About half of America’s cannabis consumers bought a small stockpile of weed products to prepare for the lockdowns that followed the outbreak of the coronavirus.
A recent survey by American Marijuana found that 48.7 percent of stoners purchased more pot than they normally would. Of course, that means just slightly over half did not rush out and participate in panic buying. The survey collected responses from 990 adults.
Why, though? Of the 48.7 percent who did stock up, about 55 percent said they did so to keep cool as the pandemic swept across the country. Roughly 21 percent didn’t give two shits about what was going on, and just wanted to “chill at home” with extra herb on hand. And 23 percent said they did it out of fear for both the coronavirus and potential weed shortages.
However, the survey’s results may not reflect the latest buying trends, since it only published data up to March 30. Granted, that’s around the same time most states with legal weed began to issue or already had issued stay-at-home orders to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Although sociologists and economists consider panic buying an irrational behavior, the survey revealed that potheads kept their wits about them. When asked if they would rather have weed or other essential items such as food, toilet paper, respirator masks, or hand sanitizers, reefer-loving respondents overwhelmingly chose the other essentials over cannabis.
Food, not surprisingly, was the top choice among the essentials: 95 percent picked non-infused edibles over anything containing THC.
One of the more intriguing breakdowns regarded the question, “If the US government imposes nationwide quarantine, which among the following activities would you rather do?” Presumably, the question asked the respondents to select one activity and not the others.
The majority of cannabis consumers, at 28 percent, said they’d rather binge-watch TV shows than smoke the precious flower. Nearly the same percentage, at 27 percent, said they’d rather indulge in a favorite hobby. Only 16 percent said they’d smoke weed instead of engaging in the other options. Surfing the internet (you nerds!) came in at 15 percent.
So, there you have it. Weed lovers across the nation won’t give up mary jane for food, and over half of them would rather zonk-out to Netflix or master their chosen craft than blaze a fatty — but only if they’re forced to choose one over the other.
Hey, good thing the US hasn’t run out of weed (or food) yet, eh?
