A new survey looks at how inflation is affecting pot smokers.
The short answer? Not very much.
The Cannabis Consumer Insights Holiday Poll shows that even though 63% of respondents find inflation painful or very painful, most consumers are smoking "the same or more than they were a year ago."
"Even with mounting inflationary pressures and cost-saving behaviors on the rise, demand for cannabis remains very resilient," Jim Cacioppo, CEO and founder of Jushi, a multi-state cannabis operator, said in a statement.
However, marijuana users are no longer springing for the primo stuff.
"They're just purchasing less expensive alternatives to compensate for the rising cost of living," said Cacioppo.
The national survey, conducted by Pollfish and commissioned by Jushi, polled 1,000 cannabis consumers from U.S. states with state-legalized cannabis sales. When asked "how much cannabis are you consuming compared to a year ago," about a quarter of respondents (24%) stated they are consuming more than last year, while the majority (52%) are consuming about the same.
That's not to say inflation hasn't had at least somewhat of an impact.
"A year ago, branding and strain type were significantly more important to cannabis consumers," the poll states. "Today, cannabis consumers are more strain agnostic, increasingly shopping around more as a cost-saving measure. Some customers are purchasing less expensive alternatives in order to maintain consumption levels while reducing cost."
According to the survey, 39% of participants stated they purchased less expensive cannabis products this year. However, when asked "how much are you spending on cannabis compared to a year ago," 73% stated that they are actually spending more or about the same.
When asked "how much do you typically spend per month on cannabis a month," 35% stated they spend $50 to $100 a month; 23% claimed $100 to $150; more than 14% selected $150 to $200; and 12% chose more than $200, according to the poll.
Compared to 2021, cannabis consumers are increasingly selecting product based on two primary factors: THC level (60%) and price (58%). Consumers are also purchasing flower (58%) over other manufactured products, such as edibles and vapes, due to price and inflationary pressures, the poll shows.
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