Why is weed so much more expensive in Nevada than almost anywhere else?

Why are cannabis prices so high in Nevada?

When Nevada legalized adult-use cannabis in July 2017, high sales (Las Vegas welcomes more than 40 million visitors annually) coupled with some early distribution issues resulted in a 200 percent price increase. A lack of growers and a tight supply and high demand forced legal companies to raise their prices. Nevada marijuana prices actually started out pretty expensive. The issue is whether marijuana prices have fallen or stayed the same in the Battle Born State.

HOW CANNABIS PRICES ARE DETERMINED IN NEVADA PHARMACIES

In fact, unlike other legal states and also the illegal market, the cost of marijuana and related things was considered high when Nevada legalized adult use of the drug in July 2017.

The inflated cannabis prices in Nevada were caused as a result of the simple economy such as B. an extremely high demand correlated with a lack of producers, a lack of production facilities and a deficit in the total supply of the product. Legitimate organizations had no choice but to raise prices to whatever the market could bear. About two years later, many people were wondering if the price of cannabis in the Silver State had gone up, down, or stayed the same.

CURRENT PRICES FOR COMMERCIAL CANNABIS IN NEVADA

A high price for marijuana in a market just legalized isn’t a new/strange event, but nearly two years later, The Silver State still has the highest price per gram for concentrates, vape pens, flower, and pre-rolls. Meanwhile, Washington has an oversupply problem, resulting in the evergreen state having the cheapest products of any of the conditions in which weed was previously legalized (Oregon, Colorado, and Washington) despite its thirty-seven percent tax rate. Excess cannabis is not necessarily earned and can leave growers unemployed.

Nevada cannabis industry executives have said the cost of marijuana could come down if a few things happened. Acres Cannabis CEO John Mueller told a Las Vegas Medical Cannabis Association meeting that the price they charge for cannabis is too high and will come down. He added that 42 pharmacies are expected to open in 2019, which will relieve some of the pressure on existing operators. Growers in Nevada are also building their production facilities and optimizing their growing techniques that, in the meantime, will allow the Silver State to meet demand without producing oversupply.

NEVADA VERSUS OTHER LEGALIZED STATES.

A gram of cannabis flower typically costs $12 to $20 at authorized dispensaries across Nevada, while the same amount of weed can be legally purchased for $6 to $10 in Denver and Portland. In the major cities of Colorado and Oregon, one-eighth of marijuana buds range from $17 to $50, while in Nevada it ranges from $35 to $50.

Although the cost of buying marijuana in Nevada remains on the high side, the most expensive marijuana across all categories is in California, where $30.90 is the median price of a cannabis item. Next is Nevada at $26.94, then Oregon, followed by Washington at $15.33. For non-inhalable products like topicals, tinctures, edibles, and capsules, the average price per milligram was still higher in Nevada than in Oregon, California, and Washington. However, it has the lowest price among tinctures.

WHAT ABOUT THE PRICE OF WHOLESALE CANNABIS?

Although growers are streamlining methods and figuring out how to grow large quantities of marijuana at the lowest cost, wholesale marijuana prices in Nevada remain high, unlike in other legalized states, where wholesale prices have fallen after legalization. Marijuana Business Daily reported that the fair market value for each pound of whole flower (a measure used by the Nevada Department of Taxation to collect taxes from the state’s cannabis growers) had increased by more than $650 from July 2017 to July 2018, which corresponds to an increase of 30%.

This surge coincides with Nevada’s exceptional demand for marijuana, which is higher than analysts were predicting. Legal marijuana sales for the first five months of 2018 averaged about $38 million per month, up 16 percent from the 2017 average of $32.6 million.

Marijuana prices can be kept high for a variety of reasons, in addition to high demand and an initial undersupply at launch. Even the Marijuana Company’s CEO, Alex Tacracki, told Marijuana Business Daily that some additional difficulties facing the market include production facilities being compromised by heat (temperatures in Nevada can reach 120 degrees in the summer) and humidity and rigorous testing requirements hamper retail-level supply.

WILL NEVADA CANNABIS PRICES FALL?

According to Mueller, CEO of Acres Cannabis, removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances List, where it sits alongside illegal substances like heroin and bath salts, may be the only way to really bring cannabis prices down in Nevada. Mueller also said that consumer recognition of brands, comparable to a beer drinker asking for Bud Lite or Michelob, will also increase, reducing the need for consumers to rely on cannabis advice from budtenders. Basically, they allow customers to interact with their preferred brand. Taracki, on the other hand, advocates relaxing the test rules. Marijuana will continue to be expensive in Nevada until one or both of these things happen.

FINAL EFFECT

The price of cannabis in Nevada is quite high, but from what we’ve read there’s nothing special about it, no appreciable difference in quality or anything in that regard; it all boils down to good old economics, the law of supply and demand. Due to extremely high demand relative to poor supply and production, the cannabis available must be expensive. Coupled with the taxes imposed on growers of this plant, there isn’t much choice. Some cannabis industry leaders believe that once cannabis is completely removed from the controlled substances list, the price can be reduced.

NEVADA ALREADY SEEING BENEFITS OF LEGALIZATION, READ MORE…

NEVADA ALREADY SEEING THE BENEFITS OF LEGAL WEED!