According to Cannabis Benchmark’s U.S. Spot Index, the price-per-pound of cannabis has fallen 3.5 percent from Jan. 12 to Jan. 19, to $1,292, representing a spot price-per-gram of $2.85, with a simple average price of $3.20.
The report indicates that the drop “was driven primarily by significant week-over-week decline in wholesale rates in Oregon, though most of the major Western markets saw decreases in their composite prices, with Colorado the only exception.”
In Washington, prices fell to $1,004 per pound – the lowest price Cannabis Benchmarks has found in three years tracking industry price trends. Indoor-grown products remained the highest priced at $1,571 per pound, followed by greenhouse-grown ($1,216), and outdoor ($948). Last week, the firm reported an 11 percent decline in per-pound prices “due both to decreases in the volume-weighted average rates for indoor and greenhouse product, as well as the fact that low-priced outdoor flower, despite experiencing a small week-over-week price rise, constituted a larger proportion of the total volume that was reported to be traded nationwide.”
In an interview with The Cannabist, report author Adam Koh indicated that the recent decision by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to rescind the Cole Memo has not led to “any sort of material alteration to supply and demand.”
“The way it could possibly affect the market is if businesses were actually raided or shut down. Then you might have people unwilling to trade wholesale. Obviously a dispensary wouldn’t to want to take in inventory if there was a credible threat of being raided with significant amounts of cannabis on hand.” – Koh, to the Cannabist
Koh suggested that prices could continue to decline throughout the first quarter of this year.