Pot Use Reaches All-Time High In March

We noted on Thursday, Americans have resorted to “watching porn, drinking beer, smoking pot, and or devouring chocolate” to cope with their fears of a pandemic. In the report, we noted how cannabis sales in California, Colorado, Oregon, and Alaska jumped 50% during the March 16-22 period, but it was hard for us to quantify overall national trends. 

Apparently, ripping bongs and eating edibles hit an all-time high in March as lockdowns across the country were only in the beginning stages, according to Bloomberg, citing a consumer report via Cowen & Co.

The survey, conducted in March of 2,500 consumers, found about 33% had tried smoking pot, a record high, and that 12.8% had used cannabis within the past month compared to the 2019 average of 12.5%

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 the 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. – Bloomberg 

America is getting high, melting in their couches as “Netflix and quarantine” become the hottest trend during the pandemic.