Cannabis Industry in a Pandemic

<p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>Since then, U.S. cannabis sales in those markets have been gradually slowing, possibly returning closer to a pre-pandemic normal, according to Headset.</p><p>Episode 919 The #TalkingHedge looks at MJ Biz Daily’s article...</p><p>https://youtu.be/hehq84BUbF0</p><p> </p><p> </p>