Marijuana is for sale in Colorado and Washington, so it's seemingly only a matter of time before packs of joints are available as well — but how much will a pack run you? After doing some extensive research, Fast Company's Thor Benson came up with around $50.
He reached that number by comparing the estimated cost of marijuana production (about $2 to $3 per gram) with common industry margins (rumored to be between 40 percent and 50 percent) and factoring in the economies of scale wielded by large companies like Marlboro. At the very most, an average pack of joints might run you about $120 — the amount Denver-based store Medicine Man asks for a 20-pack of pre-rolled, one-gram joints.
At the very most, an average pack might run you about $120
Benson even sought input from Jeff Caldwell, a representative from Marlboro's parent company, but Caldwell wouldn't speculate on the potential costs of joint packs. Caldwell said that his company had "no plans to sell marijuana-based products," but Benson isn't so sure. "Marlboro is in the business of making money," he writes, and considering estimates that marijuana sales could drive $20 billion in taxes alone, Marlboro could find the opportunity too good to pass up. Another option for Marlboro would be selling less pricey "spliffs" — 50 percent marijuana, 50 percent tobacco joints — which Benson estimates could cost just $20 per pack.
Marijuana joints should cost about ten times as much as cigarettes, Benson claims, but does that mean they deliver ten times the pleasure?