As states were starting to roll out stay-at-home orders and Americans were raiding grocery stores for food, toilet paper and other goods, cannabis also became a popular product to hoard.
Cannabis businesses in California and Washington reported sales figures north of 100% in March 2020 compared to March 2019. Stockpiling was fueled by the fear that cannabis retailers would close during the quarantine, as well as the debate surrounding the “essential” nature of cannabis, especially in relation to medical cannabis being necessary for some patients. That fear was not unfounded, as seen in Massachusetts for instance, where Gov. Charlie Baker forced the state’s recreational marijuana shops to close during the pandemic.
While there is no doubt that many people enjoy marijuana at home during confinement, for its recreational but also its anti-anxiety effects, how high is marijuana on Americans’ list of priorities? A study by the American Marijuana association seeks to answer that.
Marijuana Use Broken Down
Nearly a thousand marijuana users shared their opinions on marijuana during the pandemic. Obviously, most of them believe that food, hand sanitizer, toilet paper and face masks to be more important than marijuana during the COVID-19 pandemic, but 28% of respondents actually value having marijuana over face masks. Surprisingly, 5% see marijuana as even more valuable than food.
Nearly half of participants stockpiled marijuana in preparation for confinement. Among the 49% who did stock up on pot, more than half did so “to calm themselves down amidst the chaos.” Another 23% of them did so because of fear of scarcity if coronavirus were to keep the country closed too long. Among the 51% who did not stock up pot, a third did so because they didn’t worry about marijuana shortage, another third because they didn’t consider marijuana to be a priority, while the remaining third did not feel the need to stock any goods whatsoever.
So, how do marijuana users spend their time confined at home? The most popular activity is to binge-watch TV shows, followed closely by hobbies such as cooking or playing music. “Smoking weed” comes third, with 17% of participants claiming it to be their favorite activity during quarantine, favored over surfing the internet and exercising; and let’s keep in mind that one can smoke weed while binge-watching TV shows or doing any other activity available between closed walls. One-third of respondents admitted to consuming more marijuana during the COVID-19 outbreak than before.
One of the most common emotional reactions to the current crisis is fear—for oneself, loved ones and society in general. “Fear and anxiety about a disease can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children. Coping with stress will make you, the people you care about, and your community stronger,” said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a piece relating to COVID-19 and how to cope with the dread it causes. According to the findings of American Marijuana’s study, more than 54% of participants feel calm despite the pandemic, confident that everything will be alright—nearly the same number who reported consuming marijuana to calm themselves during the pandemic.
The CDC advises the population to avoid drugs to cope with stress, but that is overlooking the well-documented relaxing properties of marijuana combined with the fact that marijuana cannot kill anyone. Even the Drug Enforcement Administration admits, in its recently updated guide on drug abuse, that not a single death from marijuana overdose has ever been recorded. It is true, however, that smoking—be it marijuana or tobacco—is contraindicated during the pandemic, as it can lower the body’s natural immune defenses and weaken the lungs, which coronavirus attacks. However, there are numerous ways to consume marijuana without smoking. Edibles and tinctures are smoke-free ways to attain a high without endangering one’s health. For more information, you can consult the Shepherd Express’ guide to getting high without smoke.
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