Sales of medical marijuana spiked more than 20% nationwide last week to an all-time high, analysts said, as patients flocked to dispensaries fearing that they would not be able to buy their cannabis in the event of a lockdown.
Medical marijuana dispensaries in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are considered “essential businesses,” akin to pharmacies, and are not required to close.
“On March 11, when major news of the potential impact of COVID-19 indicated changes in lifestyle, buying patterns were at normal rates," said Ostap Rapeyko, a business intelligence analyst with Akerna. "However, a week later, on March 18, sales increased by 19.2% overall.”
Akerna is the parent company of MJ Freeway, which provides sale-tracing software to the marijuana industry. According to Rapeyko, medical cannabis sales were up 20.8% and recreational adult-use sales were up 11.6%. Sales of flower, the smokable form of cannabis, rose 22.6%. Vapes — still reeling from bad publicity earlier this year -- were up 9.7% while edibles were up 12.4%