Marijuana demand, prices likely to skyrocket in Colorado

IDAHO SPRINGS, Colo., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Marijuana dispensary owners in Colorado expect demand -- and therefore prices -- will skyrocket after the New Year when recreational weed becomes legal.

Experts and store owners said they expect prices to be high the first few months of the year as customers rush to dispensaries to buy recreational weed legally for the first time in the state, U.S. News & World Report said Monday.

"I did talk to a retailer yesterday who had just set his price points, and they were about double of what you have been able to get medical[ly] on the market for the last year," said Rachel Gilette, an attorney at Colorado's chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "So it is going to be more expensive at least for the foreseeable future."

Theran Snyder, the founder of dispensary Kine Mine in Idaho Springs, said taxes for marijuana will be 31.9 percent, making an ounce of medical marijuana $225. He said non-medical marijuana will likely cost more.

Medical marijuana users have the option of setting up memberships at their favored stores and paying reduced prices compared to recreational users, the newspaper said.

"Obviously the way we're planning on controlling our inventory is with price, and unfortunately that means we're going to be charging a premium," Snyder said.