As reported on The Verge.
By Jeff Blagdon
The recent recreational marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington illustrates just how mainstream cannabis consumption has become, but despite an unprecedented demand, industrial grow operations are having a hard time turning a profit. The Wall Street Journal reports on the billion-dollar industry of legal pot production, finding that the labor-intensive nature of the business, coupled with a lack of access to investment capital, are making it tough for growers. And of course that isn’t helped by falling prices. According to a wholesale service called Roberto’s MMJ List, the average cost of a pound of high-grade herb in Denver has fallen from $2,900 in summer 2011 to $2,000 this year.