An award that once would go to Denver without a whole lot of competition now has a new home. Portland is now the best city for the marijuana experience, according to a study done by Real Estate Witch and Leafly.
The first question with these extremely subjective titles is how exactly does a study make the judgment. In this case, the study analyzed the rating of the dispensaries in the city, legality of the marijuana, number of Taco Bell locations per capita, affordability, and a bunch of other factors. Here’s the breakdown:
- 10x: Legality
- 6x: Cannabis-prescribing doctors per 100,000 residents
- 5x: Dispensaries per 100,000 residents
- 5x: Average rating of dispensaries out of 5 stars
- 4x: Site visitors to Leafly
- 3x: Price of 1 ounce of high-quality weed
- 3x: Affordability of high-quality weed
- 2x: Price of 1 ounce of medium-quality weed
- 2x: Affordability of medium-quality weed
- 2x: Number of head shops per 100,000 residents
- 2x: Google Trends data for 12 common marijuana-related search terms
- 1x: Number of Taco Bells per 100,000 residents
- 1x: Concert venues per 100,000 residents
- 1x: Number of local hiking trails according to the AllTrails database
- 1x: Public perception score
Portland has 13.7 dispensaries per 100,000 residents, and the cost of cannabis is pretty low. An ounce costs on average $210 compared to the national average of $316.
Of course, this is great for consumers, but a very difficult position for growers. There’s an oversupply in the city, and according to the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, has put the marijuana market in “arguably the weakest economic position it has been in since the inception of the program in 2016.”
So the award is pretty bittersweet for the city. What makes it great for visitors and buyers is exactly the problem for the market on the other side. But anyway, congrats to Portland!
Read the study here.
