Cannabis Industry in a Pandemic

After the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, much of the U.S. began lockdown restrictions – a move that dramatically altered the cannabis business landscape.

By contrast, legal marijuana markets in 32 states and Washington DC were allowed to stay open during state-mandated stay-at-home orders, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

Then came the stimulus and employment checks, as the U.S. government sought to keep money circulating throughout the economy to counter layoffs and untold numbers of shuttered businesses.

Early during the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns, cannabis sales skyrocketed across the six U.S. adult-use markets tracked by Seattle-based data-analytics firm Headset.

By the week of March 16, 2020, cannabis sales in California, Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state were already 38% higher than during the first full week of January that year.

After a brief dip in late March, when many states were in full lockdown, purchases continued to climb through the summer, peaking during the week of Aug. 31, 2020, at 59% greater sales than the first week of January.

Sales declined slightly toward the end of 2020 before surging again in the spring of 2021, around the marijuana industry’s unofficial April holiday, 4/20.

Since then, U.S. cannabis sales in those markets have been gradually slowing, possibly returning closer to a pre-pandemic normal, according to Headset.

Episode 919 The #TalkingHedge looks at MJ Biz Daily’s article...
https://youtu.be/hehq84BUbF0