Medical cannabis sales in Arizona and Florida have risen sharply during the coronavirus pandemic; sales figures in the Grand Canyon State show a ton more cannabis was sold in March over February and the Sunshine State saw its second-highest weekly sales volume since the program launched more than a year ago.
According to Arizona Department of Health services data outlined by 3TV/CBS 5, about 17,000 pounds of medical cannabis was sold in the state in March – a month which included about 100,000 more transactions than February.
In Florida, from April 10-17, medical cannabis sales topped more than 2,082 pounds. That figure nearly reached the roughly 2,274-pound record in the state from March 13-20, 2019, the Center Square reports. From March 6 through April 17, the Florida Office of Medical Marijuana Use issued nearly 13,000 new program identification cards, the report says.
Raul Molina, of Mint Dispensary in Tempe, said his business has seen about a 50 percent increase in sales since the start of the pandemic and that some dispensaries are experiencing product shortages.
“That was something we didn’t expect. We thought that Arizona had an ample supply to the point where if there was a spike, if recreational happened or something like that, we were gonna be able to handle it.” – Molina to 3TV/CBS 5
BDS Analytics, a cannabis market research firm, reports that from March 13-20, cannabis sales nationwide spiked about 28 percent but since then have flattened. According to BDS, 32 percent of cannabis patients have incomes below $35,000 and 54 percent have full-time employment, and the shutdown of the economy and job losses are likely contributing to the slowdown.
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