BDS Analytics has been bottoming out on California cannabis consumer preferences when it comes to retail choices. They processed more than 400 million legal cannabis transactions to reveal trends and patterns in marijuana consumption, and came up with some numbers of great interest to the industry.
The report tracks the personal data of three groups of people, regarding their attitude to the product:
- ‘Consumers’ have used cannabis in the previous six months
- ‘Acceptors’ would consider using cannabis but have not yet
- ‘Rejecters’ have no intention of ever using cannabis in future
Their report confirmed that cannabis consumers are ‘happy campers’, and claims to have debunked the ‘classic stoner stereotype for good’. Their average annual income is $93,800. Acceptors lag $21,000 behind, with rejecters earning an average $75,900 annually. However, they are not only valued workers. An impressive 64% of marijuana customers are in full-time employment, again significantly exceeding the 51% acceptors and 54% rejecters.
California cannabis consumers are better educated too. An impressive 20% have earned master’s degrees, while only 13% of acceptors and 12% of rejecters succeeded. They also exercise more, and are more satisfied with their lives. No wonder they are raising more families, and have a proportionately larger number of kids aged less than 10 years old.
Debra Borchardt, writing for Forbes Magazine, explores where cannabis consumer spend is going. $375 million went up in smoke as flowers in the second quarter, 2017. The top five strains included three sativa / indica hybrids. Gorilla Glue # 4 hybrid claimed first position, followed by the sativa strain Jack Herer. Bubba Kush indica, and Girl Scout Cookies and Headband hybrids ranked third, fourth and fifth respectively.
The spot index opened in January 2017 at $1,413 per pound, and peaked at $1,724 before falling to $1,614 by the end of the second quarter. Debra Borchardt cites Jonathan Rubin, CEO of Cannabis Benchmarks saying, “the reason prices have been climbing is that growers are working to hold onto the current value of their crops, knowing that it will be expensive to operate in compliance with the new rules”.
The California cannabis black market largely exports its crops, although better prices are causing it to start going local too. We are inclined to agree with Jonathan Rubin’s conclusion, that “prices in the California market could become erratic as the year-end approaches”.