A solventless cannabis concentrate coveted for flavor and THC potency, rosin is among the most expensive items at dispensaries — but Denver is now officially the land of cheap hash, according to cannabis industry employees.
Allgreens, a Denver dispensary known for in-house rosin, is now selling grams of its popular concentrate for as low as $18 or $22, while big-name companies like Lazercat Cannabis and 710 Labs are going for $40 out the door at some stores.
"I can remember purchasing stuff that was between $85 and $120 a gram just a few years ago," recalls Jaden Bartz, manager of Spark Dispensary in north Denver. "We weren't really educated and didn't really know what we were actually shopping for. Now there's a huge price range. You don't have to spend $120 on a gram anymore. It's finally reasonable."
Both medical and recreational pot shops are experiencing a market-wide drop in rosin prices for popular brands like Green Dot Labs, Lazercat and Single Source, which used to sell for $80 and $90 at dispensaries like A Cut Above and Reefer Madness as recently as 2021. Now those products go for as low as $40 and $43, depending on the starting cannabis material and final grade of the rosin.
"These companies are starting to lock in on how to process it and how to make money in a way that doesn't rip people off and makes sense," explains Reefer Madness general manager Ryan Ashby. "They've been trying to force a false narrative that these products have to be more expensive, and they don't. These places selling for $50, $70, $90 a gram are starting to have to cave."
Some dispensary workers believe rosin prices could go up again eventually, but that likely won't be for some time.
"At some point they're going to have to," says an Allgreens manager who declined to be named. "There's just not enough patients in Colorado anymore, and with the new [medical marijuana sales] regulations, the new limits, the market has essentially shrunk. Medical sales have been down. The only reason we really dropped our prices is because we are sitting on inventory. So I honestly don't think these prices are sustainable in the long run."
Other dispensary managers see the lower prices as an industry stimulus that comes with an expiration date.
"Rosin prices are going to continue to drop as consumers become more educated and the market becomes more saturated," Ashby notes. "I think a lot of companies have let the original entrants come in and saw how they ran with [rosin], and now you're seeing other companies take it on. So it's becoming an oversaturated market. This week alone, I had six companies I've never heard of before try to sell me products."
Rosin is extracted from cannabis flower or bubble hash by using heat and pressure.
Jacqueline Collins
Spark Dispensary is one of several rosin retailers that offer weekly deals on hash, from big-name brands like 710 Labs to smaller Colorado companies like Mountain Select and Indico, which are available for $45 and $50 per gram after tax. Grams of rosin from 710 Labs, one of Colorado's most popular extractors, can currently be purchased for as low as $28 on Tuesdays, when everything from the company is 30 percent off; customers can also get a 25 percent discount every Sunday on Dablogic, another popular rosin brand.
"I certainly don't see it trending up anytime soon, even despite inflation." predicts Bartz. "People are educated now. It's becoming more and more popular, and there's more and more companies making clean and high-quality rosin."
Allgreens was once selling grams for as high as $100 for medical marijuana patients. Nowadays, you'd be hard-pressed to find its fresh-press for over $30, while solvent-based extractions like live resin and THC crystalline, also known as diamonds, are dropping in demand.
"The demand has increased like crazy," the unnamed Allgreens manager says. "Meanwhile, the demand for diamonds and live resin has decreased. The consumer has gotten wiser, knows what tastes good, and more companies are seeing this and getting into the market."
The influx of lower prices has also led to a massive expansion of customers, with many flocking from other states to see the jaw-dropping numbers for themselves.
"We'll get people from all over — Florida, Michigan, Arizona — and almost every single person is shocked," Bartz says. "In-state shoppers have more of an understanding of it now, but people from out of state are still not accustomed to it. They always say how awesome it must be to live in Denver."
Even though rosin has become popular in Colorado over the past few years, a hefty portion of locals would turn to the black market for the most affordable prices on solventless products. But now, thanks to a cheaper market, they don't have to.
"You don't have to meet up with trap lords or be a trap lord to get these great prices anymore," Ashby says. "Dispensary hash is tested and just as good as a lot of the black market stuff now. It's all about the terps, it's all about the flavors, it's all about the strains, and just supporting this great community. I think we are at a beautiful time. You can really get some of the best products in the world at a price that's finally affordable."
