Cannabis prices are falling—and not just in Oregon.
The national average price for a pound of cannabis was about $1,789 in 2016, but had fallen by 13 percent to $1,562 by the end of 2017, according to the Cannabis Benchmarks U.S. Spot Index, which tracks marijuana prices.
Recent numbers suggest the average price is still falling. No one knows when the prices will bottom out.
In Oregon, the wholesale price of weed fell by as much as 40 percent since October, 2017, in part because of a bumper crop harvested last fall ("Too Much Weed", WW, April 18, 2018).
The price has tumbled much lower here than the national average: Oregon's wholesale sun-grown weed fell from $1,500 a pound last summer to as low as $700 by mid-October.
Other states' legal marijuana markets have been similarly suffering from a downturn in prices. Some attribute the falling prices to an unpredictable market, oversaturation and even corporate consolidation in the industry.