How Much Does Cannabis Oil Cost?

Whether you’re a new or experienced cannabis consumer, you’ve likely wondered, “how much does cannabis oil cost?”

This new therapeutic product has earned high praise from medical and recreational users. Each bottle of cannabis oil, also known as a tincture, comes with varying ratios of cannabinoids at relatively steep prices compared to other health- and wellness-related products. 

Despite the high markup for cannabis oil, many consumers regularly use this delivery method to reap all of the mental and physical benefits of two major cannabinoids: cannabidiol (CBD) and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

A number of factors affect the price of the oil. You can expect to pay anywhere from $30 to up to $200 for a single bottle. Here’s what you need to know about shopping smart for cannabis oil.

How Much Does CBD Oil Cost?

CBD oil has become widely accessible to the entire nation. It’s revered for its non-psychoactive and therapeutic effects on pain, anxiety, inflammation, seizures, and other debilitating symptoms.

The health and wellness aspect of CBD oil commands a premium price for its symptomatic relief. Apart from its medical applications, there are plenty of other factors that determine how much consumers pay for cannabis oil in general.

Katie Stem of Peak Extracts told Weedmaps, “When examining a cost analysis from a production perspective, you look at labor, materials, packaging, labels, potency/purity testing, marketing, and shipping distribution.”

For manufacturers, bulk CBD can range from $3 to $15 per gram, which works out to be less than one cent to 1.5 cents per milligram. Consumers end up paying about $50 to $60 per 1,000 mg bottle, or about 5 to 20 cents per milligram.

Why Are People Paying Premium Prices for CBD Oil?

CBD oil products, in particular, offer many potential health benefits for medical and recreational consumers. People generally buy CBD oil to help them with inflammation, pain, anxiety, stress, depression, muscle spasms, fatigue, sleep disorders, and plenty of other symptoms.

Furthermore, CBD doesn’t produce the negative side effects, especially if you take the appropriate dosage.

Despite the popularity of CBD oil products, their efficacy has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Only the CBD-based drug, Epidiolex, has been approved for medical use.

In fact, many hemp companies have received warning letters from the FDA for claiming unproven health benefits on its packaging and advertising. While CBD oil can help supplement a conventional treatment plan, it’s important to consult with your physician before starting a cannabis oil regimen.

How Much Does Cannabis Oil Cost?

Cannabis oil varies in price based on cannabinoid content, as well as the region where it’s sold. Seattle-based Headset published a report detailing pricing data for a variety of marijuana products in Washington State, California, Nevada, and Colorado. The price of THC oil varied by state.

For example, Colorado had the highest price at 41 cents per milligram, which was 64 percent higher than Nevada’s 25 cents per milligram. California and Washington both had a 30 cent per milligram average price for THC oil.

Here are just a few examples of THC oil prices in the Southern California market:

• Mary’s Medicinals The Remedy THC has 1,000 mg of THC priced at $56, about 6 cents per milligram.
• Raw 1:20 THC:CBD Focus tincture has 1,000 mg priced at $87, about 9 cents per milligram.
• Select 1:1 Peppermint oil has 1,000 mg priced at $68, about 7 cents per milligram.
• Care by Design 8:1 CBD-rich sublingual drops has about 240 mg priced at $40, about 16 cents per milligram.
• Humboldt Apothecary Relax CBD 3:1 tincture has 250 mg priced at $65, about 26 cents per milligram.
• Releaf 1:1 CBD:THCa tincture has 900 mg priced at $99.62, about 11 cents per milligram.

Marijuana vs. Hemp-Derived Cannabis Oil

Cannabis oil products can be derived from either marijuana or hemp plants. Both belong to the same Cannabis sativaplant species. Marijuana plants are primarily bred for a THC-rich resin, while hemp plants produce high-CBD resin with only trace amounts of THC.

Hemp-derived oil tends to be more affordable than marijuana-derived oil. When shopping for cannabis oil, consumers may run across terms such as full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, or distillate. Each comes with varying price points depending on many factors, including its source.

Full-spectrum products contain the original chemical profile of a strain, including THC, CBD, and terpenes. Broad-spectrum contains everything in the plant but the THC, for a non-intoxicating experience. Distillates only contain one cannabinoid, either CBDA or THCA. The compounds in full-spectrum and broad-spectrum cannabis oil not only add to the aroma, but also the effects and the price.

Research into cannabinoids indicate that the interaction between different cannabinoids and terpenes produces an “entourage effect.” This synergistic effect of the plant’s compounds is thought to enhance the therapeutic benefits of a cannabis product.

For this reason, many medical consumers look for full- or broad-spectrum cannabis oil. However, someone who doesn’t want the aroma of intoxication of cannabis, may stick with a CBD isolate.

Hemp-derived CBD oil is more widely available than cannabis-derived tinctures. Ever since the 2018 Farm Bill passed, hemp-derived CBD is legal all over the country.

If you’re hoping to buy cannabis-derived tinctures, you must live in a state that allows medical cannabis (at the very least). In these states, cannabis-derived tinctures tend to be pricier because hemp isn’t as expensive to produce.

Factors Affecting Cannabis Oil Costs

A bottle of cannabis oil can vary in price based on an assortment of factors from production to marketing costs. For example, cannabis oil made from organically grown hemp from Colorado will have a higher price than oil made from a plant grown in a state with a newer market.

Besides quality, potency also affects the price of a product. Cannabis oil with 1,000 mg of cannabinoids will be more expensive than oil with fewer cannabinoids per milliliter.

The cannabis industry has unique costs and challenges that can drive up the price of cannabis oil. For example, lab testing requirements can force companies to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars testing their oil for contaminants.

Lab testing can range from $100 to $400 per sample tested. In many cases, cannabis must be tested various times throughout the supply-chain process.

Furthermore, the cannabis industry can’t write off business expenses because according to the US federal government, the marijuana plant is a Schedule I drug with no medicinal value.

Dispensaries and producers may hike up their prices to offset some of these overhead costs. Industry experts believe that full legalization will help build a stronger regulatory framework for the industry to benefit both companies and consumers.

Is Cannabis Oil Lab Tested?

Certified laboratories can provide a complete analysis of licensed cannabis product samples. Third-party labs can test for potency including its cannabinoid and terpene profile.

Labs also test for pesticides, microbial contamination, residual solvents, and other harmful chemicals that can remain after the extraction process.

Essentially, lab testing ensures the product you are buying has the potency listed on the label. More importantly, lab testing ensures the product you are consuming has no harmful contaminants that can offset its therapeutic effects.

Lab testing can significantly increase the price of cannabis oil products. However, it’s up to you to make sure your product is actually lab tested. Most companies who lab test provide a certificate of analysis (COA) on its website. Simply type in the batch number found on the packaging into their lab results page.

Buying from a licensed cannabis retailer is one of the only ways to ensure you are getting a product tested by a third-party lab. While buying hemp-derived CBD oil online without lab testing may be cheaper, we recommend you spring the extra few bucks for peace of mind and security.

How to Find Reliable and Cost-Effective Cannabis Oil

Finding the right cannabis oil at the right price point can seem like an impossible task. Luckily, there are a few ways you make sure you get the most for your dollar based on your desired results.

It can take a few hours, days, or weeks of research to find the right cannabis oil. While price matters, some affordable cannabis oils can be just as effective as the most expensive cannabis oils. Here are a few ways to save money on cannabis oil.

• Buy cannabis oil in bulk. Larger quantities mean more upfront costs, but the product often comes with considerable savings of up to 40 percent per milligram. Manufacturers pass their savings on packaging onto you. Buying in bulk can also earn you free shipping with most hemp-derived oil companies.
• Follow your favorite cannabis oil companies or retailers on their social media channels to scope out special discounts, promotions, and giveaways.
• Sign up for low-income, veteran, or other financial assistance programs if you qualify. Not every company offers this perk, but the ones that do may give you a discount of more than half off if you can send qualifying proof or apply for a spot in their program.
• Buy based on price-per-milligram. In order to calculate the price per milligram of a cannabis oil bottle, divide the total price of the product by the milligrams of cannabinoids in the product.
• When searching for bargains, always make sure you buy cannabis oil that has a certificate of analysis (COA) from an accredited third-party laboratory ensuring you have a safe and pure products.

Will CBD Prices Ever Come Down?

Industry insiders believe the price of cannabis oil will eventually go down, but not anytime soon. The industry’s strict regulations place an enormous burden on cannabis companies in terms of testing, taxes, and other rules on the plant’s production.

A variety of factors serve to limit the amount of cannabis production possible. Whether it’s commercial cannabis bans in your town or excessive licensing costs, it takes a lot of money to start up a cannabis company.

Cannabis oil may never be the most affordable natural medicine available, at least compared to pharmaceutical or herbal supplement products. However, prices are expected to go down as lawmakers become more supportive of the industry.

Once they remove the harsh limits imposed on weed companies, maybe then will the prices become accessible for those who truly need it.

As you can see, the price of cannabis oil varies widely based on the source, quality, potency, location, size, and other manufacturing and marketing costs associated with the product.

The novelty of the industry and a lack of regulation have contributed to cannabis oil’s high prices, but consumers are hopeful that one-day cannabis oil can reach an accessible price point for everyone that needs it.

Stay tuned to the Cannabis Training University blog for updates on:

• price of cannabis oil
• THC oil cost
• how much does CBD oil cost
• Colorado cannabis oil cost
• THC oil price per gram
• how to ingest cannabis oil
• cost of CBD oil products
• cheapest full-spectrum CBD oil

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