Like many industries, cannabis-related companies in the United States havent been left untouched by the fallout from the coronavirus. On the bright side, demand for cannabis products swelled in the initial weeks following government-mandated lockdowns.
“New Frontier Data reported that in March, cannabis spending grew up to 20% across all categories, whether it be flower, edibles, topicals, and the like,” said David Kennedy, founder and CEO at Purple Risk Management Services. “The rationale was that people were stockpiling, thinking that there were going to be long-term, stay-at-home quarantine orders.”
The situation underscored that cannabis is seen by consumers as a traditional consumer good, along the lines of groceries or alcohol, added Kennedy.
In tough times, consumers dont stop drinking or smoking and in fact these habits are shown to increase during such periods due to the use of cannabis products by some consumers to ease stress, anxiety, and sleeplessness.
However, demand for cannabis has stabilized since mid-March and, in the meantime, cannabis businesses have had to make their own adjustments to the pandemic.