THE ECONOMY OF WEED: WHO’S THE BIGGEST MARIJUANA CONSUMER?
Marijuana has had an economic impact on cities all over the globe. A study done by Seedo estimated the 2018 Cannabis Price Index, detailing the price of marijuana and the legality in each city, as well as cannabis use. It then calculated the potential taxes in 120 cities across the world.
New York City is the biggest marijuana consumer in the world! Though population is the most obvious factor in the 77.44 metric tons smoked annually, the city’s cannabis consumption is three times that of Los Angeles (at 36.06 metric tons). The legality of marijuana in New York is still medicinally exclusive.
San Francisco barely made the top ten, with 7.85 metric tons ingested or smoked annually. According to the study, price per gram is a little over nine dollars.
The study found that the legal marijuana states had the most affordable marijuana per gram! Seattle had the lowest price per gram, at $7.58 per gram, with Denver second at $7.79, and Los Angeles third at $8.14.
Washington D.C., a city with partial legalization, had the highest price per gram at $18.08.
In international cities, where weed remains illegal, prices per gram soar to unimaginable heights. The most expensive marijuana per gram is in Tokyo, Japan at 32.66 USD.
However, don’t despair, weed is $1.34 per gram in Quito, Ecuador.
Using this information, researchers were able to estimate the potential tax income of cities where weed is legal, regulated, and taxed. New York City once again topped the list at $156.4 million in hypothetical taxes.
