DENVER (KDVR) — Yeah, well… at least Denver has more than one sports team.
Denver lost its place as the nation’s marijuana mecca, according to an analysis from Clever Real Estate. The new king of kush is Portland. Oregon was two years behind Colorado in legalizing recreational cannabis. Washington and Colorado legalized it in 2012, while Alaska and Oregon legalized it in 2014.
To be the nation’s top hash hub, cities must score highly in a handful of categories including legality, rate of dispensaries and cannabis doctors, dispensaries’ customer ratings, pot prices, Google search trends for marijuana-related terms, public perception and the number of hiking trails, concert venues and most importantly Taco Bells.
Portland edged out Denver in its overall score – mostly because Portland’s pot is cheaper. High-quality pot costs $210 per ounce in Portland as opposed to $242 in Denver. Portland also has more dispensaries per 100,000 residents – 13.7 to Denver’s 11.5.
See the chart below for a full comparison of the nation’s top five cities.
| Category | Portland, OR | Denver, CO | Buffalo, NY | Seattle, WA | Baltimore, MD |
| Legal status | Fully | Fully | Fully | Fully | Fully |
| Cannabis doctors per 100,000 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.2 |
| Dispensaries per 100,000 | 13.7 | 11.5 | 3 | 4.8 | 2.4 |
| Avg. dispensary rating | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Avg. price, high quality | $210 | $242 | $270 | $248 | $330 |
| Avg. price, mid-quality | $187 | $210 | $226 | $201 | $258 |
| High-quality oz. per salary | 298 | 289 | 207 | 324 | 202 |
| Mid-quality oz. per salary | 335 | 332 | 247 | 400 | 259 |
| Leafly visitors | 72 | 35 | 61 | 36 | 45 |
| Pot passion | 68 | 74 | 90 | 80 | 94 |
| Head shops per 100,000 | 1 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| Taco Bells per 100,000 | 11.2 | 11 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 3.2 |
| Trails | 209 | 72 | 25 | 85 | 23 |
| Music venues | 105 | 136 | 56 | 116 | 73 |
| Public perception score | 9% | 27% | 4% | 10% | 4% |
Denver does, however, have a better public perception of marijuana, 27% to Portland’s 9%, more head shops per person and more music venues.