During the early 1980s, prices for commercial grade marijuana ranged from $350 to $600 a pound. In the first six months of 1996, the absolute price for a pound of marijuana ranged from $200 to $4,000, though it typically sold for $800 a pound.

The cost of sinsemilla, the unpollinated flowering tops of the female plant with an inherently higher THC content, ranged from $1,000 to $2,000 per pound over a decade ago. Through mid-1996, the price ranged from $700 to $8,000 per pound, though the sale price typically did not fall below $1,300 per pound.
Prices per pound vary considerably, depending on consumer proximity to the Mexican Border and quantity purchased. From the mid-1990s to the present, prices for commercial-grade Mexican marijuana remained relatively stable.

On average, marijuana can be purchased in Mexico for approximately between $100 and $200 per kilogram. In DEA Field Divisions along the U.S. Southwest Border, Mexican marijuana sells for approximately between $400 and $1,000 per pound. In Border District Offices, the price is even lower; the McAllen, Texas, office reports wholesale prices of from $150 to $300 per pound.

In the Midwest and Northeast, the prices increase to, on average, between $700 and $2,000 per pound. Using low-end figures, 500 pounds of marijuana can be purchased in Juárez, Mexico, for $50,000 and sold in St. Louis, Missouri, for $400,000. As marijuana is purchased closer to the cultivation sites in Mexico and sold to U.S. consumers at greater distances from the U.S. Southwest Border, the profit margin increases significantly.

In 1998, Americans spent $66 billion on these drugs. $11 billion of it was on marijuana. Between 1989 and 1998, expenditure on marijuana increased slightly (as marijuana prices increased) then decreased slightly (as marijuana prices fell).

Prices of marijuana show wide variation by country of origin. Using wholesale prices per pound and mid-1991 prices, the price of marijuana of Mexican origin varied between $350 and $1600. For Colombian marijuana, this figure was $800 to $1,000 and for marijuana from Thailand, the price ranged from $2,000 to $3,000 per pound. Jamaican marijuana brought $1,500 to $2,000 per pound for commercial grade and $2,000-$3,000 for sinsemilla. It is estimated that United States consumers of marijuana spent $9 billion in 1990.