DID THE PANDEMIC CREATE A NEW WAVE OF CANNABIS CONSUMERS?

The pandemic came with stress, anxiety or boredom which in turn ushered in a new wave of cannabis consumers; women. Women currently make up to 59% of new consumers of cannabis and tend to be younger and heavier consumers than men according to research carried out by Brightfield Group, a market research group focused on cannabis and CBD.

 

In recent years, data have shown that marijuana use is rising among women and those with higher education. The increase came with having to deal with stress while working from home during the pandemic. Women cannabis consumers rose steadily through 2020 and by the first quarter of 2021, it has hit 51%. Data from Michigan shows that 59% of cannabis consumers are women while, the figure pegs at 43%. In both Colorado and Washington women are the major consumers of cannabis.

 

Women consumers of cannabis also use wide range of products than their male peers. They tend to favor marijuana gummies specifically and use it to treat mental and physical health conditions more often than men.

 

While eight in every ten women consumers of cannabis said they use it right before bed, about 60% said they use cannabis while performing home duties. About 45% of women consumers said they turned to cannabis or used it more during the pandemic. This helped them to deal with stress, anxiety and the task of working from home.

 

Cannabis is currently gaining a wide acceptance in the United States. The legalization of recreational use of cannabis by 18 states and Washington, D.C. and medical use marijuana in 36 states has seen a steady growth in the users of cannabis.

 

“New users are entering the market using cannabis more frequently than they were pre-pandemic. A clear factor in this phenomenon is stress and anxiety,” the report by Brightfield Group noted.