Marijuana, like everything else, has suffered from inflation. Back in the 70`s, it was sold as an illicit drug. Nowadays, it is more of a commercial crop, with the prices guided by the supply and demand of any given area.
Photo credit: Forbes
During the early 1980`s, prices for commercial-grade marijuana varied between $300 and $600 a pound. In the `90`s, the prices ranged from $200 to $4000 a pound, with the average pound selling at around $800.
Sensimilla, the higher-quality seedless grade with a higher THC content, averaged between $1000 – $2000 a pound a decade ago. In the upper `90`s, the prices ran from $700 – $8000 a pound, with the typical pound bringing $1300.
With the ever-increasing supply, and due to the proximity of, the border to Mexico, marijuana prices have taken an extreme swing throughout the `90`s, although they have remained fairly stable for the last several years.
Marijuana may be purchased in Mexico today for $100 – $200 kilogram. Along the southwest border, Mexican marijuana sells for $400 – $1000 per pound, but occasionally it can be bought wholesale for $150 – $300 a pound.
In the northeast and midwest sections of the US, today, the average price of marijuana runs from $700 – $2000 per pound, while in California the market jumps to $2000 – $6000 per pound.
Mexican marijuana profits increase greatly when the retail sale is made at the greater distances from Mexico . For example, 500 pounds can be bought for $50,000 in Juarez and resold in St. Louis for $400,000. The profit margins increase significantly, the farther to the north, east, or west the marijuana travels from the source of original sale.
In 1995, it was estimated that the American people spent $10 billion on marijuana. The estimate for 2005 has dramatically jumped – the government estimates that $19 – $20 billion will be spent on marijuana this year.
Wholesale marijuana prices vary widely from country to country, also. Canadian marijuana markets for $2000 – $2500 per pound of sensimilla.
Columbian marijuana rates at $1000 – $1500 per pound. Hawaiian marijuana averages out at $2000 – $2500 a pound, while Jamaican marijuana sells for $1500 – $2000 per pound for commercial grade, and $2500 – $3500 per pound for sensimilla. Marijuana from Thailand sells for $200 – $3000 per pound
