Marijuana wholesale prices hit record low in Colorado amid yearslong sales decline – BusinessDen
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An empty industrial space that had been used for growing marijuana. (BusinessDen file)
Marijuana prices in Colorado have hit a record low.
A wholesale pound of weed is going for an average of $648, according to data recently released by the Colorado Department of Revenue.
That figure, known as the average market rate, has fallen sharply since topping out at $1,721 in the first quarter of 2021, during a COVID-induced boom.
That year, medical and recreational retailers sold a record $2.2 billion worth of product, according to state data. In 2024, that number sat at $1.4 billion, down more than a third.
In 2025, stores had sold $995 million as of September, the most recent month for which the Department of Revenue has released data.
License counts for cultivators have dropped too. According to the Marijuana Enforcement Division, there were 791 licensed recreational marijuana growers across Colorado in December 2021. As of Dec. 2 this year, there were 488 — a 48% drop.
On the storefront side, however, the number of retail licenses in the state increased from 652 to 689 in the same period. Denver, however, saw an 8% drop and has 186 licensed recreational dispensaries in the city.
But within that consolidation, Alex Levine and Lisa Leder have founded a growing business. The stepmom and stepson duo, along with his dad and her husband, Andy Levine, are up to 10 locations with Fired Cannabis, the local chain they launched last year.
Alex Levine and Lisa Leder stand outside Fired Cannabis’ store at 10455 E. Colfax Ave. in Aurora. (BusinessDen file)
In early 2026, they plan to open another store in Cherry Creek at 310 Saint Paul St., a former Green Dragon dispensary. The trio founded that business in 2014 before selling it to California-based Eaze in 2021.
They said they’ve been able to add more dispensaries because they’ve been nimble with product. The pair attributed that to their longstanding relationships with cultivators around the state. With Green Dragon, they also grew themselves, so Fired is a different model.
Alex Levine said, despite the low prices, that Colorado is one of the most stable markets in the country. Since the third quarter of 2023, the average market rate has been between $648 and $750, according to state data.
“There’s markets where there seems to be no floor and the prices keep dropping and dropping,” he said. “Over a long time frame, every market I think will look more like Colorado.”
An empty industrial space that had been used for growing marijuana. (BusinessDen file)
An empty industrial space that had been used for growing marijuana. (BusinessDen file)
Marijuana prices in Colorado have hit a record low.
A wholesale pound of weed is going for an average of $648, according to data recently released by the Colorado Department of Revenue.
That figure, known as the average market rate, has fallen sharply since topping out at $1,721 in the first quarter of 2021, during a COVID-induced boom.
That year, medical and recreational retailers sold a record $2.2 billion worth of product, according to state data. In 2024, that number sat at $1.4 billion, down more than a third.
In 2025, stores had sold $995 million as of September, the most recent month for which the Department of Revenue has released data.
License counts for cultivators have dropped too. According to the Marijuana Enforcement Division, there were 791 licensed recreational marijuana growers across Colorado in December 2021. As of Dec. 2 this year, there were 488 — a 48% drop.
On the storefront side, however, the number of retail licenses in the state increased from 652 to 689 in the same period. Denver, however, saw an 8% drop and has 186 licensed recreational dispensaries in the city.
But within that consolidation, Alex Levine and Lisa Leder have founded a growing business. The stepmom and stepson duo, along with his dad and her husband, Andy Levine, are up to 10 locations with Fired Cannabis, the local chain they launched last year.
Alex Levine and Lisa Leder stand outside Fired Cannabis’ store at 10455 E. Colfax Ave. in Aurora. (BusinessDen file)
In early 2026, they plan to open another store in Cherry Creek at 310 Saint Paul St., a former Green Dragon dispensary. The trio founded that business in 2014 before selling it to California-based Eaze in 2021.
They said they’ve been able to add more dispensaries because they’ve been nimble with product. The pair attributed that to their longstanding relationships with cultivators around the state. With Green Dragon, they also grew themselves, so Fired is a different model.
Alex Levine said, despite the low prices, that Colorado is one of the most stable markets in the country. Since the third quarter of 2023, the average market rate has been between $648 and $750, according to state data.
“There’s markets where there seems to be no floor and the prices keep dropping and dropping,” he said. “Over a long time frame, every market I think will look more like Colorado.”
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Max has been a BusinessDen reporter since October 2024. He is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and can be reached at max@businessden.com
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