I look forward to April 20th every year, for obvious reasons. But it’s more than just a day to blaze up. I do that every day. For me 4/20 also provides a day for me to gathering with a lot of people I haven’t seen in quite awhile, and it also provides an opportunity to make new friends. I spent my 4/20 in Portland this year, and it was hands down the best 4/20 I’ve ever been a part of. My friends Dave and Linda really know how to throw a party!
This was the first 4/20 that legal recreational sales (albeit limited) were allowed in my home state, Oregon. It was the third 4/20 since recreational sales started in Colorado, and the second for recreational sales in Washington. Medical marijuana sales have been occurring for quite some time in numerous states, of course. So how much legal marijuana was sold at retail outlets of various types across the country? According to MJ Freeway, about 37.5 million dollars worth. Below are more facts compiled by MJ Freeway, via Entrepreneur.Com:
- Individual legally-licensed cannabis retail locations — medical and recreational and dispensaries and delivery services — sold on average $10,822 in retail sales on April 20, $6,208 on April 19 and $5,442 on April 18.
- While buyer traffic increased, buyers spent on average $20 less per transaction on April 20, 2016, vs. April 20, 2015.
- The state with the largest dollar amount sold on April 20, 2016, was California.
- The state with the total highest average sales per day per retail licensed location for April 20, 2016, was — not surprisingly — Colorado.
I don’t purchase cannabis all that often from retail locations because I’m blessed with some really awesome friends that gift me flower quite a bit. However, I wanted to do my part and feed the cannabis economy on April 20th, so I went to the nearest dispensary and purchased a pre-roll. Did you purchase cannabis from a retailer on 4/20? If so, did you spend more or less than you did last year? I’m curious to see what the numbers are next year, and if we see a similar jump from the previous year (+30%), or an even bigger jump!
