The Bayou City ranks miserably low among major metropolitan areas for weed friendliness, a new report from Real Estate Witch and Leafly reveals.
The report, which sizes up the nation’s top 50 metro areas by various metrics, including local cannabis laws, the cost of weed, dispensary counts, and Google Trends data, pegs Houston as the fourth-worst destination for cannabis consumers, buried under high prices and limited retail options. An ounce of high-quality cannabis in Houston will set users back a staggering $313.67, and those looking for a mid-tier buzz face a bill of $234.15 on average while there’s a measly 0.5 marijuana retailers per 100,000 residents and that's not something to light up about, according to the Houston Chronicle.
It's not just Houston feeling the smoke of discontent across Texas, Austin and San Antonio also scraped the bottom of the barrel with dismal rankings of 34th and 35th, respectively. Meanwhile, cities like Denver, Portland, and Las Vegas bask in the glow of top rankings, with Denver taking the high honor as the nation's leading weed city, a clear indication of the uneven landscape of cannabis culture across the U.S., the same report outlines.
On the flip side of the coin, cannabis enthusiasts can revel in the fact that the golden age of cannabis is upon us, with some cities establishing themselves as verdant oases in America's weed desert, Denver's crowning as numero uno in the realm of cannabis cities comes as no surprise, given Colorado's early leap into recreational legalization and its flourishing dispensaries, Portland and Las Vegas follow suit, embodying the spirit of freedom that tokers nationwide cherish. Oklahoma City also snagged an unlikely spot in the top 15, despite its recreational marijuana ill-legality, as noted by Leafly's comprehensive roundup, published on their website.
With insights on how legal weed is spurring neighborhood revitalization and economic growth, including bumped-up home values, stakeholders and residents alike are encouraged to visit Real Estate Witch's site for more context on cannabis' impact on urban landscaping.
