Cooling Inflation And The Marijuana Consumer

Inflation has been the talk in homes for over a year. Eggs, meat, gas, lettuce, airline tickets and butter are just some of things things soaring. The price of a meal at elementary and secondary schools spiked the most in 2022, by a whopping 305%. The war in Ukraine, the upending of workers and supply chain issues and strikes all contributed. How is a person supposed to manage?  And what about cooling inflation and the marijuana consumer? There is some good news for fans and for medical marijuana patients.

The beverage alcohol is generally considered recession-proof. But in this recent bout of inflation, the price of beer consumed at home has increased much more quickly than the price of distilled spirits. Both are up, but beer prices are up far more.

“Inflation has exerted a substantial impact on the legal cannabis industry, amplifying the expenses associated with cultivating, manufacturing, and retailing cannabis products. This surge in costs has further diluted the already slim profit margins for many legal cannabis businesses.” shares Roy Bingham, Co-founder and CEO, BDSA.

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“Nevertheless, a fascinating counterbalance to this has emerged in the form of significant price compression observed within legal cannabis markets since late 2021. As a result, consumers have been witnessing a notable decline in the price of cannabis purchased at dispensaries.” continues Bingham.

Remarkably, between Q3 2021 and Q1 2023, BDSA’s analysis reveals a staggering 30.5% reduction in the equivalent average retail price of cannabis.  Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts. Missouri, Nevada, Oregon and Pennsylvania all had price drops!

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“Historically in times of high inflation, Americans will cut back on non essential luxuries, yet will still set aside spending for requisite indulgences. For example, a wine drinker will continue to drink wine, they might drink more at home than at a restaurant or when out will order a less expensive brand. Cannabis has been following the same trend. It is also promising to notice that data on the industry as a whole has shown that in this time the number of marijuana consumers continues to grow, which for the market is a extremely eouncouraging” stated Andrew Laub, managing partner of Keneh Ventures

New York is in their own category since they have over 1,500 unlicensed dispensaries operating not sharing information. Word is they are also doing a significant uncharge from legal states and locals and tourists alike are paying the premium.