Two years after Ohio recreational marijuana sales began, Ohio’s adult-use marijuana continues to be significantly more expensive than Michigan, according to pricing data. Meanwhile, Ohio Republican lawmakers have outlawed buying from other states.
The cheapest ounce of marijuana in Ohio is $112 while the cheapest ounce in Michigan is $6.99, according to the WeedBuddy Cannabis Price Index.
In Arizona, it’s $49.99, and in Colorado, it’s $16.73.
The median cost of an ounce shows far closer prices though Ohio still sits as most expensive among the four states at $147.35, compared to $99 in Michigan, $120 in Arizona, and $110 in Colorado.
Ohio’s median price for an eighth of cannabis flower is $35, compared to Michigan’s $20 for the same amount as of July 31, the index shows.
“Price is going to be one of the most important aspects in terms of determining where they purchase cannabis,” said Morgan Fox, political director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
“People were already used to driving to Michigan to purchase cannabis, so as long as there’s still a massive price differential, they’re probably going to continue doing so at least for the foreseeable future.”
Marijuana is illegal for recreational use in West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania.
Ohio recreational sales started in August 2024, about nine months after Ohioans voted to legalize recreational marijuana.
A new law passed by Republican state lawmakers took effect earlier this year that made a wide variety of changes to the voter-passed law.
Ohio Senate Bill 56 criminalized bringing legal marijuana from another state back to Ohio.
“If you’re caught with cannabis that cannot be verified purchased in Ohio or verified grown in Ohio, then it’s the same penalties as it was under prohibition of pre-legalization,” Fox said.
However, he was doubtful Ohio customers knew about the changes to Ohio’s law.
“If people had gotten used to doing that when cannabis was not legal in Ohio, they’re probably going to continue to do so,” Fox said.
The law also bans possessing marijuana in anything outside of its original packaging and requires drivers to store marijuana in the trunk of their car while driving.
Furthermore, the law reduced THC levels in adult-use marijuana extracted from a maximum of 90% down to a maximum of 70%, capped THC levels in adult-use flower to 35%, and banned smoking in most public places.
Ohio’s total recreational marijuana sales were $1.67 billion as of July 11, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Cannabis Control.
The median price of a standard eighth of cannabis flower was $36.40 in Columbus, $32 in Cincinnati, and $30.80 in Cleveland at the end of July, according to the price index.
Compared to cities in Michigan, the median price of the same amount of cannabis flower, according to the price index., cost $25 in Lansing, $20 in Detroit, and $20 in Monroe, Michigan which is about 12 miles from downtown Toledo.
There have been 32.5 million units of manufactured products that have been sold and 267,590 pounds of plant material, according to the division.
There are 223 dual-use marijuana dispensaries in Ohio as of Thursday, meaning they can sell medical and non-medical marijuana, according to the division.
More than 160 Ohio municipalities or townships that have moratoriums in place banning the sale of adult-use cannabis as of June 3, according to Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law.
Michigan voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2018 and sales started in December 2019.
“Michigan’s market is much more well established, and we’ve seen in most cannabis markets that prices tend to go down over time,” Fox said.
Michigan has more than 800 active retail licenses as of June 2026, and Michigan marijuana stores reported about $3.17 billion in revenue in 2025, according to the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency.
“Michigan also has a much bigger market in terms of the numbers of dispensaries and the number of licensed businesses than Ohio does, largely because Ohio artificially capped that, so that means that since there’s more competition between those businesses, they have to keep their prices a little bit lower to be competitive,” Fox said.
Michigan is the second-largest adult-use marijuana market in the nation, behind California.
Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on X or on Bluesky.
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