Bye-Bye Bud? People Now Want Their Weed in Different Ways

Once upon a time, the most popular way to consume weed was to smoke it in flower form. However, times are changing, and there are new ways to get high. As it turns out, edibles, concentrates, and vaporizers sales are climbing while flower sales are tumbling downward in the United States. Although rolling a joint and sparking a bowl are two of the most convenient ways to smoke, individuals are now turning to other methods.

Smoking bud is losing popularity in the US

Flower sales still represent a significant portion of total sales. However, times are changing, and there are new surprising ways to get high. Sure, people still enjoying sparking a bowl to get high, but there is are increased demand for products that don’t require smoking the herb at all.

According to an ArcView report, consumers spent over $6.9 billion dollars in the legal cannabis market in 2016. Although the majority of that profit came from flower sales, other products are beginning to gain popularity.

In fact, this new trend is especially prevalent in industry’s three largest recreational markets: Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. The products that are on the rise, in particular, are edibles, and even more so concentrates.

For example, in Colorado, flower sales were down 56 percent in 2016. On the other hand, the sale of concentrates quadrupled. Not to mention, accounted for over $80 million dollars.

As for Washington, 21 percent of sales came from concentrates in 2016. Then, in Oregon, 19 percent of cannabis sales came from edibles and concentrates.

People don’t want to get high – they want relief

So, why are people starting to turn to other consumption methods, like edibles and concentrates? The beauty of edibles and concentrates, in particular, is their controlled dosages.

Medical patients especially benefit from concentrates thanks to their higher potency. Because many of them are seeking relief from things like pain and nausea, higher doses of THC are necessary to treat them.

Then, there are edibles, which often have a lower THC content. However, this is what draws people to them the most because they have the ability to microdose.

In other words, they can get a slight lift without getting too high.  In fact, according to Jim Patterson, CEO of Ease, people would rather have the relief without the high,

If you think of the more casual market, for example, people who use cannabis to help them sleep or to help relieve stress – the reality is those people don’t actually want to get high.

They’re not using it to get high, they’re using it to help them relax, to help destress, in the same way that they might have a glass or two of wine after a day of work. What they’re looking for is much more moderately or low dose products.

Also, micro dosing can be done with concentrates. For example, there are cannabis inhalers that provide as little as 10-milligram doses of THC.

Although flower sales still account for a significant percentage of total sales in the US, it’s clear that people are branching out to other consumptions methods.

Being that the industry is full of businesses that are creating products of which require new ways to consume, it’ll be interesting to see which consumption method will be trending next.