Sales at recreational cannabis dispensaries have seen a dramatic spike in recent weeks as customers prepare for long-term social distancing measures, CNBC reports.
“We had our largest sales day ever,” said Steven DeAngelo, the co-founder of California dispensary chain Harborside. “Sales are up 20-25% at all locations.”
According to cannabis e-commerce platform Jane Technologies, average store revenue rose by 52% to 130% in the last month when compared to January, and new users ordering online have increased by 142% in that time.
Although some states have declared cannabis “essential medicine,” making their dispensaries exempt from state shutdowns, many have been forced to close, and many of the ones that remain open have increased delivery or switched to online-ordering only.
“Fortuitously — we didn’t know the pandemic was coming — a few months ago we opened our Desert Hot Springs location,” DeAngelo said. “We have one of two drive-thru windows in the entire state of California, so it’s a very popular place to buy cannabis in the Coachella Valley right now.”
He added that since the coronavirus causes respiratory problems, “We have been encouraging all of our clients to consider non-inhaled forms of cannabis at this time. If we’re having a situation where we are all concerned about a respiratory illness, then it’s probably a good idea to think about ingesting cannabis through some other method than the lungs.”
DeAngelo guaranteed that supply is not a concern despite the outbreak.
“We could just keep on selling all of the cannabis that we grow on our own farm, and we will not run out of that, I promise,” he said.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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