Cannabis use in America reportedly reached an all-time high in March, 2020, as lockdown measures aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus went into effect in many communities throughout the country.
Free time, furloughed or laid off, and less to do. Smoke ’em if you got ’em.
From Bloomberg News, reporting on a Cowen & Co survey out Wednesday:
A March survey of 2,500 consumers by Cowen & Co. found that 33% had tried cannabis at some point in their lives, a record high. For the past month, 12.8% of respondents said they’d used pot, above the 12.5% average in 2019.
Sales spiked in mid-March as people rushed to stock up ahead of potential dispensary closures, Cowen said, using data from cannabis analytics firm Headset Inc. Weekly sales growth peaked at 64% in the week ended March 16, the highest rate of increase since at least the beginning of 2019.
However, sales decelerated during the last two weeks of the month to the mid- to high-single-digit range. This may be linked to a “more pronounced deterioration in job security for past-month cannabis consumers relative to the general population,” according to analysts led by Vivien Azer.
The survey found that the percentage of cannabis consumers working full time fell by 290 basis points to 42.4% in March from February, a bigger decline than the general population. They also tended to be less comfortable with their financial situation.
Read more:
Pot Use Reached All-Time High in March Amid Lockdown Measures
[bloomberg/Kristine Owram/April 8, 2020]