Highs and Lows: Pot Prices Worldwide Reflect Marijuana Stocks Variance

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If you’ve been paying attention to the stock market, you’ll have noticed the cannabis industry growing at breakneck speed. In the U.S. alone, legal marijuana sales are estimated to grow by 45% this year, thanks in large part to California’s legalization of recreational weed on January 1. In the broader scope of North America, the industry anticipates an average of 26% annual growth for the next four years.

For astute marijuana stocks investors, the pace and scope of this growth is hard to ignore, which accounts for much of the doubled or tripled pot stock values over the past year.

Of course, sales are are not the only growth taking place.

A dramatic shift within the public perception of marijuana – one that is still underway – has helped open doors for industry growth. From 1995, when only 25% of Gallup survey respondents in the U.S. favored legal marijuana, to last October when that figure reached a high of 64%, more Americans are embracing the idea of legal weed for medical and recreational purposes.

Even as marijuana and investments in pot stocks become more favorable in the public eye within the U.S. and many countries worldwide, the industry is markedly different from country to country.

The most blatant demonstration of this reality is, perhaps, best viewed in the price per gram for cannabis worldwide.

A recent release of Seedo’s 2018 Cannabis Price Index, lists 120 global cities and factors in each city’s total cannabis consumption in metric tons, total potential tax collection USD, and price per gram USD.
The charts below list Seedo’s findings: first, the 10 most expensive cities price per gram for cannabis; and second, the 10 cities where price per gram for cannabis is least expensive.
Rank City Country Price Per Gram
1 Tokyo Japan $32.66
2 Seoul South Korea $32.44
3 Kyoto Japan $29.65
4 Hong Kong China $27.48
5 Bangkok Thailand $24.81
6 Dublin Ireland $21.63
7 Tallinn Estonia $20.98
8 Shanghai China $20.82
9 Beijing China $20.52
10 Oslo Norway $19.14

Data source: Seedo, 2018 Cannabis Price Index. Price per gram in U.S. dollars.

Rank City Country Price Per Gram
1 Quito Ecuador $1.34
2 Bogota Colombia $2.20
3 Asuncion Paraguay $2.22
4 Jakarta Indonesia $3.74
5 Panama City Panama $3.85
6 Johannesburg South Africa $4.01
7 Montevideo Uruguay $4.15
8 Astana Kazakhstan $4.22
9 Antwerp Belgium $4.29
10 New Delhi India $4.38

Data source: Seedo, 2018 Cannabis Price Index. Price per gram in U.S. dollars.

Marijuana stocks investors might notice the conspicuous absence of U.S. cities on either of these lists.

Washington, D.C. barely missed the list of most expensive cities with its price per gram of $18.08, while Seattle missed the list of least expensive cities by a long shot with the lowest U.S. price per gram of $7.58.

As for Canada, the five cities included in Seedo’s analysis fell between 80th and 101st in price per gram rankings.

With such enormous variance in price, what factors should marijuana stocks investors want to know when choosing cannabis stocks to invest in?

Pot stocks investors should consider legality, for one. In cities where cannabis is illegal, or even partially legal, prices per gram are going to be significantly higher. This boils down to a basic supply issue. Growers in cities where marijuana is legal have few problems growing, supplying or exceeding the demands of their consumers. However, in cities where marijuana is illegal, the power lies in the hands of suppliers on the black market for cannabis, which translates to higher prices.

Penalties, secondly, may inform marijuana stocks options. There is often a close correlation between price per gram and severity of penalties. Take Japan, for example, where price per gram is the highest at $32.66, and with it, a penalty of up to five years of hard labor if one is caught in possession of less than one gram. The correlation does not always apply, however, as is the case with Jakarta, Indonesia. Jakarta offers marijuana at the fourth cheapest price per gram – $3.74 – but has also been known to lock people away for life if found in possession of the drug.

Marijuana stocks investors may want to consider standard of living, thirdly. Income is beginning to become more of a factor among legal cities, as cities of affluence tend to show higher price per grams than cities where residents have lower incomes.

(For more information on current trends among cannabis stocks in the U.S. and Canada, read Top News for Marijuana Stocks for Early February). 

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