If you have any doubts about how legalized marijuana will be received across the country then let me throw a few amazing new stats your way to assuage any fears you might have about legalizing a plant that has been around for thousands of years.
In parts of the country that have seen marijuana legalized for recreational use the newly-legalized weed is now selling hotter than milk, bread, or wine, and people are just barely spending more money (per household) on beer than they are on cannabis. Specifically, in Spokane County, Washington the amount of money households are spending on Cannabis is second only to beer.
The Seattle Times reports:
Legal marijuana sales in Spokane County topped retail sales of wine and kitchen staples such as bread and milk last year.
Spokane County marijuana retailers reported a little more than $43 million in sales last year, according to the state Liquor and Cannabis Board. That’s an average $225.64 per household.
By comparison, retail beer sales were $232.70 per Spokane County household last year, according to the Consumer Expenditure Survey administered by the Census Bureau. The average household spent $154.85 on wine, $155.37 on milk and $109.71 on bread in 2015.
The calculated marijuana average ignores the “80/20 rule” — 20 percent of people are responsible for 80 percent of an effect, said Brian Smith, Liquor and Cannabis Board spokesman. An independent study by the Rand Corp. in 2013 found the rule applied to Washington’s nascent marijuana market — that roughly one-fifth of the population accounted for the vast majority of marijuana sales.
The Liquor and Cannabis Board tracks marijuana sales of $2.8 million a day statewide, Smith said. “That seems pretty robust,” he said.
It is important to note that these are averages, and it should go without saying but not every household is purchasing legalized marijuana. Tourists are also getting in on the action in Spokane County, driving up the averages.
That said, it’s pretty remarkable that more $$$$ is being spent on legalized marijuana than bread, milk, or wine.
Cannabis Image courtesy of Shutterstock.com
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