Boys may be boys, and girls may be girls, but there has always been a thin line between medical and recreational marijuana. After Prop 64 passed the poll on Tuesday 8 November, we might have thought medical marijuana dispensaries would see a drop in sales as people can grow their own and no longer need a Dr.’s recommendation to smoke.
Quite the opposite has happened. You see, the regulations will take months to create and approve. Only then, can the Bureau of Marijuana Control start issuing licenses after disposing of delaying tactics by law enforcement and other naysayers. We predict there will be plenty of these, until folk come to terms with what happened.
A Sudden Surge Marijuana Interest
Meanwhile, there has been a surge of interest on the recreational side, because the possibility of prosecution is now almost non-existent. Water will always find a way through, and so will those wanting herb. The way through in California is obtaining a medical marijuana recommendation from a doctor. By all accounts, participating doctors and dispensaries are in for a busy 2017 which is just about upon us.
“It’s been a crazy spike,” one office manager says. “Normally, this is the slow season for us. But we’re averaging 50 to 60 patients a week.” We agree with California Weed that dispensaries are going to have to diversify if they want to hang on to their new bonanza. Possibilities include providing broader, holistic services in terms of lifestyles. Moreover, some may want medical guidance before lighting up their first joint.
A New Normal for California Marijuana
Officially, medical marijuana in California is supposed to be there for seriously ill people. The lines soon blurred. The Journal of Drug Policy Analysis disproved this theory back in 2011. It found only a small percentage of marijuana patients it studied had serious issues like cancer and AIDS. Around 14% said they took medical marijuana as a workaround for alcohol. More than half took it to ‘help them relax’.
Moreover, the Journal found a ‘disproportionate’ number of medical marijuana patients of an age when they should presumably be their healthiest. The data revealed 18% of them were between 18 and 24, and 28% between 25 and 34. This begs the conclusion that some were right when they claimed medical marijuana was a smokescreen for the real thing.
What This Holds for Dispensaries in Future
This leads on to whether there is a future for medical marijuana dispensaries at all. We believe there is, provided they diversify and serve the recreational market. There is always room for businesses that provide professional advice alongside their products. Someday medical marijuana may be covered by health insurance. If patients can get their marijuana without paying for it directly then dispensaries may have the last laugh.
