As we spend the holiday weekend gathered with our families sharing gifts and good spirits, some of you living in states with recreational or medical cannabis might have ended up with some dank and high-spirited gifts under the Christmas tree (or around the Hanukkah menorah). According to the customer service systems developed by the marijuana software firm Baker, legal marijuana sales across the country have skyrocketed during the holiday season.
Baker claims that pot shops have seen an average purchase increase of 21% in states with medical and recreational cannabis. According to their analysis, the most popular items have been brownie and cookie edibles, as well as vaporizers, pipes, and other gift-worthy smoking accessories. The data was collected from a wide range of US states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington.
While this news is certainly positive for the cannabis industry, it didn’t come as much of a surprise to Baker. According to their CEO, Joel Milton, most cannabis shops have holiday deals that lead to higher sales, from “Weed Wednesday” to the Black Friday-inspired “Green Friday”.
"Holiday gift-giving is a perfect example of this once-taboo product making its way into the mainstream retail environment,” Milton said. “We have a feeling people will like cannabis gifts a lot more than a traditional … box of chocolates."
While the holiday season has certainly led to an uptick in cannabis sales, Kris Kringle remains no match for the national stoner celebration 4/20, which remains the biggest sales day for the cannabis industry.
The Colorado-based marijuana retailer Native Roots has seen an increase in edible sales in their ski-town locations, while their holiday-themed gifts like $40 “Stocking Puffer” or $300 “O’Chronic Tree” have helped to drive sales as well. Additionally, Native Roots has noticed that cannabis and pot shop-affiliated apparel has seen a major sales increase as well.
All in all, cannabis had quite the successful holiday season, and with even more states moving to legalize cannabis, sales are expected to grow in the next year.
