Washington State now has too much legal marijuana

(Image credit: Associated Press)

For any pot fan who doesn't believe there can be too much of a good thing, meet the laws of supply and demand. When Washington State gave the green light to its legal recreational marijuana marketplace last summer, there was a dearth of licensed weed — not enough for the licensed stores to stay open. Now, after a productive fall harvest, there's too much, causing prices to drop and growers to gripe, The Associated Press reports.

Prices at pot retail shops, roughly $23-25 a gram, are still about twice the price at legal medical dispensaries and the black market, partly due to taxes. But while Washington — unlike Colorado, the other state with a legal pot market — doesn't restrict production of retail marijuana, there are only about 80 stores currently licensed to sell pot. Until more stores are approved, there's a natural bottleneck from farm to bong. Watch growers lament and state regulators shrug in the AP's video report below. —Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.