I have been researching dispensary prices around the country for medical and recreational cannabis flower and the concentrates market which is becoming increasingly popular as of late. I am curious about the prices on the street for mid to high grade flower and concentrates, especially for the states where it remains illegal.
Where I am in rural Illinois the price has increased significantly since legalization. In 1999 a qtr oz of high quality homegrown skunk ran about $60 whereas brick was about $60 an oz. The best high quality smoke brought in from outside was $50 a qtr, which was the average then. The price remained consistent in 2009 where I lived, I quit in 2010. When I decided to sell again around 2020 I found the average cost of a qtr oz of dispensary quality weed was the same for most high quality available on the street level. $100 a qtr, or $300 an oz. Good homegrown goes for about $50 a qtr and a good oz can still be found around 150 or so but on average most of the weed on the streets is all from a dispensary somewhere. Often it comes from a medical card purchase which offers cheaper prices and no high taxs but it is then resold at the same price as the taxed stuff, or it is brought in from Michigan, Colorado, or California and resold with the out of state label which people are happy to pay more for because it found its way to them in Illinois even though they can go buy it local for about the same price.
High end concentrates average $25 a gram for wax with a medical card, and up to 35-50 without depending on sale, quality, etc.
For many the price is lower and there is no shortage of available weed. I have not heard "the county is dry" for over 15 years. This is a good thing for most but for others maybe not. I grew up in the business and for many years weed paid 75% of my bills. Today it pays about 10%. For smokers this is all good, even with higher prices because there is always high grade weed available and they never have to pop in at 4 local dealers to find a bad during a dry spell. Those local dealers that were around back then are all gone now. They too go to the dispensaries or have hidden themselves away and grow their own. I have never purchased from a dispensary and I never will but I do acknowledge that we have made progress in genetics and the quality of a homegrown plant grown by someone who has little prior experience is surprisingly good. Is it all worth the price of admission? Is being put on a list somewhere and having purchases monitored by the state a good idea in the end? Time will tell.
Where I am in rural Illinois the price has increased significantly since legalization. In 1999 a qtr oz of high quality homegrown skunk ran about $60 whereas brick was about $60 an oz. The best high quality smoke brought in from outside was $50 a qtr, which was the average then. The price remained consistent in 2009 where I lived, I quit in 2010. When I decided to sell again around 2020 I found the average cost of a qtr oz of dispensary quality weed was the same for most high quality available on the street level. $100 a qtr, or $300 an oz. Good homegrown goes for about $50 a qtr and a good oz can still be found around 150 or so but on average most of the weed on the streets is all from a dispensary somewhere. Often it comes from a medical card purchase which offers cheaper prices and no high taxs but it is then resold at the same price as the taxed stuff, or it is brought in from Michigan, Colorado, or California and resold with the out of state label which people are happy to pay more for because it found its way to them in Illinois even though they can go buy it local for about the same price.
High end concentrates average $25 a gram for wax with a medical card, and up to 35-50 without depending on sale, quality, etc.
For many the price is lower and there is no shortage of available weed. I have not heard "the county is dry" for over 15 years. This is a good thing for most but for others maybe not. I grew up in the business and for many years weed paid 75% of my bills. Today it pays about 10%. For smokers this is all good, even with higher prices because there is always high grade weed available and they never have to pop in at 4 local dealers to find a bad during a dry spell. Those local dealers that were around back then are all gone now. They too go to the dispensaries or have hidden themselves away and grow their own. I have never purchased from a dispensary and I never will but I do acknowledge that we have made progress in genetics and the quality of a homegrown plant grown by someone who has little prior experience is surprisingly good. Is it all worth the price of admission? Is being put on a list somewhere and having purchases monitored by the state a good idea in the end? Time will tell.
