The grass might be greener on the other side of legalization, but it’s definitely cheaper. According to Bloomberg, the average legal marijuana user spends only $647 per year on weed.
A cannabis intelligence firm, Headset Inc., reviewed approximately 40,000 dispensary purchases made in Washington State from September 2014 to July 2016 and found that the average recreational pot consumer is a 37-year-old man who spends $647 annually on bud, with approximately 19.5 days between purchases.
Bloomberg reports that while the average age of legal marijuana consumers is 37, millennials make most of the pot purchases, with over 50 percent of consumers aged 21 to 34. According to the data, customers in their twenties spend an average of $27 per purchase but make dispensary visits more often than other generations, a median of every 16 days. Comparatively, those in their thirties visit every 18.2, and those in their forties visit every 20 days, with the median spend per trip also increasing with age.
“As you’re older, you might have more money to go and make bigger purchases,” Headset co-founder Cy Scott explained. “The millennials might be out and about more; they can drop into [marijuana dispensaries] more often. Older people might just plan more.”
In terms of biggest annual spenders, that would be Generation X. The data shows that legal pot consumers in their forties spend approximately $823 annually and those in their fifties spend $753.
And pot prices continue to drop in legalized states, currently at a rate of two percent per month with the potential to shrink 25 percent each year. Of course, we don’t all have the luxury of living where weed is legal, and if our monthly THMQ shows us anything, it’s that the average U.S. marijuana consumer is most likely paying much more than $647 per year for weed.
But you tell us! On average, how much do you spend per year on pot?