Cannabis reform measures, including state-level adult-use marijuana legalization, are encouraging American adults who have historically steered away from cannabis to try the drug, according to recently published research.
According to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, these include adults who are “older, female, white, or college educated” – some of the exact demographics that the $32 billion legal industry is keen to attract.
Despite selling far more products than in prior years, declining prices mean legal cannabis operators are registering less sales by dollar in key markets, including California and Michigan, the country’s two biggest markets.
That’s led to manufacturers developing new products, including drinks as well as “functional THC” products, tailored toward populations, including older women and Gen Z, that research shows are less inclined to use cannabis.
How cannabis industry operators can attract customers who are older, whiter and women
But according to research led by Summer Sherburne Hawkins, a professor at the Boston College School of Social Work, it’s changes in the law that are “contributing to rising levels of adult cannabis use by increasing the proportions of adults using cannabis,” according to a Wednesday news release.
According to Hawkins’ research, it was “adults aged 60 years and older, female, white, or college-educated” who “were the most responsive to legalization.” In some of those segments, use increased by more than one-third.
That might be good news to medical cannabis operators in Virginia, where adult-use sales are expected to begin as soon as this fall.
Separately, once finalized, federal marijuana rescheduling is expected to encourage even more participation in the legal industry, one operator hopes.
Will federal marijuana rescheduling grow the legal industry?
Pointing to 2019 consumer research from Nielsen, Maridose founder and CEO Richard Shain predicted a five-fold spike in cannabis use once cannabis is in Schedule 3. Maridose has applied to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for a bulk manufacturing license.
Nielsen survey responses suggest that adults want to use cannabis for medical and wellness reasons.
That prior “data reinforces that consumer interest has been constrained by federal legality, not by lack of demand,” Shain said in a news release.
In a Dec. 18 executive order, President Donald Trump directed the U.S. Justice Department to finalize downgrading cannabis from a Schedule 1 drug to Schedule 3.
However, there’s been no outward sign of progress – and no word as to when marijuana rescheduling will happen.
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