Today’s headlines are filled with discussions on inflation. So what exactly is it? Inflation is the downfall of purchasing power for a given currency. The inflation rate in the United States has been relatively stable since the 1980s, around 1-2%, but it has started to accelerate. In 2021, we saw the inflation rate soar to about 7%, and so far this year, we are trending towards 8.3%. Inflation is a contributing factor in the cost of various products. Milk, meat, butter, and flour prices are up over 13%, making it pricier to eat at home. Overall, prices for consumer goods rose by 8.5%, according to the Labor Department.
Do we see the nationwide inflationary impact on the cannabis industry?
So far into 2022, we do not see a significant price increase for common cannabis products. According to the data we are monitoring, we see little to no increase in the average prices for cannabis products across retailers. From 2020 on, we see decreases in the median price per gram for concentrate, pre-rolled flower, shake/trim, and many other products.
Other sources seem to indicate the same thing. Other data firms report that median prices of some products have stayed the same or decreased over time. Cannabis Wealth and CNN reports support these findings. Whether or not these trends are a result of inflation is not explicitly clear, but for the time being, we can conclude that inflation has not caused a sudden price increase in the cannabis industry.
