How Much Is an Eighth of Weed?
Some questions can have two meanings.
If someone asked the simple question “How long is the bridge?” they’d probably want to know the length of the bridge, in feet or miles.
But for someone else who wanted to know whether it would be faster to take the bridge or the tunnel to work, the correct answer might be “15 minutes for the bridge, 10 minutes for the tunnel.”
That brings us to weed.
Someone asking “How much is an eighth of weed?” could be wondering how many flowers will be in the package they’ll be getting from a dispensary or dealer — or they could be wondering how much they’d have to pay for an eighth.
So there are two possible questions on the table. Let’s answer both.
How Much Is An Eighth of Weed?
The first thing to get straight is exactly how much bud we’re talking about.
An eighth of weed is one-eighth of an ounce. That’s about 3.5 grams, or enough to fill ¾ of a teaspoon. It’s enough flower to roll about 7-8 joints or 2-3 blunts or fill about 5-6 bowls.
You’ll always pay less for an eighth than you will for 3.5 grams purchased separately. And you’ll wind up spending a lot more if you only buy an eighth at a time, instead of purchasing a full ounce and using it gradually. That’s because of an unbreakable law of retail sales: you pay less when you buy in bulk.
Not everyone can afford to buy in quantity, however. Many street dealers will tell you that the bulk of their sales are eighths because that relatively-small amount won’t break most people’s weekly budget.
How much would that eighth of weed cost? While the answer is pretty complicated, you can expect to pay roughly $30–$40 for an eighth in the United States.
What Affects the Price of Weed?
We’ve already mentioned one real-life fact that has a big impact on what you’ll pay for cannabis: you always get a better deal when you buy in bulk. Here’s another economic reality: the law of supply and demand applies to every product, including weed.
When there’s lots of marijuana available — for example, shortly after the outdoor growing season is over — it’s only normal that prices would fall because of a market surplus. By comparison, if demand soars — as it did during the peak of Covid lockdowns — prices will increase as well.
Two other factors also play a major role in the price you’ll have to pay for weed.
Where You Live
People who live in an “illegal” state have to purchase their supply from dealers, of course. And with no competition from licensed dispensaries, dealers are free to charge whatever they want for their product. That doesn’t guarantee that an eighth of weed will always cost more in a state without legal weed, but it’s a pretty good bet.
The situation isn’t quite as clear-cut for those living in legal states; the presence of dispensaries usually sets “upper limits” on what buyers will have to pay.
Here’s what we mean. Weed is likely to be more expensive when you purchase it at a dispensary because the storefronts have to pay rent, utilities, workers, and taxes. Dealers don’t have those expenses so they can afford to charge less.
However, they can’t really charge more than dispensaries do, because they’d lose business. That effectively creates a ceiling for what they can get away with charging for an eighth of weed.
There’s one more factor to consider. In states where authorities have approved a large number of dispensary licensees, there’s likely to be price competition among them. Some states only have a few dispensaries, though, so there’s much less competition. That’s why prices in states like Colorado, with a huge number of licensed outlets, are lower than in states like Michigan which has just a few dispensaries.
What You’re Buying
You’re going to pay more for Coke than you’ll pay for the Dr. Thunder cola they sell at Walmart. And naturally, you’ll pay more for top-shelf weed than you have to pay for an eighth of schwag.
The difference is obvious if you shop at a dispensary, where information on the strains, quality, and price of marijuana for sale is readily available. In fact, many outlets have weed mids displayed on separate counters or tables, with their associated lower prices.
What about if you buy from a street dealer? Caveat emptor. If you work with a trustworthy dealer who is upfront about what they’re offering, you’ll be more likely to be charged what their product is worth. An unfamiliar or disreputable dealer, however, may try to pass off medium- or low-quality weed as high-quality flower and charge you unreasonably high prices.
In short, almost everyone’s going to end up paying a different price. Let’s do our best to come up with some numbers, though.
How Much Does an Eighth of Weed Cost?
Unfortunately, the most accurate nationwide surveys on weed prices focus on the cost of a gram and the cost of an ounce. Figures on the price of an eighth are more anecdotal [1] than rigorous.
Here’s what we’ve put together, though.
In most states, you’ll pay somewhere around $30-$40 for an eighth of high-quality weed. $30 is the going rate in long-time legal states like Colorado, California, and Washington.
Look at East Coast legal states, and you’ll see more variation in prices. For example, consumers in Massachusetts report paying anywhere from $48 for an eighth of top-shelf weed to $25 for weed mids. In New York, it’s between $35 and $40 for high-end flower. In Illinois, you’ll likely have to pay more than that.
Now let’s sample some medical-only states. The prices range from $33 in Florida and $40 in New Hampshire to $60 in Missouri, all for the good stuff. And in illegal states where top-shelf weed is more difficult to come by, people have paid anywhere from $40 in Kansas to $65 in Texas for an eighth of medium-quality product.
Our best advice comes in two parts. If you’re in a state where cannabis is still illegal, consider a road trip to a more weed-friendly state. And if you’re fortunate enough to have access to dispensaries, shop around. There are often good deals to be found, particularly if the state is one with a lot of competition among weed shops.
How Much Does an Eighth of Weed Cost: FAQ
Q: What is a five-gram eighth? Is it a scam or a good deal?
A: It’s a good deal. Since an eighth contains about 3.5 grams, the dispensary is basically offering a discount: five grams for the price of 3.5 grams. It’s one of the common types of deals you’ll find if you shop around.
Q: Do you really save a lot of money if you buy weed by the ounce?
A: Absolutely. Just as with the price for an eighth, the price of an ounce varies widely from location to location. But recent anecdotal reports showed consumers in legal West Coast states paying $100-$200 for an ounce of high-quality bud. Divide those numbers by eight, and you come up with a unit price of $12.50 to $25.00 per eighth. We call that a good deal.
