Recreational marijuana prices dropping as product floods the market in Mainee

The cost of getting high is going down.

The average cost of flower or bud in Maine’s adult-use cannabis market has decreased by over 41 percent in the last two years.

It’s good news for customers whose wallets have been taking a hit, but it may be bad news for cultivators, who industry officials say overestimated the market and are sitting on a glut of unsold product.

When the adult-use market launched in October 2020, the average price per gram for flower was $15.83.

It decreased to an average of $12.75 per gram in 2021, and by June 2022, it had fallen further to $9.26 per gram. The year-to-date average is $10.29 per gram. The average joint contains between 0.32 and 0.5 grams of cannabis.

Industry officials had expected prices to drop as the market matured, but the price of flower is not expected to dip much further, said Matt Hawes, head of the Maine Cannabis Industry Association. The association represents members in retail, manufacturing and cultivation.

Consumers aren’t demanding lower retail prices and cultivators are running at the low end of their margins, he said.

Hawes owns the Novel Beverage Company, which makes THC-infused drinks, and co-owns Brothers Cannabis, which has locations in Bangor and Brewer.

[Read more at Portland Press Herald]