SHATTERING SALES

SLOANNE SIMON

In a year that was riddled with uncertainties and hardships, one thing was for sure, the American people love their cannabis. Most companies and major markets posted huge losses after the dumpster fire that was in 2020, except for the cannabis industry. With record sales of $17.5billion, cannabis had an astounding 46% increase in sales over 2019.

It is hard not to look back at the pandemic and assume that that was the driving force behind the astronomical boom in sales. Though it was an integral part, with many Americans realizing the need for mental health aid during some unprecedented times, sales were also boosted by the recreational legalization in populous states such as Illinois and Massachusetts. There are now 36 states with legalized medicinal cannabis, fourteen of those with adult-use recreational usage. Heavy hitter states like California, Colorado, and Oregon saw an increase in consumers to their already mature market. These states all saw over a billion-dollar sales year with increases from 2019 around 26-29%.

In fact, Illinois, after just passing adult-use cannabis, hit sales of over a billion dollars. Newly legalized recreational usage states showed around a 136% increase in sales since switching from medical to recreational. With the change from medical to recreational, black market sales are also decreasing, which allows for legal sales to continue to increase as well.

A lot of this sales surge stems from the ease of obtaining cannabis. Many dispensaries opened up the availability of delivery services, curbside service, and deals upon deals to pull in customers. Once deemed essential during the pandemic, sales took off. In fact, over two-thirds of cannabis consumers reported partaking on a daily basis with either flowers or concentrates. In turn, over half of edible connoisseurs reported daily usage. Many growers, processors, and dispensaries spent time during the pandemic exploring new ways to market the different possibilities for consumption, to reach more people. 2020 cannabis consumption also seems to have been used as a coping mechanism for most of us that partook.

According to Leafly, established consumers, such as myself, had a 33% increase in the amount purchased per month. The increase in the monthly purchases could have been a direct result of consumers stocking up, or just a jump in daily usage due to stress.

With all of the uncertainty that occurred over the last 15 months with the pandemic, cannabis was a way to help medicate, to decrease the anxiety, and the stress. In fact, around 25% of cannabis consumers reported an increase in usage over the initial six months of the pandemic. Personally, as a stay-athome mom with three young children, attempting to complete online virtual learning for a first grader and pre-k kiddo, plus a toddler in tow, medicating was imperative.

I can attest to the increase in usage over those first six months, I definitely increased my amount used to cope with the craziness and uncertainty of the time we were all experiencing.

Now that the world has been attempting to open up again post-pandemic, sales continue to explode.

People are happy to be out in the world again, interacting with each other and enjoying a sesh with friends. With summer in full swing, there are many gathering places that allow for outdoor consumption.

Places such as Relax Park in Oklahoma City have created a safe haven where people can come together and not be hassled while enjoying a joint in public.

The trend is showing that more American ’s are turning to cannabis. I think what needs to be taken into consideration, as well with the boom in sales, is how many people are viewing pharmaceuticals in comparison to cannabis. There has been a shift away from these manmade drugs that have been pushed on us to help with mental health for the last couple of decades.

As more and more people are turned off by the side effects that typically correlate with the antidepressants being prescribed, and more medical professionals are seeing the benefits of cannabis usage, cannabis sales will continue to increase. In fact, projections show that by 2025, cannabis sales could hit $41 billion. Billion, with a B. At the time of publication, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had recently introduced his proposal for federally legalized cannabis.

Although states, according to the proposal, will still be able to write their own laws in accordance with legal cannabis, the possibilities for growth are astounding.

Dependent on how the law is written, more people will be allowed the possibility to consume if they so desire. So, again, the more people that can consume, the more that people can purchase. Which leads to more and more growth in sales.

As laws continue to change and more and more research is done to show the benefits of cannabis, the industry in itself is going to continue to grow. For instance, new techniques are being introduced to the manufacturing of edibles, making them more desirable to the consumer due to quicker, more consistent highs.

These developments allow for the consumer, who does not want to smoke but wants the healing effects of cannabis, to find the appropriate dosage and know that they will experience the same response each time.

Falling in line with different techniques for edibles, researching terpenes and their profiles and the effects those have on the consumer also opens up the possibility for greater sales.

We are sitting on the good side of history with cannabis, I am excited to see the growth that our nation and our economy is about to experience. To the moon!