Cooling inflation and marijuana use

Inflation has been the talk of households for over a year. Eggs, meat, gas, salad, plane tickets, and butter are just a few of the things that are skyrocketing. The price of a meal in elementary and secondary schools increased the most in 2022, by a whopping 305%. The war in Ukraine, the upheaval in labor and supply chain issues, and strikes all contributed. How is a person supposed to cope? And what about cooling inflation and the marijuana user? There’s good news for fans and medical marijuana patients alike.

The drink alcohol is widely considered recession-proof. But in this recent bout of inflation, the price of beer consumed at home has risen much faster than the price of distilled spirits. Both have gone up, but beer prices have gone up a lot more.

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“Inflation has had a significant impact on the legal cannabis industry and has pushed up the costs associated with growing, manufacturing and selling cannabis products. This increase in costs has further diluted the already poor profit margins of many legal cannabis companies,” shared Roy Bingham, co-founder and CEO of BDSA.

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“Nonetheless, an intriguing counterbalance has emerged in the form of a significant price drop seen in legal cannabis markets since late 2021. As a result, consumers have seen a significant drop in the price of cannabis purchased from pharmacies,” continues Bingham.

Notably, BDSA analysis shows a staggering 30.5% drop in the corresponding average retail price for cannabis between Q3 2021 and Q1 2023. Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts. Price reductions happened in Missouri, Nevada, Oregon and Pennsylvania!

Notably, BDSA analysis shows a staggering 30.5% drop in the corresponding average retail price for cannabis between Q3 2021 and Q1 2023. Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts. Missouri, Nevada, Oregon and Pennsylvania.

RELATED: The alcohol industry is absorbing large amounts of marijuana companies

“Historically, during periods of high inflation, Americans cut back on nonessential luxuries, but nonetheless save for necessary indulgences. For example, a wine drinker may continue to drink wine, may drink more at home than at a restaurant, or order a cheaper brand on the go. Cannabis follows the same trend. It is also encouraging to see that industry-wide data has shown that the number of marijuana users continues to grow, which is extremely encouraging for the market,” said Andrew Laub, managing partner of Keneh Ventures

New York is in a category of its own as there are over 1,500 unlicensed pharmacies that do not share information. It says they also charge significant fee concessions over legal states, and both locals and tourists pay the premium.