The legalization of medical cannabis in Utah, while a great benefit, has also had its challenges. One of the concerns most frequently brought up by patients is the cost of the medical cannabis products.
Many people have assumed that the cost of Utah products are much higher than products in other states. In some cases, they are correct. What might be surprising, is where Utah prices fall when compared to other medical and even some recreational states.
The cost of a gram of flower is a fine place to start the comparisons. In Utah the average price of top-shelf flower is $16 per gram while bottom-shelf flower comes in at $11. Of the 19 states with medical programs surveyed Utah was in 11th place, with Montana being least expensive at $10 per gram and Missouri being the most expensive at an average of $22 per gram. The average price per gram of the 10 states with lower prices than Utah was $13.10 for top-shelf flower, about $3 less per gram than Utah top-shelf.
Bottom-shelf buds don’t get the attention of the higher buds, nevertheless they constitute a large amount of the cannabis consumed on a daily basis by patients. Comparing bottom-shelf bud prices showed Washington, D.C. winning the price war with $6 per gram, fairly decimating Missouri and Hawaii at $18 per gram average. Utah’s average price of $11 per gram puts the state in ninth out of 19 places. All of this shows that Utah sits somewhere in the midst of the pricing pack, at least in regard to cannabis flower.
Vaporizer cartridges are an increasingly popular way to consume cannabis and, unsurprisingly, make up a large amount of the product available on pharmacy shelves. The price of cartridges can cause some sticker shock, when you are paying $55 or so for a tiny .5 gram cartridge. Despite this, Utah again falls in the middle of the pack with an average price 11 cents per milligram for THC. New Hampshire cartridges are the most expensive at 17 cents per milligram. Oklahoma appears to blow the competition out of the water with an average price per milligram of 5 cents. Out of the 21 medical cannabis programs compared for the vaporizer pricing, Utah finished in eighth place.
Consider also the tax laws and other factors determined by each state that influence the price of cannabis. The stringent regulation of Utah’s medical cannabis program does indeed affect the cost of the end product. Utah does not tax medical cannabis sales at a percentage but rather a flat fee of $3, which depending on the amount of product you purchase can be a positive or negative. Considering nearby states of Nevada and Colorado have cannabis sales taxes in the 20 percent, Utah is doing ok.
The price of cannabis products in Utah could certainly use some, well, massaging. Being in the middle of the pricing pack doesn’t necessarily mean that the medicine is affordable. As more growers become fully operational and products consistently available, the cannabis community hopes that prices will come down. The prospect of home grown goods seems to be in the distant future, but is another option that would help ease the financial burden of purchasing medicinal cannabis. In spite of this, having medicinal cannabis in Utah is something many of us never thought would happen, let’s keep that spirit of progress going!
Thank you to the Dragonfly Wellness team for sharing much of the price comparison data referenced in this article.
*This information was gathered by the Salt Baked City staff during January of 2021.
