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The US in the midst of a crisis, with around 800 000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and in excess of 42 000 deaths.

Thankfully, for those who regularly smoke the ‘erb, many states across the US declared cannabis businesses “essential” operations during their lockdown and stay-at-home orders.

With yesterday being 420 (the fourth month, 20th day, you narc), businesses selling cannabis were expecting a bumper week in the build-up, but even they were surprised by the surge in demand.

Forbes reports that the data points towards the ‘biggest 420 ever’, and that cannabis demand is at an all-time high:

“We joked that it would be 420 all month because it’s April 2020, but it came true,” says [cofounder and CEO of the Colorado-based Medicine Man] Vander Veer. “If you look at sales day over day, the month of April is perhaps the most consistent and sustained bump in sales that we’ve ever seen.”

…“It’s going to be the biggest 420 ever,” says Kyle Sherman, founder of Denver-based Flowhub, which provides payment operating system software to dispensaries.

Sherman says his company is seeing a compelling narrative in the data coming out of dispensaries. An average day in April this year has seen daily recreational sales up between 15% and 20% compared to the same time last year across the 13 states in which Flowhub has clients. The average transactions are also up 20%.

The tobacco ban in South Africa is often justified by saying that smoking can potentially increase the risk of contracting the coronavirus, and that has seen a slight decrease in pre-rolled joints and vape sales.

No bother, because cannabis flower and edible sales have soared, and the fact that they can deliver makes the process all the more convenient:

Chris Vaughn, the CEO and founder of Emjay, believes that delivery is the key to the increase in sales this 420…“Maybe they’re people who would never go to a dispensary, but they’re home and don’t have much to do and they can get it delivered, so they’re giving it a shot.”

…Similarly, the order volume at Weedmaps, which allows customers to order online and manages delivery logistics for dispensaries, is up by seven times the week leading up to April 20, 2020, compared to last year.  “420 is huge for us,” says Juanjo Feijoo, Weedmaps’ chief marketing officer.

Putting yesterday’s sales aside to look at the bigger picture, 2020 is panning out to be a big year for the industry. One research firm predicts that sales will exceed $16 billion, which is growth of more than 30% from last year’s figures.

To finish, here’s Forbes with a video they released on Monday:

[source:forbes]