Share

Tweet

Share

Share

Email

Comments

Colorado is the first, and for now, the only state in the U.S. adults 21-and-over can buy marijuana legally. The state projects nearly $600 million in retail and wholesale marijuana sales annually.

The Huffington Post spoke with owners at many of the roughly 30 dispensaries that sold legal weed on New Year’s Day, and they all said the same thing: an eighth of an ounce of marijuana, which would have normally sold for as low as $25, was fetching anywhere between $35 to $70, after taxes.

The proprietor of Denver-based Medicine Man revealed to The Denver Post that, after taxes, the shop was selling an eighth for about $64, and although The Associated Press found at least one shop selling the same amount for as much as $70,Marijuana.com found that the average price right now is approximately $65.

Prices were also increased by the new 25 percent tax — 15 percent excise and 10 percent sales — on all marijuana purchases in the state that voters approved in November, along with any other local jurisdictional taxes on top of that. Marijuana sales are expected to generate nearly $70 million in tax revenue for Colorado in 2014.

But some dispensary owners, like 3D’s Fox, chose to absorb the cost of excise tax in order to keep marijuana prices competitive. Fox told HuffPost that her most expensive eighths sold for approximately $50 after taxes.

Source: Huffington Post