Pennsylvania Has Some of the Most Expensive Weed in the U.S.
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If you want to smoke up in Pennsylvania, it’s going to cost you.
I mean, obviously. Drugs aren’t free. But according to a recent report from Forbes, Pennsylvania has the some of the most expensive marijuana in America.
The magazine used the website Price of Weed, which has been collecting user-submitted reports since 2010, to chart the price of marijuana in every state. Pennsylvania ranked fifth on the Forbes list (tied with two other states):
- North Dakota: $387 an ounce
- New Hampshire: $367
- Virginia: $363
- Iowa: $362
- Pennsylvania: $360
(tie) Maryland: $360
(tie) South Dakota: $360
Pot is a bit cheaper in Delaware ($355 an ounce) and New Jersey ($343). These prices fluctuate; four years ago, a study of data from the same site found Delaware weed to be most expensive. But one thing is constant: Marijuana is more expensive in the Northeast U.S. than almost anywhere else.
That similar 2011 study, by Floating Sheep, found higher weed prices were mostly correlated with how far away the state was from weed growing hotbed Humboldt County, California. Basically, weed is expensive in the Northeast U.S. because it has to be transported to the East Coast. That raises the chances of getting caught, which — along with simple transport costs — raises the price. (Locally grown weed tends to be indoor, hydroponic grown — which is more expensive.)
The DEA says most marijuana in the U.S. is grown in California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Tennessee and Kentucky. DrugScience.org has a similar list, but its data shows the amount of weed grown in California is almost triple that of any other state.
And does heavy enforcement affect price? “State level regimes of legalization have a negative and significant effect on price,” Floating Sheep reported. “In contrast rates of arrests for possession or sales do not produce statistically significant effects on the price of marijuana, but these demand-side effects are more complex to interpret.”
If marijuana begins to be legalized on the East Coast — Washington, D.C., already has a “grow your own” law — then prices could drop. In the meantime, though: Pay up, stoners.
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