Who's Spending More On Weed? Hispanics, African Americans, Caucasians, Asians?

This article was originally published on The Fresh Toast and appears here with permission.

Marijuana has gone mainstream and the 90% of people feel it should be legal in some way. Currently, 40 states have medical marijuana and major medical research facilities are working on unlocking the potential benefits of cannabis.

A YouGov poll discovered about 52% of Americans have tried marijuana. Among those who have tried, 43% have used it in the past year, and among those, 72% have used it in the past month.  And there is an increase among those aged 60 for not only medical use but also recreational use.

In the fall of 2022, the cannabis industry developed an economic slump due to the overpricing of flower, government regulations, a still-thriving black market and some bad players going under.  Coupled with lack of follow-through on the Biden administration’s part to legalize marijuana, things looked bleak.  EXCEPT for consumers, who have only grown in numbers and spending. In fact, Gen Z is turning away from alcohol and using lower doses of marijuana more often and on the go.

While marijuana is used by everyone, here is some interesting data regarding ethnic groups and their purchases.

The data categories include Native Americans, Caucasians, Hispanics, Asians and Black/ African Americans. The baseline is a gumbo of everyone’s purchases, but there are standouts when you look at ethnic groups just as in age categories.

In data from BDSA for spring 2023, Hispanics were the highest spend the highest per month. Hispanics spend 20% more per month and 7% more per trip than the aggregate of consumers in the most recent survey.

When looking at spend per trip, respondents who identified as Black or African American outspent Hispanics by over $2.  Per trip, Black or African American consumers spend the most. Those who identified as Black or African American reported spending 9% more per month and 9% more per trip than the aggregate of consumers in the most recent Spring 2023 survey

Asians and Native Americans spend well below the average monthly on each dispensary visit.

Another way to look at data is Gen Z and Millennials are moving toward vapes and edibles and away from traditional flower.  This impacts the industry but is also a sign of mainstreaming and “on the go” use as there are products that can be used in public places with the telltale scent.