Vape Pen Economics

Here is a relevant article about the cannabis supply glut in Oregon. Some say the same thing will happen in Canada. The math below is applied to the situation set out in this article.

The pricing effect of an oversupply of raw cannabis creates a strong argument for smaller growers to generate their own vape oils via CO2 extraction rather than selling their cannabis to third-party vape oil extraction companies. Here is some math related to CO2 vape oil pens:

Assumptions:

Raw material: $75 (/80= $0.94 per pen)

Empty vape pens – $200 ($2.50 X 80)

Labour – $300

Overhead (power) – $5

CO2 costs – $5

Total = $585.

Using 1lb of good cannabis trim will generate ~30 grams of 50%-strength cannabis oil (the actual potency is often higher). A disposible vape pen holds 1/2 gram, therefore 30 grams of undiluted extract will generate 60 disposible vape pens. Using a $20 wholesale/$35 Retail price, that equates to $1,200 wholesale or $2,400 retail. (keep in mind that this is undiluted and that most vape pens are diluted by 2 to 3 times meaning 30 grams of undiluted extract can generate 120/180 pens while the wholesale price would still only drop to, say $12-$15). We’ll stay with the undiluted 60 pens for now:

Using the above assumptions, if the pens were sold wholesale the gross return would be ($1,200-$585=) $615 per day meaning a $6000 extractor could payback in only 10 days. If the oil was diluted, the payback would be even faster. No wonder vape pens are all the rage….