2018 Weed Index Study reveals the cost of marijuana and highlights the number of grow and head shops in 120 cities around the world:

• With a total of 156, Los Angeles, USA has the most headshops.
• Madrid, Spain has the largest amount of growshops, with a total of 68.
• Tokyo, Japan has the most expensive cannabis, at 32.66 USD per gram, while Quito, Ecuador has the least expensive marijuana, at 1.34 USD per gram.
• Based on the average US marijuana tax rates currently implemented, New York City could generate the highest potential tax revenue by legalising weed, with 156.40 million USD per year. New York City also has the highest consumption rate of cannabis, at 77.44 metric tons per year.

 

Berlin, Germany, 20/04/2018 – ABCD, a data-driven media campaign outlet, has released new data which reveals the number of marijuana head and growshops in 120 cities around the world. This research, which builds on the 2018 Cannabis Price Index released earlier this year, reveals which locations around the world are ready to embrace cannabis legalisation. The aim of the study is to illustrate the continuous need for legislative reform on cannabis use around the world, and to determine if there are any lessons to be learned from those cities at the forefront of marijuana legalization. By including extra data on the number of head and growshops in each city, this new research can be utilized to indicate which cities are prepared for an imminent cannabis reform, while also highlighting which cities are in opposition of marijuana legalisation.

 

The initial study began by selecting 120 cities across the world, including locations where cannabis is currently legal, illegal and partially legal, and where marijuana consumption data is available. Then, they looked into the price of weed per gram in each city. To calculate how much potential tax a city could make by legalising weed, ABCD investigated how much tax is paid on the most popular brand of cigarettes, as this offers the closest comparison. They then looked at what percentage marijuana is currently taxed in cities where it’s already legalised in the US.

ABCD decided to conduct the extra research in order to to further the discussion around the medical and recreational use of cannabis, and the potential industry and business opportunities that would follow legalisation. By identifying the number of headshops as well as growshops, this study serves as an indicator to a city’s existing cannabis infrastructure and willingness to accept such reform on a larger scale. As an indicating factor, the more head shops and grow shops a city has, the more positive their state’s and general public’s attitude towards the cannabis-related industry is likely to be.

The table below reveals a sample of the results for the 13 US cities featured in the study:

 

#	City	Legality	Price per gram, US$	Total possible tax collection, if taxed at cigarette level, mil US$	Total possible tax collection, if taxed at average US marijuana taxes, mil US$	Total consumption in metric tons	Headshops	Growshops
1	Washington, DC	Partial	18.08	47.51	20.96	6.18	20	8
2	Chicago	Partial	11.46	119.61	52.77	24.54	91	10
3	Philadelphia	Partial	11.30	68.37	30.16	14.22	41	3
4	Boston	Legal	11.01	28.59	12.61	6.10	49	4
5	New York	Partial	10.76	354.48	156.40	77.44	59	7
6	Dallas	Partial	10.03	51.01	22.5	11.95	80	6
7	Houston	Partial	10.03	89.13	39.32	20.89	125	14
8	Phoenix	Partial	9.35	58.26	25.71	14.65	72	9
9	Miami	Partial	9.27	16.24	7.16	4.12	67	25
10	San Francisco	Legal	9.27	30.94	13.65	7.85	61	3
11	Los Angeles	Legal	8.14	124.88	55.10	36.06	153	46
12	Denver	Legal	7.79	20.53	9.06	6.20	61	21
13	Seattle	Legal	7.58	20.59	9.08	6.39	46	10

 

The table below shows the top 10 most and least expensive cities for cannabis:

 

Top 10 Most Expensive Cities						Top 10 Least Expensive Cities
#	City	Country	Legality	Price per gram, US$		#	City	Country	Legality	Price per gram, US$
1	Tokyo	Japan	Illegal	32.66		1	Quito	Ecuador	Partial	1.34
2	Seoul	South Korea	Illegal	32.44		2	Bogota	Colombia	Partial	2.20
3	Kyoto	Japan	Illegal	29.65		3	Asuncion	Paraguay	Partial	2.22
4	Hong Kong	China	Illegal	27.48		4	Jakarta	Indonesia	Illegal	3.79
5	Bangkok	Thailand	Partial	24.81		5	Panama City	Panama	Illegal	3.85
6	Dublin	Ireland	Illegal	21.63		6	Johannesburg	South Africa	Illegal	4.01
7	Tallinn	Estonia	Partial	20.98		7	Montevideo	Uruguay	Legal	4.15
8	Shanghai	China	Illegal	20.82		8	Astana	Kazakhstan	Illegal	4.22
9	Beijing	China	Illegal	20.52		9	Antwerp	Belgium	Partial	4.29
10	Oslo	Norway	Partial	19.14		10	New Delhi	India	Partial	4.38

 

The table Below shows the top 10 cities with the most growshops:

 

#	City	Country	Legality	Growshops
1	Madrid	Spain	Partial	68
2	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Partial	48
3	Los Angeles	USA	Legal	46
4	Toronto	Canada	Partial	37
5	Melbourne	Australia	Partial	31
6	Miami	USA	Partial	25
7	London	UK	Illegal	23
8	Barcelona	Spain	Partial	23
9	Denver	USA	Legal	21
10	Berlin	Germany	Partial	20

 

The table Below shows the top 10 cities with the most headshops:

 

#	City	Country	Legality	Headshops
1	Los Angeles	USA	Legal	156
2	Houston	USA	Partial	125
3	Chicago	USA	Partial	91
4	Dallas	USA	Partial	80
5	Phoenix	USA	Partial	72
6	Miami	USA	Partial	67
7	San Francisco	USA	Legal	61
8	Denver	USA	Legal	61
9	New York	USA	Partial	59
10	Boston	USA	Legal	49

 

The table below shows the top 10 cities who could generate the most potential tax by legalising cannabis, if taxed at the same rate as the most popular cigarette brand:

 

#	City	Country	Legality	Price per gram, US$	% of cigarette tax	Possible tax revenue, mil US$
1	Cairo	Egypt	Illegal	16.15	73.13	384.87
2	New York	USA	Partial	10.76	42.54	354.48
3	London	UK	Illegal	9.20	82.16	237.35
4	Sydney	Australia	Partial	10.79	56.76	138.36
5	Karachi	Pakistan	Illegal	5.32	60.7	135.48
6	Melbourne	Australia	Partial	10.84	56.76	132.75
7	Moscow	Russia	Partial	11.84	47.63	128.97
8	Toronto	Canada	Partial	7.82	69.8	124.15
9	Chicago	USA	Partial	11.46	42.54	119.61
10	Berlin	Germany	Partial	13.53	72.9	114.77

N.B. % of cigarette tax refers to the tax percentage on the most popular brand. Possible tax revenue refers to the total possible tax collection per year, if taxed at cigarette level. For a full explanation of how the study was conducted, please see the methodology at the bottom of the press release.

 

The table below shows the top 10 cities who could generate the most potential tax by legalising cannabis, if taxed at the average US marijuana tax rate:

 

#	City	Country	Legality	Price per gram, US$	Possible tax revenue, mil US$
1	New York	USA	Partial	10.76	156.4
2	Cairo	Egypt	Illegal	16.15	98.78
3	London	UK	Illegal	9.20	54.22
4	Chicago	USA	Partial	11.46	52.77
5	Moscow	Russia	Partial	11.84	50.82
6	Sydney	Australia	Partial	10.79	45.75
7	Melbourne	Australia	Partial	10.84	43.9
8	Karachi	Pakistan	Illegal	5.32	41.89
9	Houston	USA	Partial	10.03	39.32
10	Toronto	Canada	Partial	7.82	33.38

N.B. Possible tax revenue refers to the total possible tax collection per year, if taxed at average US marijuana tax rate.

 

The table below shows the top 10 cities with the highest and lowest consumption of cannabis, per year:

 

Highest Consumers of Cannabis							Lowest Consumers of Cannabis
#	City	Country	Legality	Price per gram, US$	Total consumption, metric tons		#	City	Country	Legality	Price per gram, US$	Total consumption, metric tons
1	New York	USA	Partial	10.76	77.44		1	Singapore	Singapore	Illegal	14.01	0.02
2	Karachi	Pakistan	Illegal	5.32	41.95		2	Santo Domingo	Dominican Rep.	Illegal	6.93	0.16
3	New Delhi	India	Partial	4.38	38.26		3	Kyoto	Japan	Illegal	29.65	0.24
4	Los Angeles	USA	Legal	8.14	36.06		4	Thessaloniki	Greece	Partial	13.49	0.29
5	Cairo	Egypt	Illegal	16.15	32.59		5	Luxembourg City	Luxembourg	Partial	7.26	0.32
6	Mumbai	India	Partial	4.57	32.38		6	Panama City	Panama	Illegal	3.85	0.37
7	London	UK	Illegal	9.20	31.4		7	Reykjavik	Iceland	Illegal	15.92	0.44
8	Chicago	USA	Partial	11.46	24.54		8	Asuncion	Paraguay	Partial	2.22	0.46
9	Moscow	Russia	Partial	11.84	22.87		9	Colombo	Sri Lanka	Illegal	9.12	0.59
10	Toronto	Canada	Partial	7.82	22.75		10	Manila	Philippines	Illegal	5.24	0.6

N.B. Total consumption is calculated per annum.

 

Further findings:

 

• Shanghai, China has a large population of 24.15 million, has however no headshops or growshops in the city, underlining a resistance against cannabis reform.

• On average, the status of legality (e.g. Legal, Partial or Illegal) coincides with the amount of headshops and growshops found in each city. The favourable the laws, the better the cannabis infrastructure
• New York City, USA has the highest consumption rate of cannabis, at 77.44 metric tons per year.
• Boston, USA has the most expensive cannabis of all the cities where it’s legal, at 11.01 USD, while Montevideo, Uruguay has the least expensive at 4.15 USD.
• While Tokyo, Japan has the most expensive cannabis of all cities where it’s illegal, at 32.66 USD, Jakarta, Indonesia has the least expensive at 3.79 USD, despite being classed as a Group 1 drug with harsh sentences such as life imprisonment and the death penalty.
• For cities where cannabis is partially legal, Bangkok, Thailand has the most expensive at 24.81 USD, while Quito, Ecuador has the least expensive at 1.34 USD.
• Bulgaria has the highest tax rates for the most popular brand of cigarettes, at 82.65%, while Paraguay has the lowest, with rates of 16%.
• Cairo, Egypt would gain the most revenue in tax if they were to legalise cannabis and tax it as the same rate as cigarettes, at 384.87 million USD. Singapore, Singapore would gain the least, at 0.14 million USD, due in part to the city’s low consumption of marijuana at 0.02 metric tons per annum.
• Based on the average US marijuana tax rates currently implemented, New York City could generate the highest potential tax revenue by legalising weed, with 156.4 million USD per year. Singapore, Singapore would gain the least, at 0.04 million USD.

 

Source for data and graphics- http://weedindex.io 

 

 

The full results of the 2018 Cannabis Price Index:

 

#	City	Country	Legality	Price per gram, US$	Taxes of cigarettes, % of the most sold brand	Total possible tax collection, if taxed at cigarette level, mil US$	Total possible tax collection, if taxed at average US marijuana taxes, mil US$	Total Consumption in metric tons
1	Tokyo	Japan	Illegal	32.66	64.36	32.14	9.37	1.53
2	Seoul	South Korea	Illegal	32.44	61.99	31.61	9.57	1.57
3	Kyoto	Japan	Illegal	29.65	64.36	4.64	1.35	0.24
4	Hong Kong	China	Illegal	27.48	44.43	19.72	8.33	1.62
5	Bangkok	Thailand	Partial	24.81	73.13	99.11	25.44	5.46
6	Dublin	Ireland	Illegal	21.63	77.80	29.31	7.07	1.74
7	Tallinn	Estonia	Partial	20.98	77.24	22.13	5.38	1.37
8	Shanghai	China	Illegal	20.82	44.43	49.12	20.75	5.31
9	Beijing	China	Illegal	20.52	44.43	43.10	18.21	4.73
10	Oslo	Norway	Partial	19.14	68.83	19.28	5.26	1.46
11	Washington, DC	USA	Partial	18.08	42.54	47.51	20.96	6.18
12	Cairo	Egypt	Illegal	16.15	73.13	384.87	98.78	32.59
13	Reykjavik	Iceland	Illegal	15.92	56.40	3.97	1.32	0.44
14	Belfast	Ireland	Illegal	15.81	77.80	13.55	3.27	1.10
15	Minsk	Belarus	Illegal	15.80	51.15	9.08	3.33	1.12
16	Athens	Greece	Partial	14.95	79.95	7.42	1.74	0.62
17	Auckland	New Zealand	Partial	14.77	77.34	106.03	25.73	9.28
18	Munich	Germany	Partial	14.56	72.90	50.90	13.10	4.80
19	Helsinki	Finland	Partial	14.42	81.53	27.12	6.24	2.31
20	Singapore	Singapore	Illegal	14.01	66.23	0.14	0.04	0.02
21	Berlin	Germany	Partial	13.53	72.90	114.77	29.55	11.64
22	Stuttgart	Germany	Partial	13.50	72.90	20.20	5.20	2.05
23	Thessaloniki	Greece	Partial	13.49	79.95	3.17	0.75	0.29
24	Stockholm	Sweden	Illegal	13.20	68.84	15.06	4.11	1.66
25	Vienna	Austria	Partial	12.87	74.00	59.21	15.02	6.22
26	Copenhagen	Denmark	Partial	12.47	74.75	20.65	5.18	2.22
27	Moscow	Russia	Partial	11.84	47.63	128.97	50.82	22.87
28	Hamburg	Germany	Partial	11.64	72.90	50.16	12.92	5.91
29	Chicago	USA	Partial	11.46	42.54	119.61	52.77	24.54
30	Philadelphia	USA	Partial	11.30	42.54	68.37	30.16	14.22
31	Bucharest	Romania	Partial	11.18	75.41	17.23	4.29	2.04
32	Cologne	Germany	Partial	11.14	72.90	28.51	7.34	3.51
33	Geneva	Switzerland	Partial	11.12	61.20	5.90	1.81	0.87
34	Boston	USA	Legal	11.01	42.54	28.59	12.61	6.10
35	Adelaide	Australia	Partial	10.91	56.76	41.60	13.75	6.72
36	Istanbul	Turkey	Partial	10.87	82.13	21.79	4.98	2.44
37	Melbourne	Australia	Partial	10.84	56.76	132.75	43.90	21.58
38	Sydney	Australia	Partial	10.79	56.76	138.36	45.75	22.59
39	New York	USA	Partial	10.76	42.54	354.48	156.40	77.44
40	Düsseldorf	Germany	Partial	10.70	72.90	15.82	4.07	2.03
41	Brisbane	Australia	Partial	10.63	56.76	66.88	22.12	11.09
42	Hanover	Germany	Partial	10.51	72.90	13.46	3.47	1.76
43	Prague	Czech Rep.	Partial	10.47	77.42	63.95	15.50	7.89
44	Frankfurt	Germany	Partial	10.29	72.90	18.06	4.65	2.41
45	Wellington	New Zealand	Partial	10.11	77.34	19.53	4.74	2.50
46	Dallas	USA	Partial	10.03	42.54	51.01	22.50	11.95
47	Houston	USA	Partial	10.03	42.54	89.13	39.32	20.89
48	Vilnius	Lithuania	Illegal	10.00	75.76	5.20	1.29	0.69
49	Zurich	Switzerland	Partial	9.71	61.20	10.33	3.17	1.74
50	Montpellier	France	Illegal	9.70	80.30	12.21	2.85	1.57
51	Canberra	Australia	Partial	9.65	56.76	10.96	3.63	2.00
52	Zagreb	Croatia	Partial	9.43	75.26	24.35	6.07	3.43
53	Nice	France	Illegal	9.40	80.30	15.80	3.69	2.09
54	Phoenix	USA	Partial	9.35	42.54	58.26	25.71	14.65
55	Paris	France	Illegal	9.30	80.30	102.25	23.90	13.69
56	Miami	USA	Partial	9.27	42.54	16.24	7.16	4.12
57	San Francisco	USA	Legal	9.27	42.54	30.94	13.65	7.85
58	London	UK	Illegal	9.20	82.16	237.35	54.22	31.40
59	Colombo	Sri Lanka	Illegal	9.12	73.78	3.98	1.01	0.59
60	Riga	Latvia	Illegal	9.00	76.89	10.23	2.50	1.48
61	Bratislava	Slovakia	Illegal	8.92	81.54	7.24	1.67	1.00
62	Milan	Italy	Partial	8.85	75.68	46.06	11.42	6.88
63	Varna	Bulgaria	Illegal	8.83	82.65	4.84	1.10	0.66
64	Marseille	France	Illegal	8.69	80.30	36.23	8.47	5.19
65	Glasgow	UK	Illegal	8.65	82.16	15.21	3.47	2.14
66	Toulouse	France	Illegal	8.62	80.30	18.67	4.36	2.70
67	Birmingham	UK	Illegal	8.58	82.16	27.73	6.34	3.93
68	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	Illegal	8.54	55.36	6.61	2.24	1.40
69	Monterrey	Mexico	Partial	8.45	65.87	4.17	1.19	0.75
70	Edinburgh	UK	Illegal	8.41	82.16	12.22	2.79	1.77
71	Lisbon	Portugal	Partial	8.36	74.51	4.69	1.18	0.75
72	Strasbourg	France	Illegal	8.35	80.30	11.13	2.60	1.66
73	Warsaw	Poland	Partial	8.31	80.29	29.27	6.84	4.39
74	Lyon	France	Illegal	8.20	80.30	19.45	4.55	2.95
75	Los Angeles	USA	Legal	8.14	42.54	124.88	55.10	36.06
76	Liverpool	UK	Illegal	7.94	82.16	10.86	2.48	1.67
77	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Partial	7.89	73.40	20.94	5.35	3.61
78	Manchester	UK	Illegal	7.88	82.16	58.99	13.48	9.11
79	Rome	Italy	Partial	7.86	75.68	88.16	21.86	14.82
80	Toronto	Canada	Partial	7.82	69.80	124.15	33.38	22.75
81	Denver	USA	Legal	7.79	42.54	20.53	9.06	6.20
82	Naples	Italy	Partial	7.75	75.68	29.82	7.40	5.08
83	Leeds	UK	Illegal	7.67	82.16	16.93	3.87	2.69
84	Seattle	USA	Legal	7.58	42.54	20.59	9.08	6.39
85	Madrid	Spain	Partial	7.47	78.09	93.40	22.45	16.01
86	Calgary	Canada	Partial	7.30	69.80	52.23	14.05	10.25
87	Luxembourg City	Luxembourg	Partial	7.26	70.24	1.62	0.43	0.32
88	San Jose	Costa Rica	Partial	7.23	69.76	7.84	2.11	1.56
89	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Partial	7.13	69.84	25.32	6.81	5.09
90	Brussels	Belgium	Partial	7.09	75.92	15.50	3.83	2.88
91	Santo Domingo	Dominican Rep.	Illegal	6.93	58.87	0.67	0.21	0.16
92	Graz	Austria	Partial	6.84	74.00	4.81	1.22	0.95
93	Budapest	Hungary	Illegal	6.74	77.26	7.70	1.87	1.48
94	Sofia	Bulgaria	Illegal	6.66	82.65	12.83	2.91	2.33
95	Ottawa	Canada	Partial	6.62	69.80	35.43	9.53	7.67
96	Vancouver	Canada	Partial	6.40	69.80	23.44	6.30	5.25
97	Sao Paulo	Brazil	Partial	6.38	64.94	68.55	19.81	16.55
98	Rotterdam	Netherlands	Partial	6.33	73.40	12.75	3.26	2.74
99	Ljubljana	Slovenia	Partial	6.32	80.41	3.43	0.80	0.67
100	Barcelona	Spain	Partial	6.23	78.09	39.59	9.51	8.14
101	Montreal	Canada	Partial	6.15	69.80	60.52	16.27	14.10
102	Kiev	Ukraine	Partial	6.00	74.78	14.73	3.70	3.28
103	Abuja	Nigeria	Illegal	5.88	20.63	7.40	6.73	6.10
104	Lima	Peru	Partial	5.88	37.83	12.28	6.09	5.52
105	Mexico City	Mexico	Partial	5.87	65.87	22.58	6.43	5.84
106	Cape Town	South Africa	Illegal	5.82	48.80	2.47	0.95	0.87
107	Karachi	Pakistan	Illegal	5.32	60.70	135.48	41.89	41.95
108	Manila	Philippines	Illegal	5.24	74.27	2.32	0.59	0.60
109	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	Partial	5.11	64.94	28.82	8.33	8.69
110	Mumbai	India	Partial	4.57	60.39	89.38	27.78	32.38
111	New Delhi	India	Partial	4.38	60.39	101.20	31.45	38.26
112	Antwerp	Belgium	Partial	4.29	75.92	4.10	1.01	1.26
113	Astana	Kazakhstan	Illegal	4.22	39.29	1.78	0.85	1.07
114	Montevideo	Uruguay	Legal	4.15	66.75	19.54	5.50	7.06
115	Johannesburg	South Africa	Illegal	4.01	48.80	3.76	1.45	1.92
116	Panama City	Panama	Illegal	3.85	56.52	0.81	0.27	0.37
117	Jakarta	Indonesia	Illegal	3.79	53.40	1.92	0.68	0.95
118	Asuncion	Paraguay	Partial	2.22	16.00	0.16	0.19	0.46
119	Bogota	Colombia	Partial	2.20	49.44	15.80	6.00	14.53
120	Quito	Ecuador	Partial	1.34	70.39	0.56	0.15	0.60

 

Methodology

 

Selection of the cities:

To select the cities for the study, Seedo first looked at the top and bottom cannabis consuming countries around the world. Then they analysed nations where marijuana is partially or completely legal, as well as illegal, and selected the final list of 120 cities in order to best offer a representative comparison of the global cannabis price.

 

Data:

 

• Price per gram, US$ – Crowdsourced city-level surveys adjusted to World Drug Report 2017 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

 

• Taxes on Cigarettes, % of the most sold brand – Taxes as a percentage of the retail price of the most sold brand (total tax). Source: Appendix 2 of the WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2015.

 

• Annual possible tax collection is calculated in the following way:

 

• Total_Possible_Tax=Population_City*Prevalence*Avg_Consumption_year_gr*price*tax_level, where:
• Population: latest available local population data sources.
• Annual Prevalence (percentage of population, having used weed in the year). Source: World Drug Report 2017 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
• Average Consumption of weed per year in grams (people who consumed weed at least once in the previous year).
• Estimation, with the assumption, that one use of weed on average means one joint.
• One joint is assumed to have 0.66 grams of weed as in the paper of Mariani, Brooks, Haney and Levin (2010).
• The distribution of use during the year is assumed to be the same as in Zhao and Harris (2004), where the yearly usage varies from once or twice a year to everyday.

 

• Total Consumption in Tons

 

• Consumption=Population*Prevalence*Consumption_year_gr
• Population: latest available local population data sources.
• Annual Prevalence (percentage of population, having used weed in the year). Source: World Drug Report 2017 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
• Average Consumption of weed per year in grams (people who consumed weed at least once in the previous year).
• Estimation, with the assumption, that one use of weed on average means one joint.
• One joint is assumed to have 0.66 grams of weed as in the paper of Mariani, Brooks, Haney and Levin (2010).
• The distribution of use during the year is assumed to be the same as in Zhao and Harris (2004), where the yearly usage varies from once or twice a year to everyday.

 

• US tax level – Average tax level in the states of US where weed is legal: Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Includes retail sales taxes, state taxes, local taxes and excise taxes.

• Growshops – Sourced via Google Maps Listings 2018

• Headshops – Sourced via Google Maps Data Listings 2018

• Legality
  • Legal, if possession and selling for recreational and medical use is legal.
  • Illegal, if possession and selling for recreational and medical use is illegal.
  • Partial, if
    • Possession of small amounts is decriminalised (criminal penalties lessened, fines and regulated permits may still apply)
    • OR medicinal use legal
    • OR possession is legal, selling illegal
    • OR scientific use legal
    • OR usage allowed in restricted areas (e.g. homes or coffee shops)
    • OR local laws may apply to legality (e.g. illegal at federal level, legal at state level)

 

 

First quote: Based on New York City Council’s free lunch initiative which began in September 2017, with 1.1 million public school children, at a cost of $1.75 per child per day.