado, on average, charge ~$1,300 per pound in October 2020. This is up 30 percent from ~$1,000 in October 2019. This is important for later.

(Pulled from CO DOR 11/25/2020)

Why The Average Market Rate Matters

Roughly speaking, by the time cannabis gets to the consumer the price per pound is double or more than the AMR (average market rate). This is in part because manufacturers and dispensaries have to pay staff, labor, as well as equipment, and licensing. 

The other part? 

Colorado marijuana laws place limits on both recreational consumers and medical marijuana patients.

Consumers can’t easily go out and buy a pound since the law limits recreational to an ounce, or 1/16th of a pound.

In the decades where cannabis was illegal entirely when a police raid created headlines like “$1 Million in Marijuana Confiscated”, it was an average market rate that allowed this headline to make sense. Police would use average street prices to evaluate the worth of a quantity. This applies equally to legal markets. 

How Much Is Weed In Colorado? 

As of October 2020, Colorado MED pulls together purchase information from a total of 466 cultivators, 216 product manufacturers, and 416 medical or recreational stores as part of creating the AMR. When retail mark-up is added, our methodology will give us a standard price. 

To remind you, we are using the following as baseline pricing:

• Average Price Per Ounce for Recreational Consumers: ~ $160 - $240 

• Average Price Per 1/8 Ounce for Recreational Consumers: ~ $20 - $30

• Average Price Per Gram for Recreational Consumers: ~ $5.76 - $8.64

Now let’s test these price estimates on some cannabis dispensaries in Colorado: 

Botanico (Denver)

Strain: Crystal Gelato

Prices: $20 per 1/8th, $160 per ounce

Strain: Bazookies

Price: $140 per ounce

Check Out Botanico Cannabis Deals Here: 

• Botanico

• Botanico 2

Medicine Man (Longmont)

Strain: Cookies N’ Cream

Prices: $19 per 1/8th, $114 per ounce

Strain: G6 #3

Prices: $19 per 1/8th, $114 per ounce

Check Out Medicine Man Deals Here:

• Medicine Man Denver

• Medicine Man Longmont

• Medicine Man Aurora

• Medicine Man Thorton

Organix (Breckenridge)

Strain: GG #4

Price: $15 per gram, $32 per 1/8th, $155 per ounce

Check Out Organix Deals Here:

• Organix Breckenridge

The Lodge (RiNo Denver)

Strain: Sour Chunk

Price: $13 per gram, $32 per 1/8th, $150 per ounce

Check Out The Lodge Deals Here:

• The Lodge - Federal BLVD

• The Lodge - High Street

What Is The Average Price Per Gram In Colorado? 

The above pricing samples and our baseline costs tell us a few things about weed prices in Colorado. We estimated the average cost per gram, based on Colorado DOR data, to be between ~$6 to $9. However, from our sample, we can see that the average cost per gram is much more.

The average cost per gram of weed in Colorado is between $10-$15. 

This is likely because, as with most things, weed is cheaper when bought in bulk. 

What Is The Average Price Of An 1/8th In Colorado? 

We estimated based on available data from the state of Colorado the average price per 1/8th would be between $20 and $30 dollars. Botanico was on the lower end of our estimated range at $20 per 1/8th. Medicine Man was $19 per 1/8th or $1 less than the estimated low.

Both Organix and The Lodge dispensaries show up at the higher end of our estimated price range, but only by a little. Both have an average price per 1/8th of $32, or $2 more than our $30 high estimate. 

What Is The Average Price Of An Ounce In Colorado? 

The methodology for estimating Colorado weed prices we established actually overestimated the price per ounce on nearly every count. Our methodology puts the average price per ounce at between $160 and $240. 

Every dispensary fell at or below our benchmark of $160. Again, buying in bulk will always lower the price – with anything from soap to marijuana.

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​​The price of weed in the USA has been steady in recent years, but with more states legalizing recreational and medical marijuana use, we are seeing the marijuana industry boom. More dispensaries are opening and new innovative products are making their way to the shelves every day!

So how much does weed cost?

What determines its price?

Determining the Price of Weed

Many factors determine the price of weed. Costs per gram will vary depending on what kind of cannabis product you purchase, how much of it you buy and where you’re buying from. 

Cannabis is usually sold by weight, in measurements of:

• gram: 1 gram

• eighth: 3.5 grams

• quarter: 7 grams

• ounce: 28 grams

• pound: 448 grams

Availability and Supply

The price of weed is different in each state.

In the District of Columbia, an ounce of bud can cost up to $590 whereas, in California, it costs approximately $250. In Oregon, we see even lower prices for the same amount of weed, averaging at $200 per ounce.

The variations in supply account for this as areas with high marijuana production activity will usually have cheaper weed. On the contrary, areas with low cannabis availability will have higher prices for weed. 

Legal States vs Illegal States

The legalization of recreational cannabis use will also affect the price of both legal and illegal cannabis in that state. In states where marijuana is not legal, the cost of weed will be higher because of the extra risk that comes with producing and selling. 

In states where it is legal, you can expect to pay lower prices for street-quality weed, but it might be of lesser quality than what’s available at dispensaries. You may also find a difference between legal states, as some are new to legalized marijuana and some have been doing it for some time now. For example, Colorado's prices may have hit a plateau while other newer-legalized states are able to charge more.

Dispensary vs. Street Prices

Where you choose to buy your weed also determines how much you’ll pay. Dispensary prices will be much higher than weed street prices – this is because of markup and retail expenses such as wages and utilities. 

Street prices for weed will vary between each dealer, but it averages at $10-$20 a gram (smallest increment sold) and an eighth will cost about $30-$40.

Additionally, an ounce of cannabis will cost around $250-$300 and a pound will run you around $2,000-$3,000

Strains

Not all weed costs the same, if you’ve ever visited your local dispensary, you’ll notice that some strains are more expensive than others. Strains with lower yields will cost more because they are more intensive and require more resources to grow. Additionally, higher-quality strains with higher potency usually grow in small batches, resulting in their higher price tags.

New Cannabis Products

There are new and innovative cannabis products currently on the market and they all vary in their price ranges.

Concentrates per gram will cost more than bud per gram because concentrates have higher THC levels per mg. 

Cannabis edibles, which usually have around 10mg-150mg of cannabis per piece. The price per mg of cannabis in edibles is $0.17 to $0.23 making them more expensive than buying regular cannabis buds. Cannabis edibles are usually pricier because the price accounts for ingredient and labor costs.

Cannasaver Has the Best Prices of Weed! 

Who doesn’t want good prices for weed?

Thankfully, Cannasaver always has the deals ready for you, so check us out!

We update our website every day to ensure you’ll have the newest deals available to you.

Our Recreational Deals page will showcase hundreds of coupons ready for you to use at your favorite dispensary. 

Cannasaver is a cannabis-centered site that offers new deals and discounts every day.

We currently operate in several states such as Colorado, Arizona, and California, but most of our deals are available in the Colorado area right now. 

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