Super Bowl cannabis sales 💰

SUPER BOWL
Cannabis sales surge ahead of Super Bowl

Wings, weed, and football: The Super Bowl is a massive sales opportunity for cannabis brands.

Legal cannabis sales tend to surge ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, according to data shared exclusively with Cultivated from Sweed, a cannabis retail platform.

On average, sales tend to increase 13-16% over a normal week. In 2023, sales surged 16%, and last year, just under 13%.

This year is expected to be around the same.  

Check out the chart:

What they’re saying: “It might actually help mellow out that overly aggressive sports fan we are all friends with, too,” cannabis firm Cresco Labs’ chief communications officer, Jason Erkes told MJBizDaily. 

The Eagles will be there on Sunday, after all. 

Why it matters: Once the redoubt of the beer industry, cannabis companies are taking advantage of the Super Bowl and other big sports events to advertise, promote their products, and create brand tie-ins, like THC-infused buffalo sauce.

That’s especially true as more consumers shift away from alcohol to hangover-free cannabis products, like infused gummies and seltzers. 

It makes Monday just a little bit easier. 

Editor’s note: This has been updated to reflect that Erkes is Creso’s chief communications officer.

-JB

Illinois cannabis sales exceed $2 billion last year 📈

Illinois cannabis sales exceeded $2 billion last year, according to data released by the state’s Department of Finance. Check out the full data here. 

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro drums up cannabis support 🌿

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is putting on a full court press (yes, the NBA trade deadline was yesterday) to drum up support for cannabis legalization in the Keystone State. Earlier this week, he pushed legalization in his budget speech, and asked lawmakers to deliver him a bill this year. And yesterday, he put out a video talking to Pennsylvanian citizens about why they support legalization.

Watch it here:

The risks of cannabis use 👀

A new study out of Ontario found that people with cannabis use disorder have a higher risk of death, reports The New York Times. And a second study from the same group found that cannabis legalization increased the risk of psychosis and schizophrenia among young adults, though it is not causative. Here’s an interesting thread outlining the data. 

Cannabis and pain relief 🌿

A new study published in the journal Cannabis found that cannabis legalization is associated with a decrease in patients filling opioid prescriptions, suggesting a substitution effect for cannabis and opioids. Read the full study here. 

U.S. cannabis shoppers face market flush with illegal weed | NPR

5 huge flaws in cannabis and brain function research | CED Clinic