For pot users, smoking is so ‘old-school’
‘Edibles’ and other forms are gaining popularity
DENVER – Marijuana users across the country are setting down their bongs, putting away their joints and moving away from smoking pot.
It’s not that people are giving up on cannabis – far from it. But retailers across the country report that consumers are increasingly switching from smokable marijuana to other forms, including pot-infused foods known as edibles and vaporizer cartridges.
“The actual old-school smoking of cannabis is pretty much out the door,” said Jered DeCamp, co-owner of the Herbal Remedies marijuana store in Salem, Oregon. DeCamp said only about half of his sales are now traditional smoked marijuana.
Marijuana enthusiasts say the trend reflects a desire by consumers for stronger, healthier or more discreet ways to consume cannabis. It’s a pattern seen from Colorado to California to Oregon. Nine states and the District of
Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana use.
In Colorado, for instance, smokable marijuana known as “flower” made up
67 percent of all sales at pot shops in
2014, when legal sales began. Today, it’s down to 44 percent, while sales of potent concentrates known as “honey” or “butter” have doubled to 31 percent.
Oregon saw flower sales drop from
51 percent to 44 percent in a single year, and in California, flower sales have dropped 3 percent in just four months this year. The data provided by BDS Analytics show that while overall sales of marijuana products continues to grow, marijuana in its simplest form is losing popularity.
After a decade of smoking pot to manage the pain from nearly 10 hip and spine surgeries, U.S. Navy veteran Adrian Cromwell, 45, was told by a doctor to lay off the smoking – but not the cannabis. Now, Cromwell uses marijuana tablets made by Coloradobased Stratos.
Cromwell said the pills are more discreet, consistent and longer-lasting, saving him from him having to sneak away after 90 minutes or so for another few puffs on a joint or a hit on a bong or pipe. They even feel healthier, the Pueblo, Colorado, resident said.
“For like five weeks I was coughing up black wads so bad, it was horrible. It really woke me up to what was happening with my lungs,” he said of the days after giving up smoking and switching to marijuana pills.
A new study of Colorado marijuana consumers reflects the trend illustrated by Cromwell: Among adult marijuana consumers, the number of people eating or drinking cannabis products increased from 35.2 percent in 2016 to
40.4 percent in 2017, the state’s newly released Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey showed.
In addition to consumer demand for different products, increased competition among marijuana growers is pushing down flower prices and removing much of the profit.
Experts say the trend away from smoked pot probably will accelerate as more Americans get comfortable with the idea of consuming cannabis in dif- ferent ways than when they were first introduced to it via a shared joint.
“Just growing flower is basically a knife fight to the bottom on price,” said Ryan Smith, CEO of LeafLink, which provides inventory and ordering software for marijuana stores. “The brands have the power. That’s what consumers expect in every industry, and this is no different.”