Some things stand to prove themselves as truly resilient: Cacti, old Honda Civics, and the pipe my roommate has been using since early-90s Lollapalooza come to mind. Turns out, none of them may be quite as resilient as Oklahoma’s medical marijuana industry, which saw May 2020 sales top $73 million.
When the Coronavirus #stayhome thing started, I wasn’t surprised to see the cannabis industry go through a small boom, as people made extra-large purchases in preparation for lockdown. Cannabis is just as essential as toilet paper; for others, it’s more essential, because without cannabis they can’t eat and well…you can finish that picture.
Then we had the stimulus package, an influx of emergency Get out of jail money no one was ever expecting, which extended a lifeline to businesses and individuals alike — for at least a week or two. OF COURSE, that money never made it to Oklahoma’s cannabis industry. It was deemed not worthy of stimulus money because it remains illegal under federal law, so it didn’t hurt that 5% of the state’s population spent some of that free money on weed anyway.
Time moved on, we settled into our new chaotic normal, and we could only use so much toilet paper and hand sanitizer. But I think people have historically surprised themselves with how much weed they can smoke, and the sales numbers CONTINUE to reflect that in Oklahoma, because May was yet another record-breaking month!
“Figures released Monday show medical marijuana sales in May topped $73 million, the highest monthly figure so far.
The data shows May sales generated more than $11.6 million in sales tax revenue. That includes $6.5 million in state and local sales taxes and another $5.1 million from the marijuana excise tax.”
If any industry is proving itself to be society proof, it is the cannabis industry. Over the last year, Oklahoma residents have proven that when times get hard we may freak out and act irrationally, but we also smoke A LOT of weed!
Regardless of where you stand on issues, America is undeniably facing chaotic times. With protests and riots making COVID-19 feel like a strange, lurking fever dream, I don’t see things calming down in the foreseeable future.
I feel strongly that if the world is going to burn, we may as well make some observations about it. These monthly sales figures updates alone prove an interesting unofficial case-study in how much people feel the need to medicate themselves while society pulls itself apart from the inside out. Who knew a pandemic, worldwide upheaval and the breakdown of American society in general would smell so distinctly like weed!
So, if the world calms down will sales drop proportionally? Are your chances of being shot with a pepper ball on the sidewalk at random directly correlated with how well the cannabis industry is doing? Maybe! If you’re curious, I’ll be here, reporting on marijuana sales each month — even if it’s from my ultra-secret apocalypse bunker that also happens to be my completely normal apartment.
