After a Small Bump in 2023, Colorado Marijuana Prices Have Plateaued

Colorado marijuana prices have stayed flat since last summer, according to the state Department of Revenue, but historical data shows that a change could be coming next quarter.

Data released by the DOR on March 18 estimates the average market rate (AMR) for a pound of marijuana flower in Colorado at $749, down just $1 from AMRs in January and last October. The plateau in marijuana prices followed a slight bump in wholesale weed prices in July 2023, but grower Chris Kaiser says he's seen similar flatlining at dispensaries.

Kaiser, the owner of Ordway cultivation Bubba's Kush, grows flower on the premium end and says he can charge around double the average pound of flower. Still, he calls the DOR's reporting on the lack of price movement "pretty accurate."

"Prices have kind of evened out," Kaiser says. "We've always maintained our same price point, and I'm seeing more business since the fourth quarter of 2023, so that seems accurate."

Steadier prices came on the heels of steep decreases from 2021 to 2023, when the AMR for marijuana flower dropped from $1,721 to $649. Despite a small increase last year, though, dispensary sales continued to drop into 2024.

According to the DOR, Colorado's most recent monthly dispensary sales figures in January were around 11 percent lower than January 2023, and nearly 49 percent lower than marijuana sales in January 2021.

Cultivation operations have been shutting down as prices and sales fail to rebound. From March 2021 to March of this year, the DOR reports a 17 percent reduction in recreational marijuana growing licenses in Colorado, from 720 to 599.

Although the amount of recreational dispensary licenses has barely changed during the same time, going from 610 to 599, a handful of towns and counties in Colorado such as Broomfield, Golden and Grand Junction have opted into marijuana sales since 2021. Despite new opportunities for more stores, several notable dispensary chains have closed locations of late, including Columbia Care and Maggie's Farm.

As more businesses close, Kaiser says that growers with good reputations are reaping higher rewards. Flower brands similar to his are currently charging more at the wholesale level than he is, and cultivations in the mid-tier could probably charge more, Kaiser notes.

"I never really budge on prices, but I have seen my business go up. People seem to be doing okay on whatever price point they set, and I think there are a handful of people who could actually raise their prices a little bit and still sell out," he says.

Growers with strong followings have a higher ceiling, but their prices fluctuate as they expand more, Kaiser notes.

Price fluctuation could be on the way for even more growers, based on historical DOR data, which shows that marijuana flower prices rarely stay even for a year straight. Given recent dispensary sales reports, however, that change might go the wrong way.