Denver residents seeking to indulge within the excessive vacation of 4/20 will probably be happy to find town has earned the title of most weed-friendly within the US.
The Mile Excessive Metropolis took the highest spot in an evaluation of the pro-weed attitudes and insurance policies in America’s largest metro areas – due to its abundance of marijuana dispensaries and Colorado’s relaxed drug legal guidelines.
Cities incomes spots two by way of 5 had been Portland, Oregon; Las Vegas; Buffalo, New York; and Baltimore – all of that are in states which have totally legalized marijuana.
Individuals within the south seeking to smoke, nonetheless, will probably be disenchanted to search out many southern cities do not prolong courtesies to their 4/20 celebrants.
Louisville, Kentucky positioned within the final spot for friendliest cities. Its house state solely permits medicinal marijuana, limiting use to sufferers with 15 well being situations who’ve been really useful by medical doctors to devour the drug.
Previous Louisville, Dallas; Atlanta; Houston; and Birmingham, Alabama took spots 49 by way of 46.
The rankings come from a Actual Property Witch and Leafly report that graded the 50 largest US metro areas primarily based on 15 metrics.
They included the authorized standing and worth of marijuana, variety of dispensaries per 100,000 residents, variety of quick meals eating places per 100,000 individuals, web searches for weed-related phrases and variety of visits to on-line marijuana assets.
The findings revealed the highest 14 friendliest weed cities had been all in states the place the drug is totally authorized.
No cities situated in states that prohibit marijuana in all types made the checklist and the 15 least-friendly cities had been all in states the place the drug is just permitted underneath sure situations.
Denver took the highest spot partially as a result of it has 4 instances the variety of dispensaries and a pair of.5 instances the variety of head retailers as the typical American metropolis – with 10.4 dispensaries per 100,000 individuals.
Town additionally has ‘unbeatable’ pot costs. An oz of high-quality weed prices $242, in comparison with the nationwide common of $318.
Nonetheless, Portland, which held the highest spot final yr however slipped to second in 2024, has even cheaper marijuana – costing $213 per ounce. And due to its abundance of dispensaries – 13.7 per 100,000 residents – individuals in the hunt for the drug will not have an issue getting their repair.
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For the third yr in a row, Washington, DC has the most costly weed, with one ounce of high-quality marijuana costing $597.
Different findings revealed Kansas Metropolis, Missouri is probably the most improved – rising 13 spots from twenty second place in 2023 to ninth place this yr.
Whereas Missouri solely legalized leisure marijuana two years in the past, Kansas Metropolis already has double the variety of dispensaries per capita as Los Angeles, which legalized it in 2016.
And that metropolis slipped probably the most spots on this yr’s report. Los Angeles fell 13 locations.
A stunning outcome, the evaluation said, was that Oklahoma Metropolis, Oklahoma, the place leisure pot is just not authorized, had extra dispensaries than another metro space, with 32.2 retailers per 100,000 residents.
In Oklahoma, weed is just authorized for medicinal makes use of.
David Downs, senior content material supervisor at Leafly, stated: ‘Hashish is a drugs. They’re utilizing it for sleep, anxiousness, stress, ache.
‘The collapse of the value of marijuana in Oklahoma has been a public well being victory for Oklahomans who now have a safer, much less addictive possibility than lots of the prescribed drugs they had been being supplied.’
The value stands at $336 per one ounce, serving to the state rise three spots this yr.
In the USA, marijuana is totally authorized – for leisure and medicinal use – in 29 states. It’s totally unlawful in 4 states.
Legal guidelines within the remaining states are combined, which means the drug could also be permitted for medicinal use, allowed solely within the type of CBD oil, be decriminalized or be a mixture of those.
Decriminalization of marijuana means there are decreased penalties for cannabis-related offenses. In some states, possessing weed underneath sure quantities, which range state-to-state, could also be handled extra like a site visitors offense.
Penalties may embody fines however won’t end in an arrest, jail time or a legal document for a first-time possession of a small quantity for private consumption.
No matter state regulation, the evaluation discovered roughly 62 % of Individuals have tried marijuana. Fifty-five % assist legalization of the drug and one-third would like to make use of hashish than drink alcohol.
Assist for legalization was highest within the Midwest at 61 % and lowest within the South at 44 %.
A separate September 2023 Gallup ballot, nonetheless, discovered 70 % of Individuals imagine the drug must be authorized – a brand new nationwide excessive.
Hashish advocates say the drug has well being and social advantages and that making it unlawful does little to cease consumption and solely results in excessive ranges of pointless incarcerations, typically of younger black males.
Regardless of the widespread assist, 23 % of Individuals nonetheless oppose legalization, with hashish opponents arguing widespread use results in greater charges of psychological well being issues, substance abuse — particularly amongst teenagers and younger adults — and extra stoned drivers on the roads, inflicting automobile crashes.
