Top Weed Friendly U.S Cities

The study ranked everything from the legal status of cannabis to the number of dispensaries in the city. Denver, Colorado, and Buffalo, New York, were all runners-up.

At the other end of the scale was Birmingham, Alabama, which was the worst city for users. Medicinal cannabis is legal in Alabama, but recreational use is still outlawed. Similarly, Memphis, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky, also featured at the bottom of the poll.

Regarding price, Washington, DC, is the worst, where users can spend as much as $590 on an ounce of top-quality bud. This is 87 per cent more than the national average, which prices $316 for top-end pot at $316 and regular. At $252

The results of this study come as America continues its fast-paced switch to legalisation, with 20 states and Washington, DC, now allowing for recreational use.

A recent YouGov poll also showed the growing social acceptance of cannabis use by revealing that more than 50% of Americans think it is okay to use cannabis openly—additionally, almost two-thirds support legalised recreational use in their state.

The cannabis retail website Leafly was heavily involved in the research, and editor David Downs commented that the cities which scored high in the survey were an example were good governance' by effectively liberating and regulating pot use.

As well as Leafly, data was gathered from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Census Bureau, Google Trends, and Yelp, amongst others, to calculate the average price and availability of weed across the most prominent US cities.

Thanks to its lower-than-average weed prices, Portland secured the top spot, which came in at $210 per ounce of high-quality pot and $187 for standard quality. Portland was also found to have one of the country's highest number of dispensaries per capita.

Denver dropped down to number 2 from last year's equivalent. However, it still scored well thanks to consistently low prices, a reasonable allocation of dispensaries and excellent store ratings.

Buffalo were the biggest climber, jumping to 3rd in the rankings from 17th last year. It is thought that this results from New York state permitting recreational adult use from the start of 2023. However, a lack of dispensaries still holds it back.