Tag Archives: Cost
How Much Will a Legal Marijuana Habit Cost You?
If you’re an average pot smoker in Colorado—paying average prices for average-quality marijuana—you can expect to spend around $ 650 on weed next year. A study conducted by the Colorado Futures Center at Colorado State University aimed to get to the bottom of how much the state can expect to collect in tax revenues now that marijuana is legal. By doing a little extra math, we can get a rough estimate for what the average marijuana enthusiast will spend annually as well.
Researchers estimate that in 2014, 642,772 Colorado residents, or about 12.5% of the state population, will take advantage of pot’s newly legal status. Analysts assumed each person would smoke or otherwise “use” 3.53 ounces of marijuana annually, for a total of 2,268,985 ounces (about 142,000 pounds) per year.
All of these numbers may be underestimated, because they’re based on data compiled when recreational marijuana was illegal. In fact, there are so many unknowns in the realm of legal non-medicinal pot that all of this math has a crude back-of-the-napkin quality to it. In any event, using the study’s numbers, the average marijuana enthusiast can expect to pay a retail price of $ 185 per ounce next year. Multiply that times 3.53 ounces—which no one can buy at once, mind you, because there’s a one-ounce purchase maximum for residents—and the total comes to $ 653 annually spent on pot.
How much the individual actually winds up spending on marijuana will depend on several factors, most obviously the quality (and price) of the pot and how much one smokes. Researchers used the crowdsourcing site PriceofWeed.com to get the $ 185-per-ounce figure. As of early April, an ounce of marijuana was averaging $ 206 on the black market, and because the price is expected to drop once pot is legal, the study landed on $ 185. If the smoker is opting for higher-quality, $ 300-per-ounce marijuana, his annual pot bill would top $ 1,000. That’s for someone smoking the average of 3.53 ounces per year. A heavy smoker who goes with $ 300-per-ounce pot and uses, say, half-an-ounce monthly could expect to drop $ 1,800 annually on his habit.
That may sound like a lot. But a pot-smoking habit is probably cheaper than a cigarette-smoking habit. Colorado is one of the cheaper states for cigarettes, but a pack still goes for around $ 5.19, according to one state-by-state price check compilation. So a one-pack-per-day habit—purchased one pack at a time, not by the carton—comes to $ 1,894 for a year.
Health officials say that once medical expenses and things like lost productivity due to the effects of smoking are incorporated, an addiction to cigarettes is far more costly than that. For that matter, plenty of arguments have been made that legalizing marijuana will result in increased usage and addiction, as well as higher rates of driving while stoned, so the costs to society outweigh any benefits that arise from approving the drug for recreational use.
Oh, and about the point of the Colorado State study, regarding tax revenues for the state? Researchers estimate that the 15% excise tax on wholesale marijuana would yield $ 21.7 million annually, which is far short of the $ 40 million annual target. To hit the target, marijuana would have to cost a lot more than the prices that have been estimated, or people in Colorado would have to buy a lot more marijuana than the forecasts project. Neither is likely to occur, the study states. “As competition forces growers and sellers to be more efficient, margins will erode and both wholesale cost and retail prices are forecast to fall,” the report reads. And instead of usage rising year after year, the study’s authors foresee a “decline in the rate of growth of consumption as the ‘wow’ factor erodes overtime and any marijuana tourism begins to decline, particularly if other states follow Colorado and Washington and legalize marijuana.”
Source: Time Magazine (US)
Author: Brad Tuttle
Published: May 20, 2013
Copyright: 2013 Time Inc.
Contact: letters@time.com
Website: http://www.time.com/time/
Cannabis News – Medical Marijuana, Hemp, Marijuana News, Cannabis
The Legal Stoner’s Average Weed Diet Will Cost $650 A Year
With legal recreational marijuana coming to fruition in Colorado and Seattle within the year, estimates on its economical affect continue to trickle in. The most recent statistical analysis of Amendment 64 in Colorado comes courtesy of Colorado State University, and contains fairly conservative predictions, the most notable being: the average smoker only buys 3.5 ounces a year/spends $ 650 on weed a year.
Everyone has a different definition on “average” smoke use, but considering the average, daily smoker smokes at least an 1/8 of weed a week, that mean number is probably a lot closer to six ounces a year. Likewise, industry members and outside observers must take all this data with a heavy grain of shake–as with all studies– because a lot of the data is variable and conducive to response rates.
Which, when we’re talking about stoners, isn’t always the highest. TIME broke down all the data, and brought these numerical estimations on money spent and bud smoked to light:
Researchers estimate that in 2014, 642,772 Colorado residents, or about 12.5% of the state population, will take advantage of pot’s newly legal status. Analysts assumed each person would smoke or otherwise “use” 3.53 ounces of marijuana annually, for a total of 2,268,985 ounces (about 142,000 pounds) per year.
Again, these look like fairly low estimates. Based on lots of personal experience at varying smoke levels, the average daily smoker goes through between an 1/8 and a 1/4 of flower a week, and half an ounce to an ounce a month. Yes, weed in Colorado is cheap (about 30-35 bucks for an 1/8), but even so, a daily smoker will easily spend more than $ 1,000 on bud–not to mention extracts, smoking devices, and oh so much more the industry has to offer and dispensaries do and will sell.
And the $ 650 number is a mere fraction of what Big Tobacco gets on average. If you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day at an average of $ 5, you’ll spend about $ 2,500 a year. Or enough money to sustain four to five “average” weed smokers for a year. Cigarettes kill people, cannabis cures them. But one is still a much, much bigger–and far more legal–industry. America clearly needs a lot more blunts and a lot less butts–or the former will remain a shadow of the latter’s economical impact.
Which is clearly a crime, a shame, and a gap that only legal weed all over America would close. But, until there’s a distinct way to track cannabis sales–like through MMJMenu and WeedMaps.com’s tracking of weed from seed to sale, these numbers are kind of irrelevant: we cannot and will never be able to track the black market.
On a separate note, the study also gave some predictions on what Colorado’s tax will do for the state’s economy, and those numbers also underwhelm.
Oh, and about the point of the Colorado State study, regarding tax revenues for the state? Researchers estimate that the 15% excise tax on wholesale marijuana would yield $ 21.7 million annually, which is far short of the $ 40 million annual target. [TIME]
Considering recreational businesses won’t sprout up in Colorado till early next year (at the least), that $ 21.7 Million number is essentially irrelevant. The industry today could double, or triple in size a year from now, which means that number will only climb.
Unless, you know, the Federal Government decides they’d rather have Drug Cartels, the Black Market, and BitCoin profit off God’s plant.
p.s. How much money do you spend on weed a year and how much weed do you buy with it?
Drugs Can Sometimes Prevent Migraines, but at a Cost
Study finds many have side effects so bothersome that sufferers stop taking them
WebMD News from HealthDay
By Barbara Bronson Gray
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, April 29 (HealthDay News) — People with severe or frequent migraines often turn to drugs to prevent them. But do the medications work?
A new review of preventive treatments shows there is not much difference in the effectiveness of commonly prescribed drugs — they work for some people, in some cases. But there is wide variation in the amount and severity of side effects associated with the drugs.
The researchers found that drugs worked better than inactive placebos in reducing monthly migraine attacks. They prevented half or more migraines in 200 to 400 people per 1,000 treated. But many of the medications had side effects so bothersome that sufferers frequently stopped taking them.
That could be because none of the drugs used to prevent migraines was designed specifically for that purpose, explained Dr. Jason Rosenberg, director of the Johns Hopkins Headache Center. “So, it’s not surprising that they don’t work all that well. Only one-third get halfway better, according to the study, so a doctor has to treat three people to get one patient better.”
Rosenberg, who was not involved with the study, suffers from migraines and thinks many primary care doctors may be less aware of the side effects of the drugs used to prevent migraines than are headache specialists. So, they may not warn patients about the potential problems and frequently don’t follow up to see how the patients are doing, he added.
The side effects are typically no fun, said Rosenberg. “A number are badly tolerated. Some cause weight gain, hair loss, can cause birth defects [one drug], some tingling, sleepiness, impaired ability to exercise, an increased risk of diabetes and sexual side effects,” he noted. Some problems, such as kidney stones, are only detected with long-term follow-up, he added.
That’s why physicians and patients need better information, said review author Dr. Tatyana Shamliyan, a researcher at the Minnesota Evidence-Based Practice Center in Minneapolis. Good research clearly shows potential benefits and harms, and “helps a great deal in making informed decisions,” she said.
But finding information about the options and downsides can be difficult.
Rosenberg said that before Shamliyan’s study, no one had done a thorough, comprehensive review of the side effects of medications used to prevent migraines. “They’ve done a Herculean task,” he said.
Both the American Academy of Neurology and the American Headache Society have issued guidelines that recommend two types of anti-epileptic drugs and two beta blockers for prevention of migraines in adults. But neither medical group considered the value of balancing the effectiveness against the side effects, Shamliyan said.
Migraines affect about 12 percent of the U.S. population, and involve throbbing or pulsing head pain, often associated with sensitivity to light and sound, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
How Much Does It Cost to Have a Baby? Hospital Costs, Baby Supplies, and More
The expenses you’ll face when you have your first baby, and tips for spending wisely on your newborn.
If you’re thinking about having a baby, you’re probably thinking of the joy of holding your newborn in your arms — not the financial costs.
But sooner or later, you run into the expenses involved with a pregnancy. And although the experience of becoming a parent is priceless, you’ll also want to make sure your money is well spent.
From the price of diapers to the going rate for a cesarean section, here’s the bottom line on what it costs to have a baby, as well as how to save wisely on those costs.
The Price of a Healthy Pregnancy
It’s easy to get excited about buying baby supplies. But your top priority for pregnancy spending should be on health — of mother and baby.
“Early and continuous prenatal care is essential both before and throughout your pregnancy to help ensure a healthy delivery and healthy baby,” says Jeanne Conry, MD, an obstetrician with Kaiser Permanente in Sacramento, Calif.
If you have health insurance, prenatal visits and any diagnostic tests (such as ultrasounds) will likely be covered. They are generally considered “preventive” care.
If you don’t have health insurance, the average cost of prenatal care is about $ 2,000.
One of the most important parts of prenatal care is a prenatal vitamin. You need one that contains at least 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid to help prevent neural tube birth defects.
This is one cost you should start paying even before you get pregnant. About half of all pregnancies are surprises. So all women of childbearing age should take a multivitamin that contains folic acid, Conry says.
For an over-the-counter option, the cost ranges from $ 10 to $ 20. If it’s prescribed by your doctor and covered by your insurance you’ll pay whatever the co-pay price is. Either way, this could be one of the most important pregnancy investments you make.
Preparing for Baby
Shopping for a newborn baby can be overwhelming. You don’t want to go overboard on expensive baby luxuries that aren’t must-haves.
“There are thousands of baby products on the market for new moms to consider, but frankly speaking, most are nice-to-haves,” says Lori Hill, a certified doula in Williamsburg, Va.
You should first focus on what you and your baby must have, she says. Then figure out how much you have left over to spend on accessories.
Some basic supplies to consider buying include:
- Car seat
- Crib
- Diapers and wipes
- Changing table
- A few baby clothes to get you started
- Baby monitor
A thrifty parent can buy these for about $ 450 by shopping for bargains.
But don’t sacrifice safety to save a buck, especially on the car seat and crib. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you avoid older, used car seats to get maximum protection for your child. Use cribs certified by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA).
Will Health Reform Cost Me More?
President Obama’s re-election guarantees that the health reform law will continue rolling out.
A WebMD survey after the election found that many readers want to know what impact the law will have on their health care costs.
The answer: It depends on where you get your insurance and your income level.
There’s also a short-term and a long-term impact. The law puts in place many consumer protections intended to bring costs down in the long run, but not necessarily in the next year. Here’s what you can expect to happen, depending on which group you fit into.
Insurance at Work
If you get insurance through your job, your costs may continue to rise, just as they have every year, at least in the immediate future (although the past few years have seen health care costs grow more slowly than in the past 50 years). That’s because employers are shifting more costs onto employees through higher deductibles, co-pays, and co-insurance. These cost increases are not due to the law, says Julie Barnes, director of health policy with the Bipartisan Policy Center.
The health reform law does put in place a number of changes to the way health care is delivered and paid for, as well as limits on how much insurers can charge, that aim to lower overall health care costs. If these efforts are successful, health insurance premiums should cost less, the thinking goes. That, of course, remains to be seen.
If you like your insurance, the good news is that you are likely to be able to keep it. “What we’re hearing our employer clients say is that 90% or more will continue to offer health benefits to workers in the same fashion they have historically,” says Sandy Ageloff, senior consultant with Towers Watson. “They’ll do what they need to do to comply with the law but won’t be making fundamental changes.”
Self-Employed and on Your Own
The main purpose of health reform is to give people who are self-employed or in small businesses access to the same coverage as people who work for large employers. “It’s about standardizing coverage,” Barnes says.
These groups can buy a health plan on one of the newly developed online insurance markets that are supposed to be in every state in October 2013. You may be eligible for tax credits to help you cover the cost.
A person making less than $ 44,680 annually or a family of four with a household income of $ 92,200 that buys coverage through the exchanges will qualify for a refundable tax credit.
Seniors and People With Pre-existing Conditions
People with health conditions or older adults may get a break on their health insurance costs.
Starting in 2014, insurers will no longer be allowed to turn people away or charge them more because of a pre-existing health condition.
Older adults also can’t be charged more than three times what a younger person pays for the same health plan.
